Builders hit out at bureaucratic house planning September 18, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Redrow dismissed debate that government mortgage schemes were fuelling a housing boom and said the UK’s “bureaucratic mess” of a planning system was the main cause of the housing shortage. The government has been criticised by economists and industry players for its launch of the Help to Buy scheme in March, the first part [...]
Irish bank puts Royal Exchange up for sale with £75m price tag October 17, 2013 THE ROYAL Exchange looks set to change hands after its Irish owners put it up for sale with a £75m price tag. The iconic site above Bank station is being sold off by The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, which said yesterday it has hired property advisers CBRE to market the 450-year-old building. The Royal Exchange [...]
Thomas Pink profit rosy after an online push and new products September 29, 2013 LUXURY shirtmaker Thomas Pink saw profits jump by almost a fifth last year as it continued to ramp up its online expansion and come up with new products. The chain, which is owned by French luxury goods giant LVMH, posted a 19 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £1.9m in the year to 31 [...]
Sony aims high with goal to sell 5m Playstation 4s before March September 19, 2013 SONY is betting on initial Playstation 4 sales being 40 per cent higher than its last home game console which cost more to build and buy, raising the prospect of a quicker return to help revive its consumer electronics business. The console goes on sale at almost the same time as Microsoft’s Xbox One, and [...]
Lakeland owners take home £1m as kitchen retailer cooks up sales September 29, 2013 LAKELAND’S owners netted a £1m dividend last year after the family-run kitchen and homeware retailer posted a four per cent rise in sales. The Windermere-based group – owned by brothers Sam, Martin and Julian Rayner, reported sales of £157.5m in the year to 31 December 2012, up from £151.3m the previous year, accounts filed last [...]
Surveyors see house prices up again in August September 9, 2013 MORE chartered surveyors are reporting a rise in house prices than at any point for nearly seven years, a widely-regarded survey reveals this morning, as the market heats up. According to August’s survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a net balance of 40 per cent of respondents are seeing house prices rise [...]
Osborne in denial over housing bubble September 22, 2013 London house prices are up 10pc in a year. So why does the chancellor say there’s no bubble? CHANCELLOR George Osborne has rejected suggestions that his policies are creating a housing bubble, even as new evidence emerges that prices are soaring in London. In an interview yesterday, Osborne said: “I don’t see the evidence of [...]
US existing home sales increase at fastest rate in three years August 21, 2013 More homes than expected were sold in the US in July, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) (release). Existing home sales – which are completed transactions including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39m in July – up from a downwardly revised [...]
Grafton cancels Irish listing for London market October 13, 2013 IRISH builders merchant Grafton is to scrap its Dublin listing tomorrow and move to the London market instead as it looks to tap into growing investor appetite driven by improvements in the housing sector and the wider construction market. The group, which currently has a secondary listing in London, expects to join the ranks of [...]
Best of the Brokers for 10 October 2013 October 9, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com CREST NICHOLSON Goldman Sachs has started covering the housebuilder with a “buy” rating and a 530p target, as it lifts its forecasts for the entire industry. While GS thinks Rightmove, Persimmon and Talyor Wimpey are the best plays on the UK housing recovery, [...]