The great spring clean of luxury furnishings April 24, 2014 High-end interiors firm Carden Cunietti to sell off 20 years’ worth of treasures WANT to get your hands on a lamp destined for the home of an A-lister? Ever wondered what a rock star’s rug would look like? Now’s your chance as Carden Cunietti, an interior design firm to the stars, is offloading two decades’ [...]
Foxtons pays out special dividend March 11, 2014 LONDON estate agent Foxtons declared a special dividend yesterday as it reported the first set of results since its September market debut, with London’s booming housing market driving profits up more than 50 per cent. The company, known for its fleet of staff-driven Mini Cooper cars and cafe-style branches, said it will pay a total [...]
How London can smash through the brick ceiling limiting housing supply April 9, 2014 OVER four days, 300 people queued in a field by Heathrow to buy a home. It was 1964, and for £50 people could fulfil their homeowning dream in the soon-to-be-built suburb of Sunbury-on-Thames. The first 187 people did. Those odds don’t feel dissimilar to those faced by Londoners in today’s booming property market. The answer [...]
What you need to know before the open April 14, 2014 Rising tensions in Ukraine are expected to hit European equities this morning. The Ukrainian government has begun a full-scale anti-terrorist operation, following the arrival of pro-Russian forces in several towns in eastern Ukraine. Russia has asked for a dialogue to be initiated, calling for Kiev not to use force. The rouble's currently down almost one [...]
What you need to know before the US open April 22, 2014 Futures have stayed flat in the US, despite the pharma-driven gains seen this side of the pond and Netflix jumping on its earnings report. The Ukraine crisis continues to trim investor risk sentiment, and the euro’s dipped to a two-week low against the dollar, ahead of manufacturing data from France and Germany later this week. [...]
Mulberry chief Guillon quits March 20, 2014 Bruno Guillon, the chief executive of fashion house Mulberry, has resigned “with immediate effect”. The store, which issued a profit warning in January, seeing shares plummet 25 per cent, will now be looking for a new leader. Godfrey Davis, who is a current non-executive chairman and has previously been chief executive, will hold the reins [...]
Letters to the Editor – 03/04 – Royal Mail, City villages, Best of Twitter April 2, 2014 Royal Mail It’s impossible to accurately price something in the absence of a market, but that does not excuse the government for wasting taxpayer money on the Royal Mail float. Business secretary Vince Cable’s search for long-term investors inevitably reduced demand. And it should come as no surprise that many investors identified as long-termists didn’t [...]
February marks 14 months of rising house prices February 28, 2014 House prices stormed forward in February, marking the 14th month in a row of increases. Prices rose 0.6 per cent in February, according to figures from Nationwide. That takes the average home sale price to £177,846. Year-on-year, they rose 9.4 per cent in the month. Source: Nationwide Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist says price growth [...]
Finsbury Foods doubles investment in cake business to £7m as earnings jump March 24, 2014 FINSBURY Foods, the company behind Moshi Monster and One Direction celebration cakes, has said that it plans to double investment into new products and manufacturing after posting a jump in first half profits. The bread and cake-maker said yesterday it will increase its capital expenditure from £3m last year to £7m in this financial year [...]
Banco Espirito Santo on red alert as banking crisis hits new depths July 16, 2014 Espirito Santo Financial Group’s (ESFG) debt crisis deepened yesterday, raising questions over whether Rioforte, one of its companies, would be able to repay over $1bn (£580m) in debt to Portugal Telecom. The share price of Banco Espirito Santo (BES), Portugal’s top lender backed by ESFG, closed at just €0.38 (£0.30), down around 70 [...]