Great Portland Estates jumps in value thanks to West End property demand January 29, 2015 Great Portland Estates (GPE) yesterday posted a 5.2 per cent surge in the value of its property portfolio, thanks to London’s booming West End property market, despite increased uncertainty ahead of the upcoming general election. The FTSE 250 developer said the value of its estate was worth £3.07bn at 31 December, up £152.3m on the [...]
Five things you could buy for the same price as the Premier League TV rights: 325 Balotellis, 2.2m travelcards, 65m Apple shares and more February 11, 2015 Buying up the rights to broadcast Premier League matches to avid football fans across the UK doesn't come cheap. At a total of £5.2bn, a record price paid by Sky and BT, that’s some serious spending power. Here’s what else that sort of cash could be splashed on. 1. 2.2m travelcards How about buying [...]
London house prices: Can stamp duty save the capital from a demand crisis? January 14, 2015 Demand for houses has been falling in the housing market for six months, or eight if you live in London. It doesn’t feel so long ago we were talking about booms and whispering of bubbles, but that's gone for now. The latest figures from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reveals that 10 per cent [...]
John Laing float eyes £865m valuation January 29, 2015 Infrastructure investment group John Laing is eyeing a valuation of £865m from its initial public offering, in what would be the first major flotation on the London Stock Exchange this year. The group, which has been owned by fund manager Henderson since 2006, has set its indicative price range between 195p-245p per share, giving it a market [...]
How London’s brutalist Centre Point tower is being turned into luxury flats with a view January 26, 2015 Both reviled and admired, London’s Centre Point tower at the east end of Oxford Street has stirred controversy ever since it was first erected in 1966. A beehive of concrete and glass, its brutalist-style was regarded as an eyesore on the skyline and the fact that a building of its height (it is 117 metres [...]
Qatar appoints Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani as new chief for sovereign fund December 3, 2014 Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund yesterday appointed a member of the emirate’s royal family to replace its chief executive. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which manages as much as $300bn (£191bn), including significant stakes in Barclays, Credit Suisse, Sainsbury’s and London department store Harrods, has named Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani as CEO. He will [...]
Retail investors stage a comeback – Editor’s Letter January 12, 2015 After a year of being virtually ignored by those organising fund-raisings on the London stock market, the retail investor is heading back to the stock market. As we report today, the tool hiring specialist HSS intends allocating a tranche of its shares in its forthcoming flotation to retail investors. This follows Trainline.com’s decision to do [...]
Ocado’s Royal warehouse November 18, 2014 OCADO is to move into Segro’s new warehouse Origin at Park Royal, in west London, after signing up for 68,393 square feet of space. The online grocer, which joins other retailers such as John Lewis also moving to the site, said it would use the warehouse to deliver groceries in central London. It already has [...]
Ebola in the UK: Woman tested for virus in Northampton January 15, 2015 A woman suspected of having Ebola is being tested for the virus at a hospital in Northampton. At present, no details have been revealed about the identity of the woman or how she might have contracted the disease. According to Public Health England, it is very unlikely she is suffering from Ebola, but [...]
FTSE 100 CEOs: These are the men (and a few women) who run Britain’s biggest companies March 20, 2015 FTSE 100 Who runs Britain’s biggest companies What’s in a name? Well, quite a lot if you want to become the head honcho at one of the UK’s biggest companies. City A.M. research shows that the vast majority of the FTSE 100 are run by men with rather Biblical names. David comes out as the [...]