The right trousers: Aardman’s David Sproxton talks risk-averse TV and crowdfunding Morph May 17, 2015 You may have seen several giant Shaun the Sheeps around central London recently. Fifty of the woolly critters are gracing the capital’s public spaces, raising money for children’s hospitals across the country. “Shaun in the City” forms an arts trail for fans, and also coincides with the launch of Shaun’s first movie. For David [...]
Bangalore: India’s most livable city and the fast-track to its vibrant tech-filled future May 17, 2015 If Old Delhi is the crumbling emblem of India’s imperial past and Mumbai is the pounding heart of its contemporary popular culture, Bengaluru (anglicised as Bangalore) and Chennai are the country’s fast track to the future. The former, and less often the latter, are nicknamed the Silicon Valley of India on account of their thriving [...]
UK house prices: What effect does the unemployment rate have on the cost of a home? May 17, 2015 Average house prices in the twenty local authorities with the highest rate of unemployment have risen by just £4,100 since 2009, while low unemployment areas have risen by an average of £65,000, according to analysis from Lloyds. The figures The raw numbers translate to increases of 25 per cent for the areas with the lowest [...]
Center Parcs hires SSP chairman Vagn Sorensen just as new bidders Starwood and CVC Capital weigh in May 14, 2015 Center Parcs revealed yesterday it has hired a new chairman at the same time it emerged that Starwood Capital has teamed up with CVC Capital to consider a joint £2.5bn bid for the group. Private equity owner Blackstone launched a dual track process earlier this year to either sell or launch an initial public offering [...]
City Moves for 15 May 2015 | Who’s switching jobs May 14, 2015 Simmons & Company International The energy investment bank has appointed Nabeel Siddiqui as director in its London office. He joins from Epi-V, the upstream oil and gas focused private equity firm. Siddiqui has more than 12 years’ experience, and has also held roles in the US arm of DNB Markets. Olswang Paul Stevens has been [...]
UK house prices: Are low deposit mortgages propping up the housing market? May 14, 2015 The number of people buying houses with low-value deposits has risen by 7.3 per cent in the last year, according to data analysis by chartered surveyors e.surv. The figures Lending to borrowers who have only small deposits (15 per cent or less of the property’s value) accounted for 16.3 per cent of house purchases in April, [...]
UK house price growth means regional rents are now rising faster than in London May 14, 2015 London’s rental prices are no longer the fastest growing in the country. Other regions have outstripped the capital, with the south west the leader with a whopping 15.5 per cent growth in the last year. The figures According to Homelet, UK rental prices for the three months to April rose by 10 per cent, and [...]
British Land profits lifted by lucrative London property market May 14, 2015 The figures: British Land said that underlying profit before tax rose 5.4 per cent to £313m for this financial year, up from £297m a year earlier. Diluted underlying earnings per share rose 4.1 per cent to 30.6p, an increase from 29.4p in 2014. The developer's total portfolio valuation rose by 12.1 per cent to £13.63bn. This was [...]
Savills beats forecasts despite pre-election market wobble May 13, 2015 REAL estate adviser Savills said trading in the year-to-date had beaten expectations and was “substantially” ahead of the same time last year, despite seeing a slowdown in home sales in the run-up to the General Election. The property market came to a halt ahead of the General Election as prospective buyers and sellers awaited the [...]
Hansteen sells industrials fund in £190m deal May 13, 2015 HANSTEEN, the property company chaired by Hambro Bank scion James Hambro, has sold a second batch of UK industrial estates to former Camden Lock Markets owner Brockton Capital. Brockton will join forces with Dunedin Property to take control of the 76 estates in Hansteen’s UK industrial property unit trust II as part of the £192m [...]