Foxtons says London property transactions at “historically low levels” October 22, 2015 Upmarket estate agents Foxtons has said strong house price growth and stamp duty charges mean the capital's property transactions remain stuck at "historically low levels", pushing its focus towards outer London. Foxtons has opened seven new branches in the last year, most recently in high growth, outer London areas. "We are in a strong position to capitalise on market growth [...]
Land Registry: London house prices hit half million-pound mark October 28, 2015 UK house prices rose by 5.3 per cent in the year to September, with the price of an average London property reaching half a million pounds for the first time, Land Registry figures show. London posted the biggest annual rise of 9.6 per cent in September and also outpaced the rest of the UK on a [...]
Champagne maker Taittinger buys Kent vineyard to make British sparkling wine December 9, 2015 Renowned Champagne maker Taittinger has added some fizz to the British wine business with a major investment, snapping up land in Kent to produce sparkling wine. Along with fellow unnamed investors, Taittinger has bought 40 hectares of farmland to grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, a "multi-million pound" investment over the next decade, it said. The vineyards will [...]
Food giant Kraft Heinz cooks up net sales of $6.1bn in first set of results after merging in July November 5, 2015 Food giant Kraft Heinz has revealed net sales of $6.1bn (£4bn) for its third quarter of 2015, up 136 per cent from $2.6bn for the same period last year. The company, known for kitchen staples like Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Philadelphia cream cheese and Maxwell House coffee, also reported a net loss of $303m after a [...]
Autumn Statement 2015 buy-to-let advice for landlords: After the chancellor’s stamp duty hike, what should investors do? November 27, 2015 The chancellor's announcement of a three per cent stamp duty levy on non-primary residences – specifically buy-to-let investments and second homes – caught many by surprise. This change is an incredibly blunt instrument to deal with a complex set of housing market issues. In principle, it will reduce the competition between first-time buyers and investors for many [...]
Surprise: Lloyds Banking Group share price leaps as it hikes dividend – but profits are hit by PPI charges February 25, 2016 Lloyds Banking Group shares leaped this morning as it hiked its dividend – but more PPI charges dented its pre-tax profits. Read more: Lloyds cuts bonuses for 2015 The figures Lloyds said underlying profits rose five per cent on last year to £8.1bn in 2015, while total income rose one per cent to £17.6bn. Operating costs fell to £8.3bn, while impairment charges fell 48 per cent to £568m. [...]
Barratt Developments shares fall despite 20 per cent jump in sales November 11, 2015 Shares in Barratt Developments fell this morning despite Britain’s biggest housebuilder reporting a strong start to the autumn selling season thanks to “high levels of consumer demand” across all regions. Forward sales (including joint ventures) jumped by 20.7 per cent to £2.5bn across 11,033 plots in the 19 weeks to 8 November compared with £2.07bn [...]
UK buyers snap up first 100 homes inside BBC Television Centre October 12, 2015 More than 100 homes inside the former BBC Television Centre in London’s White City have been snapped up after going on sale at a preview launch to UK buyers last month. The 14-acre BBC campus is being redeveloped into a new £1.5bn neighbourhood district to rival the West End with 350,000 sq ft of offices, a [...]
Celebrate good times: The European private equity deal market achieves highest total value since 2007 and exits are at an all time high December 21, 2015 An M&A bonanza and high stock market valuations helped European private equity companies to a record year for exits and the highest deal values since 2007. The total exit value in Europe stands at a new high of €153.2bn (£112bn). IPOs and trade sales (where the company is taken over by another business operating in same sector) have been particularly [...]
Woman leaves her house to donate old clothes to charity, comes back with a £800,000 house December 15, 2015 Impulsive Christmas purchases took a rather excessive turn this week, after a well-heeled woman ventured out into the cold to donate a couple of old coats to charity and came back with the deed to a house in South Ken. The un-named buyer visited Chestertons, in Kensington High Street, to drop off some old winterwear [...]