Other housing measures announced in yesterday’s statement December 5, 2013 ■ The government will create a £1bn, six-year programme to unblock large housing developments on sites in Manchester and Leeds and across the country. This will be used to tackle specific local problems that are hampering housebuilding – such as the lack of an access road to a development site. ■ The Housing Revenue Account [...]
Housebuilders pledge to end advance sales of homes overseas December 18, 2013 A TOTAL of 11 housing developers have signed a pledge to market their properties to UK buyers first, or at the same time, as marketing abroad. Concerns about properties being sold to foreign investors who then choose not to live in them have led to claims that many London streets are unoccupied while demand in [...]
Housing supply still restricted as booming demand raises prices across the country December 1, 2013 DESPITE renewed activity in the property market, the number of houses for sale in the UK has actually fallen over the past six month, according to a new survey of estate agents and surveyors. Figures released by Hometrack today show that, in the six months to November, the supply of housing for sale fell 0.6 [...]
Hester plots RSA rights issue to shore up capital February 23, 2014 RSA GROUP’S new chief executive Stephen Hester is set to launch a full blown rights issue this week, raising the stakes in his bid to strengthen the troubled insurer’s balance sheet. Hester, who took the reins of the FTSE 100 firm last month, is hoping to raise £1bn through a rights issue, the sale of [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 02 April 2014 April 1, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Plans for fracking on private land Exploration companies would be given powers to drill under privately owned land as part of government plans to kick-start Britain’s fracking industry. The coalition is working on proposals, to be included in the Queen’s Speech to change trespass laws to make it easier for companies to explore [...]
Raw ambition: Meet Yo! Sushi founder and ex-Dragon Simon Woodroffe June 16, 2014 Harriet Green talks Yo! Sushi and embracing disaster with ex-Dragon Simon Woodroffe For one of Britain’s most ebullient entrepreneurs, Simon Woodroffe is modest about his first steps into business. “The initial motivation was desperation”, he says. The founder of Yo! Sushi, Yo! and former BBC Dragon says that he “started a restaurant in a world [...]
At the frontline: Responding to customer needs May 7, 2014 Jane Sunley, chief executive of online training provider Purple Cubed, talks to Annabel Palmer about the need for smaller companies to engage with clients at all levels of the customer journey JANE Sunley founded Purple Cubed in 2001 to offer businesses – including Thomas Pink and Pizza Express – advice on developing and retaining talent. [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 23 July 2013 July 22, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Help to Buy sparks £1.3bn house sales The UK housing market has been given a sharp jolt by the government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme, subsidising an estimated £1.3bn-worth of house purchases in the past four months. Nearly 7,000 new-build homes have been reserved through the scheme since its launch in April. EU [...]
Expansion lifts full-year sales at Wagamama January 14, 2014 WAGAMAMA, the Japanese-inspired noodle chain, said yesterday that sales jumped 13.5 per cent last year as the company ramped up its expansion plans in the UK. The private equity-owned group posted sales of £141.2m in the year to 28 April compared with £124.4m the previous year, driven by 14 new restaurant openings. Pre-tax profits edged [...]
Advisers December 9, 2013 NIGEL FOX CAPITAL REAL ESTATE PARTNERS CAPITAL Real Estate Partners was brought in alongside Rothschild to advise London Bridge Holdings on the sale of More London. Leading the team on behalf of Capital Real Estate was Nigel Fox, who co-founded the niche London agency in January 2010 after more than two decades working in central [...]