Virgin Money eyes stricken N&P business March 6, 2011 BUYERS are lining up for beleaguered building society Norwich & Peterborough, as it attempts to grapple with the fallout of a Financial Ombudsman Service ruling against it. Sir Richard Branson’s fledgling Virgin Money financial services business has been linked with the firm and is said to be in advanced takeover talks. Led by Jayne-Anne Gadhia, [...]
Unite warns that drop in university places will mean rent hikes in halls March 2, 2011 STUDENT housing provider Unite Group said yesterday cuts to university places will mean tenant growth is likely to remain flat over the next five years, forcing the firm to raise rents to drive growth. Unite, which swung back into profit in 2010 with a pre-tax profit of £24.2m, said it expects rental growth of 3.1 [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 27, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES GLENCORE POISED FOR TAX BILL SURGE Glencore is facing a big increase in its tax bill following its $60bn initial public offering after paying almost no corporate taxes on its trading business for years in spite of bumper profits, according to the banks underwriting its $60bn listing. The pre-IPO research, by banks including [...]
House prices steady, says Rics January 17, 2011 THE decline in house prices may be slowing down, according to data released today by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The survey’s headline net price balance improved for the second month in a row in December, RICS said. And expectations for sales edged upwards, with eight per cent more surveyors expecting sales to [...]
Carpetright in profit warning February 1, 2011 CARPETRIGHT, the UK’s biggest floor coverings retailer, yesterday warned on profits after a third-quarter sales slump, showing how a weak housing market, tax hikes and government cuts have hit consumer confidence. The retailer also said customers would face double-digit price rises this year due to the soaring cost of raw materials. “It is the first [...]
No prams allowed: where singles rule March 24, 2011 ACCORDING to 2009 statistics from the Office of National Statistics General Household Survey, the number of single women has more than doubled over the past three decades. Singleness is on the rise and London is increasingly being divided into two camps: buzzy, occasionally gritty singleton hotspots stuffed to the rafters with bars – and family [...]
THE TIPSTER February 27, 2011 FTSE 250 house builder Barratt Developments released a statement that sales have been strong since the start of the year, and losses amounted to £4.6m compared to £178m losses last year. The firm has cut its net debt by 11 per cent to £537m. It is forecast to fall to £400m within a few months. [...]
BLOOMSBURY SALES ON TARGET FOR 2010 January 13, 2011 UK PUBLISHING house Bloomsbury has said that its 2010 trading figures are in line with expectations. Including US sales, it said year-end cash is likely to total around £34.2m. The publisher has been boosted this year by strong sales of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, a film version of which was released in September starring [...]
Chicago boom looks good for US factories February 28, 2011 CHICAGO’S purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reached a 22-year high in February, surprising economists and boding well for today’s US-wide manufacturing results. The PMI hit 71.2 this month, driven upwards by growth in production and new orders, which reached their highest level – 75.9 – since 1983. All index scores above 50 indicate economic expansion. “This [...]
Traditional two-storeys boost developer February 7, 2011 DURING the debt-fuelled property boom, developers built endless blocks of flats. Many of these were located in so-called “regeneration” areas, downtrodden urban wastelands on the edge of Britain’s former industrial cities like Manchester and Sheffield; many now stand empty, a testament to the industry’s collective stupidity. Part of the problem was central government-imposed housing density [...]