Barratt will pay dividend in 2013 as profit surges September 12, 2012 HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments yesterday posted a strong bounce in profits, up 159 per cent over the year to 30 June. Pre-tax profit increased to £110.7m, up from £42.7m over the same period in 2011. Investment in higher margin land and an increase in housing volumes flattered the numbers, as Barratt completed 12,637 properties over the [...]
Lloyds ploughs £20m into new restaurant fund September 3, 2012 LLOYDS Banking Group’s private equity arm said yesterday it has agreed to provide £20m for a new restaurant fund set up by the former boss of The Clapham House Group. Paul Campbell is setting up the fund through his vehicle Hill Capital in partnership with LDC to invest in restaurant businesses with a small number [...]
Food & Booze News September 3, 2012 London Restaurant Festival tickets on sale Bookings opened this week for the 4th annual London Restaurant Festival. More than 800 restaurants have put together special festival menus available for as little as £10, to celebrate the thriving London culinary scene. Log onto londonrestaurantfestival.com for more information. Keep hold of your Union Jacks A new restaurant [...]
Bovis Homes doubles profit in first half August 20, 2012 Housebuilder Bovis Homes Group doubled profit in the first half of 2012, helped by a rise in the number of its sales outlets, and said it expected profit to increase further in the second half of 2012. The company said today that profit before tax for the six months to the end of June was [...]
Foreign buyers drive boom for London houses September 2, 2012 THE LONDON housing market is in a booming recovery, defying global downturn and an unconvincing overall climate for UK housing, according to a report released by Knight Frank today. Prime central London prices are 49 per cent up since March 2009, when the market bottomed out following the financial crisis, and already 14 per cent [...]
Dole bags $1.7bn from sale of businesses to Japan’s Itochu September 18, 2012 DOLE Food Company said yesterday it will sell two businesses to Japan’s Itochu for $1.7bn (£1.05bn) in cash – a deal that will help the world’s largest fruit and vegetable producer pay down its heavy debt load while expanding Itochu’s food presence in new markets such as China. Dole has been struggling with volatile demand [...]
Cinven draws on new funds to buy latest pharma firm October 15, 2012 CINVEN, the European private equity giant, yesterday announced it had bought UK pharmaceutical firm Amdipharm in a bespoke deal using cash raised for its new Cinven V flagship fund. The £367m purchase of the family owned business follows on from the acquisition in August of another healthcare business, Mercury Pharma from HgCapital for £465m. Cinven [...]
JD Sports sells rugby kit brand Canterbury to Pentland for £1 August 23, 2012 JD SPORTS, the sportswear retailer, has agreed to sell its Rugby brand Canterbury to its majority shareholder Pentland for £1, three years after the group bought it out of administration. Pentland, which owns brands including Beghaus and Speedos and holds a 58 per cent stake in JD Sports, will pay a token £1 for shares [...]
Housing continued its recovery in June but it may face troubles August 14, 2012 HOUSE PRICES continued to recover steadily in June, driven by a robust London market, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday, but data for July suggests the recovery might be short-lived. Prices rose an average of 2.3 per cent across the UK in the year to June, equal to the [...]
Hindmarch bags global spread as luxury goods sales increase September 10, 2012 BRITISH luxury handbag maker Anya Hindmarch is set to start selling in the US, Middle East and Asia. Hindmarch’s brand, which acquired a new investor last month, will open a concession in Harvey Nichols Kuwait and a flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York next year. South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan are also [...]