City funds near £1bn deal for British Car Auctions March 16, 2015 A City-backed investment vehicle is on the verge of driving away with Europe’s biggest second-hand car dealership BCA Marketplace in a £1bn takeover deal. Listed investment fund Haversham, which is backed by City fund houses like Aviva, Schroders, Invesco and Artemis, is in advanced talks with the private equity owners of BCA to take a [...]
Focus on Beckenham: Rising London house prices make this a south east hotspot January 29, 2015 Moving out to the sticks to start a family is hardly a new phenomenon, but the rapid rise of inner city house prices means more people are re-evaluating where the sticks start and the rat race begins. As a result, areas like Beckenham, once the preserve of the affluent suburban family, are starting to appeal [...]
Redrow heralds record sales and profits after saving on dividend February 11, 2015 HOUSEBUILDER Redrow posted record sales and profits in the first half of the year thanks to the government’s Help to Buy scheme, a rise in house prices and strong demand for new homes. Group revenue in the six months to 31 December jumped by 54 per cent to £560.6m, driven by an 18 per cent [...]
Barratt Developments posts massive 75 per cent profit increase February 25, 2015 The figures Barratt Developments' half-year results will make cheerful reading for the company's shareholders. Pre-tax profit at the company climbed 74 per cent, while total completions rose 12.5 per cent. Basic earnings per share were also up 78.9 per cent. Why it's interesting Barratt enjoyed a booming 2014 with stronger profits, and shareholders were treated [...]
Christie’s 2014 sales go down in art history January 20, 2015 THE WORLD’S leading art business and auction house Christie’s yesterday reported art sales of £5.1bn for the year ended December 2014, the highest such figure of any art company in the history of the market. The total was a was up 12 per cent year-on-year, driven by growth in all the company’s activities and across [...]
US budget to be released – The week ahead on Wall St February 1, 2015 BARACK Obama will be in the spotlight today, as the White House unveils its budget for the 2016 fiscal year. The President is expected to call for an increase in domestic and military spending, as well as a tax on firms’ foreign earnings. Employment, automobile and sales data, all due out this week, are expected [...]
Auto Trader off to a flyer after shares zoom up March 19, 2015 Online car auction site Auto Trader roared off the forecourt yesterday in the biggest ever UK market debut by a private equity-backed group. Shares in the company, previously owned by UK buyout house Apax, rose 16.5 per cent from their listing price of 235p in early trading before settling to close nine per cent higher [...]
US hopes Santa rally pushes on – The week ahead on Wall St December 21, 2014 HOUSING, consumer spending and income data will fill the void in company results due in the US this week. Official statistics are due today on existing home sales. Tuesday will see the house price index along with the new homes sales data. Income and consumption data such as durable goods orders, GDP final figures, personal [...]
54 Eaton Square: The Belgravia apartment that upstages all others January 15, 2015 If you’re interested in literature or science, there are a multitude of properties that once housed prestigious individuals in their fields. Architectural admirers, too, have a plethora of period properties in the capital that are considered historical gems. But for movie fans, the homes of their silver screen heroes remain relatively illusive. An apartment on [...]
Bellway says order book for new homes is way ahead of last year June 5, 2014 HOUSEBUILDER Bellway said yesterday that it was confident Britain’s strong housing market would continue to grow, as it reported that its order book for new homes was “significantly ahead” of where it was last year. The company that its order book of homes due for completion after 31 July stood at £670m, compared to £380m [...]