Mining giants bounce back to push up FTSE 100 – London Report November 5, 2015 The FTSE 100 ended yesterday’s session slightly higher, boosted by gains in mining companies and Marks and Spencer. The UK’s blue-chip index ended the day 0.46 per cent up at 6,412 points. The day’s biggest riser was Glencore, the embattled mining giant, which has been struggling to reassure investors worried about the size of its [...]
Top tips for first-time buyers in London November 30, 2015 Getting on the property ladder is hard work, especially if you’re looking to buy your first home in London. According to Savills, the average deposit for a first time buyer is currently 68 per cent of their household income, but that rises to 177 per cent in London. But with a couple of helpful announcements [...]
Christopher Bailey’s sky high pay is hard to justify as Burberry’s profits sink October 16, 2015 Burberry, the luxury fashion brand popular with Romeo Beckham and Yanis Varoufakis, must be getting pretty bored with criticism over the size of its executives’ pack packages. Annual eight-figure payments to former boss Angela Ahrendts attracted attention in the wake of the global financial crisis, while current chief Christopher Bailey faced a shareholder revolt before [...]
Hobbs’ losses widen after costly revamp August 9, 2015 Womenswear retailer Hobbs saw losses widen to £15.6m last year, despite a slight pick-up in sale as its new management team struggled to turn the chain around. The brand, whose fans include the Duchess of Cambridge, suffered a £15.6m pre-tax loss in the year to 31 January, up from £14m last time. Turnover rose from [...]
The cost of luxury homes in Nine Elms are being slashed to bargain prices September 9, 2015 Nine Elms may be one of London's most ambitious residential development projects in decades – but it seems the luxury homes being built in the area aren't as popular as anticipated, after figures showed half of the homes under construction or just completed the area were reduced in price before they were sold The research, [...]
House market recovery lifts Dixons’ sales September 9, 2014 DIXONS CARPHONE, the newly formed high street giant, said yesterday it had made a strong start to the year, with sales basking in the aftermath of the World Cup and benefitting from rising consumer confidence. Chief executive Sebastian James said that the recovery in the housing market helped to boost demand and that while consumer [...]
UK house prices: Mansion tax shrugged off as empty plot on Poole peninsula goes on sale for £6.25m November 19, 2014 The threat of mansion tax may be dampening the prices in London and making Myleene Klass feel like she can't brew coffee in her own home, but it doesn't appear to be having much of an impact in Dorset. An empty piece of land on the county's narrow Sandbanks peninsula has gone on sale for [...]
Barratt Developments to beat forecasts with 45pc rise in profits July 9, 2015 The figures Housebuilder Barratt Developments is expecting a 45 per cent increase in profits for the year to the end of June, it said in a trading update today. The company is set to beat analysts’ forecasts, with a full-year pre-tax profit up to around £565m, while total forward sales are expected to have risen 29.6 per [...]
Hamleys’ rival toys with takeover August 20, 2015 THE MIDDLE Eastern owner of Hamleys’ rival, The Toy Store, is said to be considering a takeover bid for the country’s most famous toy shop. Gulf Greetings has sent a letter of intent to Hamleys’ French owner Ludendo, highlighting its interest in acquiring the iconic Hamleys names, according to Retail Week. It is the second [...]
The City remain top dog for charitable activity December 17, 2015 Lord Mountevans, Lord Mayor of the City of London, on the City’s charitable highlights The year is drawing to a close and for the City, it has been a fantastic year for charitable outreach. In addition to promoting the City as a global centre for financial and professional services, I will be picking up the baton from my [...]