The Co-operative Group completes £620m pharmacy deal with Bestway October 6, 2014 The Co-operative Group has completed the sale of its pharmacy business to Bestway for £620m today, with the funds going to pay down some of the mutually-owned company's debts. The completion follows the announcement this summer that Bestway had emerged victorious from a hotly contested bidding war for the chemist arm. Bestway fought [...]
London house prices: Year-long boom comes to an end October 28, 2014 London house prices fell steeply in September, following a year of exceptional gains across each of the capital’s boroughs. Data published yesterday by the Land Registry shows London house prices fell 0.7 per cent in just one month. However, prices are still elevated; they are 18.4 per cent higher compared with September 2013. The price [...]
Savills beefs up rural presence with Smiths Gore acquisition April 21, 2015 Property company Savills yesterday announced a deal to buy Smiths Gore – a rural property specialist. Smiths Gore has operated as a partnership with 532 staff, across 31 UK offices and 14 estate offices, all of whom will transfer into Savills Rural Energy and Projects (REP) division or its Country Residential Agency business. The takeover [...]
TfL wants businesses to pitch “something exceptional” to transform its disused Down Street Tube station April 28, 2015 Transport for London is calling on businesses to come up “something exceptional” to take on the lease of its disused Down Street Tube station. Down Street Tube, on a quiet residential street just off Piccadilly, opened in March 1907 on the Great Northern Piccadilly and Brompton Railway. It closed in May 1932 because of [...]
Buying new build homes in bulk? It’s big business if you can get it June 25, 2015 Steady yourselves – block buyers are back. I’ve noticed this trend as I’ve been more involved in residential developments and investments recently and there’s a feeling out there that they’ve returned in numbers. Unlike the last time block buyers abounded – which was in the run up to the last peak in 2007 – current [...]
Focus on St James’s: The home of the English gentleman July 9, 2015 In many ways, St James’s resembles the City. Sure, there aren’t any skyscrapers and it’s not half as old, but it’s SW1’s commercial hub and barely anyone lives there. As proud purveyors of men’s garments since the Victorian age, it boasts such prestigious names along Jermyn Street as Turnbull & Asser, Alfred Dunhill, while St [...]
UK house prices drop for the first time in 17 months September 30, 2014 UK house prices have dropped for the first time in 17 months, dipping 0.2 per cent between August and September. In price terms, this means a drop of £931 for the average residential property, from £189,306 to £188,374. The data, from Nationwide, shows the annualised growth rate also slowed to 9.4 per cent from 11 [...]
Greece crisis: After six months in power Alexis Tsipras’ Syriza government has left the country with a veritable Mount Olympus to climb July 30, 2015 Alexis Tsipras’ six-month old left-wing Syriza government has put the country through a breath-taking roller-coaster of ideological hysteria, politico-economic gambles, and farcical constitutional experiments. Now it faces a rockier path ahead than the one it inherited. Perversely, at the time they lost power, the previous government was beginning to boast financial indicators pointing [...]
St Modwen snags new finance chief Robert Hudson from British Land April 20, 2015 St Modwen has snapped up a new financial director in the form of Robert Hudson who will be joining in October from British Land, it announced yesterday. The Birmingham headquartered property developer will see the 41 year old Hudson replace Mike Dunn who last December announced his intention to step down from the role on [...]
Sky high: Introducing the most expensive homes in the world April 30, 2015 For the super rich, a trophy home isn’t simply a place to live, it’s a savvy investment; the discreet market in prestigious properties is booming and they’re selling for record-breaking prices. The cities that are home to these super-luxe homes also get an ego boost, as their ability to attract some of the wealthiest individuals [...]