Property of the Week: The Woolwich mansion where Mike Leigh filmed Mr Turner is up for sale for £3m March 29, 2016 The life of a property developer is rarely glamorous. But for 15 weeks in 2014, Gary Halkyard rubbed shoulders with the great and the good of the British film industry and it was all down to a run-down mansion he'd acquired two years previously. Midway through restoring Rush Grove House in Woolwich, Oscar-nominated director Mike [...]
Surprise: Asking prices have jumped to new record highs of £308,151 across England and Wales May 16, 2016 In what seems now to be an ongoing trend, asking prices in England and Wales jumped to a new record high of £308,151 on average in May. The "eye-watering" increase is a rise of £1,118 on the previous month, property website Rightmove said in figures released today. The price uplift has come despite a flurry to [...]
Tank beer could be the new craft beer as Pilsner Urquell expands supply to Draft House bar chain in London April 25, 2016 It might be early days, but craft beer may have just met its match. Pale lager maker Pilsner Urquell has stepped up its expansion of tank beer in the UK through a new partnership with the Draft House bar chain. The Czech brewer will supply the new Draft House tank bar on Chancery Lane, which [...]
Risk and reward: Adam French, co-founder of Scalable Capital, left Goldman to develop an algorithm for matching retail investors with the right ETFs December 5, 2016 For two years, Adam French knew he was leaving Goldman Sachs. “The day I quit was quite liberating – it’s just not that easy to step away from a Goldman job,” says the former trader, and chief executive and co-founder of digital investment management firm Scalable Capital. There was no “eureka moment”, he adds – [...]
Brick maker Forterra floats on London Stock Exchange with £360m valuation as it seeks to capitalise on growing UK housing market April 21, 2016 The UK's second largest brick maker is making its debut on the London Stock Exchange today as it seeks to take advantage of the UK's growing housing market. The flotation values Forterra at £360m, with the company missing its target of £450m. The initial public offering (IPO) comprises a sale of 70m shares, representing 35 per cent of the [...]
Timeline: A blow-by-blow account of how BHS’ demise unfolded June 2, 2016 One of the biggest names on the UK's high street could be about to disappear, after its administrators began the process of winding it down. The news comes after a tumultuous few months for the retailer, which announced in April that it was entering administration – just over a year after it was sold for £1 by Arcadia [...]
Chappell bagged BHS with £35m backing from property dynasty May 29, 2016 Property investors bolstered Dominic Chappell's bid for BHS by handing him the £35m he needed to prove to Arcadia group that he was a suitable buyer for the high street retailer, the Sunday Times reported today. A month before Sir Philip Green sold BHS for £1 to Retail Acquisitions – majority-owned by Chappell – the son and [...]
Canvas & Stone: We ask five entrepreneurs who inherited country estates how they managed to turn their crumbling piles into profitable businesses June 29, 2016 Inheriting a country estate sounds like one of the most ridiculous privileges that could be bestowed upon a 30-something in modern Britain. In reality, it’s a bit like being told to look after a dying relative in the middle of nowhere who keeps stealing from your wallet when you’re not looking. When five friends suddenly [...]
UK house prices: Mortgage lending enjoys best first quarter in nine years despite March dip April 14, 2016 Mortgage lending enjoyed its best first quarter in nine years thanks to buy-to-let landlords rushing to beat April's stamp duty hike, according to new figures published this morning. An average of 71,710 house purchase loans were approved in the first three months of the year, the data from surveyors e.surv shows – making it the highest opening [...]
Japanese drinkers snap up Digby Fine Wines’ first shipment of fizz to the region in less than a month March 29, 2016 It seems that it's not just British whisky that's whetting Japanese consumers' appetites. Trevor Clough, chief executive of UK fizz maker Digby Fine Wines, is loudly trumpeting the news that his firm's first shipment of English sparkling wine to Japan has sold out before the end of the month. Digby, which counts luxury investment company The House [...]