Eat’s owners Horizon Capital mull sale amid strain on high street food outlets February 13, 2019 The owners of sandwich chain Eat are planning to sell the business as it battles with growing competition in the crowded high street food market. Private equity firm Horizon Capital, which owns a major stake in the company, has appointed corporate advisory firm Spayne Lindsay to oversee a potential sale. Read more: EU competition watchdog [...]
Market challenges take their toll on estate agent Countrywide’s profits February 13, 2019 Beleaguered estate agent Countrywide’s profits halved last year, as the property group battled to keep its debt pile under control in the wake of housing market uncertainty and disruption from online rivals. Subdued activity in parts of the UK’s housing market in the last year has dented profits for the group, which has also struggled [...]
London house prices: Prime postcodes dip as Brexit uncertainty weighs on market February 12, 2019 House prices in London’s most expensive neighbourhoods tumbled in the run-up to Christmas, continuing on a downward trend in the wake of uncertainty from both buyers and sellers. According to new data from Lon Res, prime property prices in the fourth quarter of 2018 fell 5.7 per cent when compared with the same period in [...]
Busting the millennial myth February 11, 2019 Last month I was invited to present at a conference in Berlin; I spent a couple of days preparing and got up at 4am to fly over. The speaker before me confidently told the audience that millennials lacked their elders’ work ethic so would drag down productivity and GDP growth. As I took to the [...]
Focus On the City of London: How much does it cost to live in the shiny new developments in the Square Mile? February 11, 2019 Have you ever thought about living in the Square Mile? Fair enough if you haven’t because you’re certainly in the majority, With an eye-watering average second-hand sale price of £840,053 – for context, the London average is £497,452, according to Savills Research using the Land Registry – and an outmoded reputation for being suits central, [...]
New homes: Our pick of the new builds going on sale in London this weekend February 8, 2019 New developments on the market this week Kidbrooke Village, Greenwich From £567,500 for a two bed with two bathrooms First time buyers can get on the ladder – and be part of a £1bn regeneration project – on the outskirts of Blackheath with the launch of these new Help to Buy homes. The interior design [...]
Legal artificial intelligence startup backed by Mike Lynch valued at $100m after funding round February 7, 2019 Legal artificial intelligence business Luminance has hit a $100m (£77m) valuation with backing from investors that include tech billionaire Mike Lynch. Luminance said today it had raised $10m in a series B funding round that valued the business at $100m. Backers include Lynch’s Invoke Capital, Talis Capital and Magic Circle law firm Slaughter and May. Lynch [...]
Bellway set for revenue bump despite Brexit jitters February 7, 2019 Bellway said this morning that it was expecting a rise is sales over the year ahead, despite echoing the cautious sentiment over Brexit from many of its peers within the property industry. Buoyed by demand for affordable homes and government schemes such as Help-to-Buy, Bellway said in a trading update this morning that it expected total [...]
Food giant Delivery Hero enjoys revenue rise thanks to order growth February 6, 2019 German food delivery firm Delivery Hero has posted a huge rise in revenues for 2018 thanks to an increase in orders and expansion into new markets. Revenues including Germany grew 65 per cent to €792m (£817m), ahead of previous forecasts of between €780m and €785m, while fourth quarter sales soared 75 per cent to €248m. [...]
Redrow hails record profit as founder bows out on a high February 6, 2019 Housebuilder Redrow hailed record half-year profits before tax this morning, striking a resilient tone despite fears of greater uncertainty over Britain's imminent departure from the EU and a “subdued” Christmas. The figures In Steve Morgan’s final trading statement as chairman, the FTSE 250 developer said that pre-tax profits rose five per cent to £185m in [...]