Chinese SME incubator fund to float on Aim January 26, 2015 GRAND Group Investment, a late-stage incubator fund that invests in Chinese small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), today announced its intention to float on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim). The Cayman-Islands-headquartered company is looking to raise £7.1m from the share placing, which is expected to kick off tomorrow. The placing is forecast to give the firm [...]
Fifa could lose up to £50m as three sponsors sever ties January 23, 2015 Three sponsors of Fifa during the 2014 World Cup have decided against renewing their contracts with football’s under-fire governing body. Castrol, Continental Tyres and Johnson & Johnson have followed the lead of Sony and Emirates in cutting ties with the organisation by not renewing their deals. As “second tier” World Cup sponsors, each [...]
Lack of housing hits first-time buyers January 22, 2015 Younger people are finding it difficult to get on the first rung of the housing market ladder due to a shortage of homes. A report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published yesterday shows how the total number of houses built per year has fallen from around 250,000 in 1980 to between 150,000 to [...]
Rental values put Land Sec in good shape January 21, 2015 LAND Securities yesterday said its business and markets were in good shape, with rental values rising in London due to a shortage of new office space. It forecast that interest in its schemes would remain strong despite the political uncertainty in the UK and abroad. The commercial property company, focused on London and retail developments, [...]
Peer-to-peer lender receives US investment January 21, 2015 AMERICAN asset management firm Victory Park Capital said yesterday it would invest up to £150m in loans arranged by British peer-to-peer lender Assetz Capital under a five-year contract. The Chicago-based Victory Park, which specialises in middle market debt and equity investments, said the funds would support the development of UK small businesses. Peer-to-peer lending in [...]
Shazam joins billion dollar startup club after $30m funding round January 21, 2015 Music recognition service Shazam has closed a $30m (£19.8m) round of investment valuing the London-based firm at over $1bn (£659m). It makes Shazam one of just a handful of tech startups to emerge from the UK with a $1bn price tag attached. The new investment will be used to expand the service into new markets [...]
City Moves for 21 January 2015 | Who’s switching jobs January 20, 2015 IAG UK Fund Administration The fund administration services provider has appointed Alan Ross as commercial director. He joins from BNP Paribas, where he was senior sales manager for securities services. Ross has also held roles at BNY Mellon, Arjent Alternative Investments, FSL Services, and RBS. London & Capital Guy McGlashan has been appointed chief operating [...]
London house prices: Capital would be hit disproportionately by mansion tax January 20, 2015 The extent to which London will be disproportionately hit by a new mansion tax has been revealed by new research looking into the most expensive properties in the UK Labour has proposed a tax on properties worth over £2m, which, according to research by Knight Frank, means 2.5 per cent of properties in London would [...]
Kier Group’s 2015 international contracts already total £145m January 19, 2015 CONSTRUCTION firm Kier Group announced yesterday that it has been awarded over £145m of new construction contract awards in the Middle East since the start of the year. In Dubai, the property, residential, construction and services group has been named preferred bidder for a £100m mixed-use development and two infrastructure contracts totalling £15m. Meanwhile, the [...]
City Moves for 20 January 2015 | Who’s switching jobs January 19, 2015 HSBC David Phythian has been appointed head of corporate real estate for the bank in the UK. He joined HSBC in 2006 and was head of its London corporate real estate office. Phythian has also held roles at UCB Bank, the United Bank of Kuwait, and a number of private property companies. Square Mile Investment [...]