Lloyds ploughs £20m into new restaurant fund September 3, 2012 LLOYDS Banking Group’s private equity arm said yesterday it has agreed to provide £20m for a new restaurant fund set up by the former boss of The Clapham House Group. Paul Campbell is setting up the fund through his vehicle Hill Capital in partnership with LDC to invest in restaurant businesses with a small number [...]
Montague calls for changes to rented sector August 22, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT has today launched a long-awaited review of the private-rented housing market that calls for councils to waive affordable housing requirements on private rented schemes and for financial incentives to encourage investment into the sector. The review, conducted by 3i chairman Sir Adrian Montague, makes five recommendations to the government for encouraging large institutions [...]
Cinven draws on new funds to buy latest pharma firm October 15, 2012 CINVEN, the European private equity giant, yesterday announced it had bought UK pharmaceutical firm Amdipharm in a bespoke deal using cash raised for its new Cinven V flagship fund. The £367m purchase of the family owned business follows on from the acquisition in August of another healthcare business, Mercury Pharma from HgCapital for £465m. Cinven [...]
Hindmarch bags global spread as luxury goods sales increase September 10, 2012 BRITISH luxury handbag maker Anya Hindmarch is set to start selling in the US, Middle East and Asia. Hindmarch’s brand, which acquired a new investor last month, will open a concession in Harvey Nichols Kuwait and a flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York next year. South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan are also [...]
Housebuilder Bovis hunts for growth in south as profits rise February 27, 2012 HOUSEBUILDER Bovis Homes reported a 74 per cent jump in profit yesterday and predicted a strong 2012 from its focus on the relatively buoyant market for family homes in the affluent south of England. “It was a great year in terms of driving profitability back through the business … and we are expecting a stable [...]
Housebuilder Bovis hunts for growth in south as profits rise February 27, 2012 HOUSEBUILDER Bovis Homes reported a 74 per cent jump in profit yesterday and predicted a strong 2012 from its focus on the relatively buoyant market for family homes in the affluent south of England. “It was a great year in terms of driving profitability back through the business … and we are expecting a stable [...]
Foreign buyers drive boom for London houses September 2, 2012 THE LONDON housing market is in a booming recovery, defying global downturn and an unconvincing overall climate for UK housing, according to a report released by Knight Frank today. Prime central London prices are 49 per cent up since March 2009, when the market bottomed out following the financial crisis, and already 14 per cent [...]
Conde Nast bucks publishing trend to deliver profit boost September 3, 2012 VANITY FAIR magazine publisher Conde Nast soared to a 14 per cent increase in pre-tax profits last year – boosted by a surge in UK turnover, according to accounts obtained yesterday. The firm, which publishes Tatler, GQ, Vogue and Glamour magazines, took pre-tax profits to £17.3m versus £15.1m a year previously. The strong performance from [...]
BoA in dispute with Fannie Mae August 2, 2012 BANK of America is in talks with Fannie Mae to resolve a dispute over bad mortgages that the government-controlled entity wants the bank to buy back. In a filing yesterday, Bank of America said it is in dialogue with Fannie Mae to “address our ongoing differences.” At issue are billions of dollars of mortgages that [...]
House prices soar in London July 2, 2012 House prices in London rocketed by 7.7 per cent in the year to May, the Land Registry said yesterday – far outperforming the 0.4 per cent rise seen across the UK. The most expensive property sold in May went for £18.5m in central London; the cheapest recent property was sold in Oldham for just £10,000, [...]