Extending the stamp duty holiday won’t avoid a cliff-edge, it will make the eventual fall steeper February 24, 2021 The stamp duty holiday created a bloated and false economy in the housing market; it’s time to scrap the policy, not extend it. Rishi Sunak introduced the policy last summer. The idea was simple enough – add a bit of fuel to the property market and stoke consumer spending by only making buyers cough up [...]
Wave of dealmaking sees 123 UK firms taken over by private equity during pandemic May 25, 2021 The pandemic has acted as a catalyst for a wave of private equity takeovers of UK firms, with their value reaching their highest level since the financial crisis. While coronavirus initially triggered a slowdown in dealmaking, private equity houses gained momentum by the autumn with a string of high-profile and high-value deals. Some 123 UK [...]
Exclusive: Central London office investment activity jumps on success of UK vaccine rollout March 16, 2021 Investment activity in the Central London office sector jumped last month as the progress of the UK’s Covid vaccination programme bolstered buyer confidence, City A.M. can reveal. In the City of London, £346.55m was transacted across four deals in February, compared to just £30.96m in the previous month. Investment in the Square Mile was down [...]
Together Energy on the brink of collapse after funding bid fails January 5, 2022 Council-backed supplier Together Energy is on the brink of collapse after its last-ditch search failed to find fresh funds, according to Sky News.
Private equity interest: Why is Morrisons such an attractive takeover target? June 21, 2021 Morrisons has rejected a £5.5bn takeover approach from a US private equity firm amid speculation that more UK supermarkets could be snapped up. Shares in Morrisons jumped earlier this morning following confirmation of the rejection at the weekend, as the chain said potential bidder Clayton, Dubilier & Rice “significantly undervalued” the grocer with its 230p-per-share [...]
Sales tick up as pre-Brexit buying spree gives summer boost to housing market August 19, 2019 Househunters hoping to lock in a deal ahead of the government’s Brexit deadline have driven a surprise buying spree this summer, giving life to the property market’s quietest season of the year. Agreed house sales in August rose 6.1 per cent from the same month in 2018, rising to the highest level at this time [...]
GameStop: Get Shorty? The case for short sellers has never been stronger January 30, 2021 The meteoric rise of GameStop’s stock – which is seen by professional investors as having a business model appropriate for a bygone age – has been widely celebrated as a kind of “peasants’ revolt” of retail investors against the self-styled “masters of the universe” hedge fund suits. If sceptical short sellers could be broken on the wheel of [...]
Spudulike closes all branches after sale collapses August 5, 2019 Fast food chain Spudulike has collapsed and shuttered all its branches, making 298 employees redundant, administrators confirmed today The casual dining group, which specialised in baked potatoes, closed all 37 of its stores on Friday after a prospective buyer pulled out of a deal to purchase the company at the last minute. Read more: Landlords [...]
Outlook 2022: UK equities December 16, 2021 The UK holds many mispriced opportunities for stockpickers. Pick-up in M&A activity is striking. Stock market fit for the future. Sue Noffke, Head of UK Equities: UK shares remain cheap because of the perceived significant political and economic risks of Brexit, which continue to linger and depress the valuation of the UK stock market. We [...]
How technology is transforming and unlocking real-estate asset classes April 27, 2022 The line between technology and real estate is blurring, bringing new opportunities and asset classes, particularly in residential, office and biotech, says Samantha Kempe, co-founder and chief investment officer of IMMO Capital. The sheer size of the real estate sector – the global figure reached a record $326.5 trillion (about £251.1 trillion) in 2021, according [...]