Exclusive: Jon Moulton hits out at Sir Stelios for crowd funding exploitation September 14, 2014 Celebrity business leaders may be using crowd funding websites to exploit retail investors, the outspoken private equity guru Jon Moulton claims today. Moulton singles out easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou as one example of a name using his position to foist over-priced shares on to small investors in his new easyProperty estate agency. [...]
City Moves for 15 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 14, 2014 Linklaters Stuart Bedford has been appointed London head of corporate at the law firm. Previously head of Linklaters’ corporate practice in Asia, he has a background in private and public mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and capital raisings. Bedford succeeds Sarah Wiggins. Lend Lease The property and infrastructure group has appointed Rob Heasman as project [...]
Crowdfunding: Beware the celebrities offering investors strange deals September 14, 2014 I am a great fan of crowdfunding – it really is a cheap way of using modern technology to enable investors, including very small ones, to invest in all manner of things. So what can go wrong? Well, the regulators can stop it as effectively as they have made share offers to the public so [...]
UK construction output flat in July on back of slowing housebuilding market September 12, 2014 The UK's construction output was flat in July, according to month-on-month figures out this morning from the Office for National Statistics. On an annual basis, output has risen 2.6 per cent – the slowest rate of growth since November, and down from June's three month high of 5.3 per cent, the data showed. Could [...]
Philips needs solid numbers if he’s to see through his three-year plan – Bottom Line September 11, 2014 So you’ve had a row with your other half, and the next day, with the ensuing awkwardness still lingering, your eyes drift towards the posh chocolates in Waitrose. Combine ’em with some flowers, you reckon – chuck in a faux-sentimental card and maybe even a two-day break in Bruges – and hey presto, problem solved. [...]
Investors are “most optimistic” about UK property and equities September 10, 2014 Investors are more optimistic about British shares and housing than any other asset class – including emerging market stocks, a study by Lloyds showed today. UK property far and away led the rankings, indicating investors believed the house price resurgence still has a long way to run. The survey asks investors how they think an [...]
Barratt boss warns of labour shortage September 10, 2014 The boss of Britain’s largest housebuilder Barratt Developments warned yesterday that a shortage of skilled workers could prevent the country from delivering the homes needed to tackle housing crisis as the company reported a doubling of full-year profits. Mark Clare said the lack of skilled workers – from bricklayers to architects and plasterers – is [...]
Housing market goes in reverse over August September 10, 2014 A fall in both house sales and mortgage approvals in August has backed growing evidence that the booming property market is at last slowing. A Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey showed the number of agreed house sales in August fell for the first time since September 2012, and new buyer enquiries fell for [...]
Winkworth to expand in the commuter belt September 10, 2014 WINKWORTH has revealed a strong increase in sales in the last half year as the UK property market soared. The estate agent’s sales in the six months to 30 June were £2.49m, up 20.4 per cent on the same time last year. Profit before tax increased to £803,785, against £594,633 last year. Chief executive Dominic [...]
Want to buy a holiday home this year? Getting the best exchange rate could add thousands to your budget September 10, 2014 If you are thinking of buying overseas chances are it's an escape to the sun that's on your mind. According to research from Moneycorp and Savills, France and Spain are the favourite countries for Brits to own a second home, together accounting for just under 50% of all second homes sampled in the survey. If [...]