Threadneedle and US partner merge names to become Columbia Threadneedle Investments January 12, 2015 London-based asset manager Threadneedle Investments and its US-based affiliate, Columbia Management, will merge under the name Columbia Threadneedle Investments in the first half of 2015, Threadneedle announced yesterday. The rebrand is aimed at reinforcing the companies’ strength across Europe, the US and the UK as well as expanding their footprint in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and [...]
EU referendum greater risk to London’s property market than General Election uncertainty, says KPMG January 12, 2015 A referendum on Britain's EU membership could herald bad news for London's high-flying property market, new research has found. David Cameron has promised to renegotiate Britain's membership of the EU and put the result to the people by 2017. But if Brits vote to leave, the capital's property market could suffer in the aftermath, big [...]
Taylor Wimpey says housing market is set for “lower rate of price of growth” January 12, 2015 House builder Taylor Wimpey reported this morning its total home completions rose six per cent to 12,454 in the year ended 31 December. The average selling price on private completions grew a hefty 11 per cent from £210,000 in 2013 to £234,000. The overall average selling price climbed 12 per cent to £213,000. The FTSE 100 [...]
Countryside Properties appoints chairman ahead of likely float January 11, 2015 COUNTRYSIDE Properties will today announce the appointment of David Howell as its chairman, ahead of a planned stock market flotation next year. The building firm’s hire of the former Berkeley Group director is part of a wider move to bring its governance structure in line with that of a typical listed firm. As part of [...]
Guys just wanna have fun January 11, 2015 JLL’s boss tells Kasmira Jefford why his firm is anything but dull GUY Grainger has something he needs to get off his chest. It seems that some people might think that property and property advisory companies like JLL are, well, let’s say a little bit… dull. “People often say that to me and I think: [...]
UK housebuilder signs deal to build mansions in Middle East January 11, 2015 BRITISH housebuilder Consero has joined forces with one of Oman’s biggest property companies to build £300m of mansions and apartments in Oman and the rest over the Middle East over the next five years. The developer said yesterday it has created a joint venture with the Al Raid group, which is owned by the Al [...]
Housing market lifts Persimmon deals by 17pc January 7, 2015 PERSIMMON posted a 17 per cent surge in housing completions last year and said it expected demand for new homes to remain robust despite uncertainty over the outcome of the upcoming general election. Britain’s biggest housebuilder completed 13,509 property sales in the year to 31 December compared with 11,528 the previous year. Homes were sold [...]
Topps Tiles aims to have a third of the UK tile market covered January 7, 2015 Topps Tiles has cemented its place as one of the UK’s favourite homeware stores, with a six per cent increase in like-for-like revenues and sales. The success of the store builds on last year’s growth, albeit at a slower pace than the 9.3 per cent in the same period. Chief executive Matthew Williams said he [...]
Monster sues Apple’s Beats Electronics, claims Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre “fraudulently acquired” brand through “sham transaction” January 7, 2015 Headphones maker Monster and its chief executive yesterday launched legal action against Apple’s Beats Electronics for allegedly conspiring to dupe Monster out of a deal with Beats before it was sold last year to the iPhone maker for $3.2bn (£2.12bn). In a complaint filed in Superior Court in San Mateo County, California, Monster alleged that [...]
City Moves for 08 January 2015 | Who’s switching jobs January 7, 2015 Investec The bank’s corporate and institutional banking division has announced the appointment of Florian von Hartig as head of debt capital markets. He joins after nine years at Standard Bank, where he was global head of debt primary markets. JLL UK The real estate-focused professional services and investment management firm has appointed two new sustainability [...]