Why everyone should stop panicking about Berkeley Group boss Tony Pidgley’s £23m bonus August 11, 2015 Yesterday’s revelation that Tony Pidgley – founder, chairman and general grandfather figure at housebuilding giant Berkeley Group – is about to net himself £23m-odd in bonus payouts has created something of a storm. There’s no denying it’s a vast sum: it puts Pidgley above Wayne Rooney in the pay scale, making him the second [...]
House prices poised to jump again? New property listings plummet in July August 11, 2015 It's hardly been a buyer's market for several years now – but it looks like things are about to get worse for those in the market for a new home, after the number of properties being put up for sale fell 13 per cent between June and July, according to new figures. The study, by [...]
Best of the Brokers for 11 August 2015 August 11, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DEVRO Numis reiterated its “hold” recommendation on the collagen food products manufacturer, in a supplementary comment on the firm’s interim results. The broker noted that it had made a “stupid error” in respect of pre-tax profit projections for 2016, and revised its guidance. [...]
Ignore the snobs: Why crowdfunding is bringing diversity back to business August 10, 2015 Venture investors on competitive deals are used to missing out to other funds. It’s part and parcel of the industry. But last month, tech-focused VCs missed out to the crowd, as the first successful exit of a crowdfunded company returned capital to investors in E-Car Club, which sold to Europcar. E-Car Club raised funding [...]
What private client FX offers entrepreneurs – Investec Comment: August 9, 2015 Most businesses with vulnerability to foreign exchange risk – whether they’re exporters or have subsidiaries overseas – will have arrangements in place to mitigate their exposure to sharp currency moves. But what about you as an individual? As business owners and entrepreneurs become more globally-mobile, they are more likely to have overseas investments, or [...]
London house prices: There’s a bold solution to the housing crisis – if councils get out of the way August 6, 2015 Tessa Jowell is the latest mayoral candidate to pledge to build more homes to tackle London’s housing crisis, promising at least 50,000 new properties would be built each year under her watch. The government has also outlined plans for 200,000 new starter homes to be constructed, many also earmarked for the capital. But history tells [...]
Super Thursday: Interest rate rise by the Bank of England could end the buy-to-let boom August 6, 2015 It looks like momentum to raise interest rates could be building over at the Bank of England (BoE), however a legal advice service has warned this could spell disaster for the UK's booming buy-to-let market. Minutes due to be released later today are expected to show between two to three members of the nine-strong rate-setting [...]
UK housing crisis: How deregulated “slums” can solve the shortage of homes and high prices for renters August 6, 2015 A blog recently posted on the ASI website seems to have driven some angry reaction. “Britain needs more slums” proclaimed Theo Clifford, the winner of our 18-21 category of our Young Writer on Liberty Competition. While the ASI has a policy of publishing a whole range of opinions (views expressed on the blog are those [...]
Savills revenues rise 27 per cent as London market stabilises August 6, 2015 Property services giant Savills reported a jump in revenues this morning, despite uncertainty during the run-up to the General Election. The figures Group revenues rose to £547m in the six months to the end of June, up 27 per cent from £430.8m during the same period last year. Profit before tax rose seven per cent to £26.4m, up from £24.7m last year. Meanwhile, underlying [...]
City Moves for 06 August 2015 | Who’s switching jobs August 5, 2015 Savills The property adviser has appointed Julian Lyon as director in its worldwide occupier services team. He joins from General Motors UK, where he spent 17 years consolidating its UK property portfolio. Lyon has 30 years’ experience in the commercial property market. Standard Chartered Mark Smith has been appointed group chief risk officer at the [...]