Tobacco companies remain an addiction for stock market investors – and Brexit gave them a boost too June 29, 2016 Cigarette companies have been under the cosh for years as Western governments try to stamp out addiction to cancer sticks. But the anti-smoking lobby has failed on one count – to sufficiently dent the fortunes of tobacco companies on the stock market. Despite the battering the UK stock market has taken since Friday’s Brexit announcement, shares [...]
Sir James Dyson is wrong: Voting Leave offers the illusion of control – but the certainty of vastly reduced influence June 21, 2016 Sir James Dyson recently restated his allegiance to the Leave campaign, calling the many uncertainties associated with Brexit “cobblers”. Outdated terminology aside, a declaration for Leave from an entrepreneur of Sir James’s stature could influence undecided voters. His position is not new. Dyson’s support for Leave goes back to 2014, when he was battling German manufacturing giants [...]
London is leading a second post-crisis boom in house prices March 30, 2016 House prices across the country continue to surge. Data published by the Land Registry this morning shows the average UK property price was £190,275 in February, a 6.1 per cent climb on the same month last year. London leads London house price growth continued to outpace the rest of England and Wales. The average price [...]
Investment by private equity firms across Europe rose in 2015 as buyouts climb May 10, 2016 Private equity investment across Europe grew by 14 per cent last year as investors pumped more cash into startups and high-growth firms across the continent. A total of €47.4bn was invested into companies by private equity firms in 2015, according to industry association, Invest Europe, up by one-seventh on last year. "Despite volatile financial markets and macroeconomic [...]
After the Queen’s Speech set out ambitious social reform plans, would Brexit put the government’s agenda at risk? May 19, 2016 Therese Coffey, Conservative MP for Suffolk Coastal, says Yes. This Queen’s Speech contained some ambitious proposals to strengthen the social fabric of our country, from prison reform and boosting social care, to measures to increase school independence and expand the National Citizen Service. But these policies, aimed at helping the poorest and neediest in our country, [...]
Five reasons to think twice before investing in buy-to-let March 31, 2016 You hear it all the time. A relative or a friend has just inherited some money. They want to make it work for them. So they make what seems like an ironclad financial decision: they invest in buy-to-let. Why is this so common? After all, property ownership is a relatively recent trend. Well, rental properties [...]
European investors have little to fear from a Brexit – but we can only guess, says legal specialist June 13, 2016 Every week, City A.M. invites an industry professional to write an opinion piece for Hot Property based on their expertise and experience. Traditionally, British people buying properties abroad have tended to favour Europe, purchasing in the key markets of Spain, France, Portugal and Italy, as well as Greece, Cyprus or Malta. There are very practical reasons [...]
Hundreds of startup founders are locking themselves away this bank holiday weekend to prepare to break a world record at Voom 2016’s world’s longest pitching competition May 26, 2016 While City slickers will no doubt be flocking to the home counties to enjoy their bank holiday weekend, London's startup founders are planning to swot up in an attempt to break the world record for back-to-back business pitches. Around 160 entrepreneurs will be pitching back-to-back for over 29 hours straight in a Guinness World Record attempt as [...]
Sterling suffers historic crash as Brits back Brexit June 24, 2016 The pound has been haemorrhaging against the dollar as panic engulfs financial markets in reaction to the UK voting to leave the European Union. Sterling has racked up its worst daily fall on records that date back to 1971 — even uglier the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Black Wednesday. At one stage, the pound fell as low as $1.3224, a fall of more [...]
Coca-Cola chief executive tops international black, Asian, and minority ethnic executive power list May 26, 2016 The boss of The Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent, has topped a list of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) bosses from around the US, UK and Ireland. The ranking, put together by executive search firm Audeliss, placed Manjit Wolstenholme, chair of Provident Financial second and Albert Cheng, chief operations officer at Amazon Studios in third. Its release follows a similar one from the House of Lords [...]