Rugby week in review: England injury glut could have silver lining; Shervington shelves farming and acting ambitions; Bath make their Exeter schlep worthwhile; and Gloucester face tough times October 31, 2016 England widening the net Not so long ago if England lost their first-choice hooker, both locks and an established international open-side, the resultant pack might have come up second best against Richmond’s third XV. With Courtney Lawes, Dave Attwood and Joe Launchbury able to plug the gaps at No4 and No5, Nathan Hughes a real [...]
September mortgage approvals well behind 2015 levels but edge up on August numbers October 31, 2016 UK mortgage approvals flopped nearly 10 per cent in September compared to last year, the Bank of England reported this morning. Although the figures did bounce back from the 19-month low recorded in August, the 62,932 approvals were well behind the 69,619 recorded in September 2015. Read more: Time to remortgage? Fixed rates are low, but watch out [...]
All Saints scores fourth consecutive year of growth October 31, 2016 Fashion brand All Saints has posted its fourth consecutive year of growth. In the year ending 30 January 2016, the company clocked up total sales of £252.5m, an increase of nine per cent from £231.3m the year before. Read more: All Saints edges closer to sale amid administration fear UK sales increased 7.4 per cent to [...]
House of Fraser bond prices are under pressure as distressed funds circle October 30, 2016 The value of publicly traded debt issued by department store House of Fraser has fallen dramatically over the last week prompting fears of financial problems. Last year, the company issued £175m of bonds on the Luxembourg stock exchange as part of a £300m financial restructuring – the bonds mature in 2020. And the value of the bonds [...]
Soho House has revealed a £40m cash injection in its latest accounts October 30, 2016 Private members club Soho House has revealed a £40m cash injection despite recording increased operating losses. Parent group SHG Acquisition (UK), which also includes operations in Istanbul and Amsterdam, revealed an operating loss of £11.8m in accounts filed with Companies House for the 2015 financial year. It comes a year after SHG notched an operating [...]
Focus On Bermondsey: River views, great food, warehouse conversions – what more could you want in SE1? October 28, 2016 This ancient town, first mentioned in the Domesday Book as Bermundesy, has had a colourful existence on the south bank of the river Thames. For centuries condemned as a slum, this centrally located area in Zone One has blossomed in the last ten years into one of the most artistic – not to mention delicious [...]
Opinion: As house prices outstrip salaries, why are we still chasing the dream of homeownership? October 28, 2016 It’s over. Britain will no longer be a nation of homeowners. Now property sales are heading for an 80-year low and rentals are surpassing purchases for the first time since 1930, according to Countrywide figures released last week. To top it all off, prices have never been higher. In the good days (circa 1997 – [...]
City Moves for 28 October 2016 | Who’s switching jobs October 28, 2016 Capgemini Consulting Capgemini Consulting has appointed Kristofer le Sage de Fontenay as the head of financial services in the UK. Kristofer joins from Atos Consulting where he held the role of head of global financial services. Kristofer has over 20 years’ experience at Atos Consulting where he specialised in the financial services industry, in particular [...]
Don’t rely on downsizing to make up for your insufficient pension October 27, 2016 After years of runaway house prices, few will be surprised that a sizeable proportion of the UK’s net wealth is tied up in property. The latest ONS statistics show that dwellings make up a massive 62 per cent, or £5.5 trillion, of the country’s £8.8 trillion total. So it is also unsurprising that many see [...]
Permanent TSB completes EU deleveraging plan with sale of second slug of its mortgage book to Cerberus October 27, 2016 The fund that has spent billions hoovering up some of the UK's banks' most distressed mortgage portfolios, today splashed out €2.4bn (£2bn) to snaffle Permanent TSB's Irish housing book. US distressed debt investor Cerberus Capital Management already owns 50 per cent of Capital Home Loans, a subsidiary of Permanent TSB, and this deal completes the part state-owned lender's €8.4bn [...]