London’s prime housing market bigger than New York’s, says new report October 7, 2015 London’s prime housing market now stands out both in terms of the volume of prime sales and the scale of expansion, against other global cities including New York, a new report has found. The global development report 2015 by real estate Knight Frank found New York and London continue to lead development trends, in terms [...]
Tougher stamp duty rules have hit prices for top country homes – Knight Frank October 6, 2015 Prices of top country homes have slowed over the third quarter of the year as tougher stamp duty rules hit demand for £1.5m plus properties, according to research out today. Knight Frank’s index of prime country property shows prices edged up by 0.7 per cent between July an September, compared with a 0.9 per [...]
City analyst slams Fnac’s bid for Darty and warns firm may have to sweeten deal October 6, 2015 A leading City analyst yesterday spoke out against Fnac’s bid for electronics rival Darty, saying the proposed offer significantly undervalued the company. The French electronics and music retailer made an offer of 101p per share for Darty on Wednesday, in a deal that would value its UK-listed rival at £533m. Fnac said its offer represented [...]
Resurgence in British office market fuels record profits at Knight Frank October 5, 2015 LONDON’S booming office market combined with a recovery in the regions helped estate agent Knight Frank to post record full-year results. The company, which is owned by its partners and has 370 offices across the world, said profit before tax rose by 19 per cent to £162m in the year to 31 March, while turnover [...]
London house prices: The capital’s most exclusive homes are going for bargain prices October 2, 2015 Another day, another sign the top end of London's property market is in the doldrums, after figures by Knight Frank showed house prices in the capital's most exclusive areas grew just 1.3 per cent in September on the same month last year. That's the lowest rate of growth since October 2009 – and in some [...]
Fnac makes £533m takeover offer for Darty as it seeks to create French electronics giants September 30, 2015 French electronics and music retailer Fnac has made a takeover bid for Darty in a deal that would value its UK-listed rival at £533m. Shares in Darty have soared as much as 17 per cent this morning after Fnac confirmed it has made an offer of 101p per share, 25 per cent above yesterday’s closing price [...]
The West’s failed Syria policy: Why it’s time to do nothing September 27, 2015 When I worked in Washington, perhaps the dreariest job of all was covering congressional hearings. It is a task that only the interns end up doing, and then under protest. In fact, in my office, we literally drew straws for the ordeal, with the short straw having to spend a numbing eight hours or so [...]
Standard Chartered gifts Bill Winters £6m golden hello September 24, 2015 Standard Chartered is clearly pinning its hopes on knight in shining armour Bill Winters, gifting its new chief executive more than £6m in shares. The golden hello of just over 899,000 shares is being paid as compensation for "the value of share interests" in Renshaw Bay, the hedge fund he founded after leaving JP Morgan [...]
UK house prices are set to go through the roof, with the fastest growth in London September 18, 2015 House prices are growing at a robust pace this month while mortgage lending has surged as the housing markets heat up. Estate agent Knight Frank’s house price sentiment indicator today scored 59.3 for September, with scores above 50 indicating price growth. The fastest current growth is in London. Households’ overall expectations of [...]
City Moves for 18 September 2015 | Who’s switching jobs September 17, 2015 BNP PARIBAS INVESTMENT PARTNERS The asset manager has announced several appointments to its institutional business. Guy Williams becomes chief investment officer. He was formerly chief investment officer of the firm’s global fixed income affiliate Fischer, Francis, Trees & Watts (FFTW) Daniel Morris joins Williams’s team as senior investment strategist and Richard Barwell (pictured) joins as [...]