Heineken takes a swig of craft brewer Lagunitas September 8, 2015 Dutch brewer Heineken said today that it's bought a 50 per cent stake in US-based craft brewer Lagunitas. The company hopes that the deal will help grow its presence in the expanding craft beer category. Lagunitas, the fifth largest craft brewer in the US by volume, owns brands such the popular India pale ale Lagunitas IPA and [...]
Metro Bank gets the ball rolling on long-awaited London float September 8, 2015 CHALLENGER retail bank Metro Bank, is in talks with advisers as it gears up for a float on the London Stock Exchange that could value it at more than £1bn. Metro Bank has asked investment bankers to pitch for roles advising on an initial public offering (IPO), according to Sky News. The IPO could come as [...]
Shop prices fall in August after a wave of discounts on high street September 8, 2015 CONSUMERS benefitted from another drop in shop prices in August, driven by falling commodity prices and fierce competition on the high street. Prices fell by 1.4 per cent last month, which was the same rate as July, according to the latest monthly index released today by Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The trade [...]
Winkworth blames election for profit drop September 8, 2015 WINKWORTH shares dropped 6.5 per cent yesterday after the estate agent blamed the slowdown in activity ahead of the UK General Election for a sharp fall in profits. The company said revenues rose by 3.2 per cent to £2.57m in the six months to 30 June. This was against a very positive sales record last [...]
International students splash out £600m in rent on flats in London September 8, 2015 London’s international student population is contributing £600m in rent to the capital, new research shows, with some of the wealthiest students spending three times the average UK worker on their home. The student property sector has boomed in recent years thanks to rising student numbers and an undersupply of flats to house them, with UK [...]
Cinven private equity makes another healthy pharma sale September 8, 2015 CINVEN private equity group announced it will sell British-based drug maker AMCo to Canadian pharma group Concordia. The deal, which is expected to close by the end of this year, values AMCo at £2.3bn, including debt. The sale will be made with a combination of around £780m in cash, £455m in shares and a performance-based [...]
Germany on collision course with Brussels as exports climb higher September 8, 2015 GERMANY is set to clash with the European Commission (EC) after it exported a record €103.4bn (£75.25bn) worth of goods and services in July, taking the country’s trade surplus an all-time high of €25bn. The EC has already warned Germany this year that it needs to take more decisive policy action to tackle its surplus, [...]
Citizens Advice: Pension freedoms pushing people towards guidance September 8, 2015 NEW PENSION freedoms may be pushing older Brits to take a second look at more than just their savings. One in four people seeking guidance on their pensions is also asking for help on other issues such as managing money, benefits and debt, according to a new report out yesterday from Citizens Advice. The national [...]
Rolls-Royce dented by anti-corruption moves in China September 8, 2015 Rolls-Royce yesterday conceded that sales of its luxury cars have been hit by a fall in demand in China. The chief executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, talking to the BBC World Service’s World Business Report, said the turnaround in the market had been unexpectedly fast. “We have been surprised by the speed of development in the Chinese [...]
City Moves for 9 September 2015 | Who’s switching jobs September 8, 2015 Colliers International The commercial real estate services provider has appointed Charles Cowley as head of London offices lease advisory. He joins from Savills, where he was director of lease advisory. Cowley has 25 years’ experience in the industry, and also previously headed the landlord and tenant team in CBRE’s West End office. Northern Trust Douglas [...]