CRH wins battle for Holcim and Lafarge assets February 1, 2015 Irish building materials firm CRH has confirmed that it has won the race to acquire the assets being sold off by cement giants Holcim and Lafarge. The company announced yesterday that it had entered into a binding commitment to acquire “certain assets, incorporating some perimeter changes from the assets referred to last week”, from the [...]
Seedrs co-founder Jeff Lynn talks risk, investor expectations and the future of crowdfunding March 4, 2015 In 2014, the fastest growing subsector of Britain’s alternative finance market was equity-based crowdfunding, according to figures from EY and the University of Cambridge. It grew by a whopping 420 per cent, with volumes totalling €111m (£80.5m). But such fast growth makes it increasingly vital that would-be investors have access to information about the industry. [...]
How to build an award-winning firm April 21, 2015 From having a hot-desking boss to giving back, the focus always returns to employees. My company Simply Business enjoyed the great honour of coming top in the Sunday Times Best Companies To Work For ranking earlier this year. Our pole position is testament to the work everyone in the company has done to ensure that [...]
CRH’s concrete bid for Holcim Lafarge assets January 22, 2015 IRISH building materials firm CRH has confirmed that it is in talks to buy the assets that Holcim and Lafarge are selling off in advance of their mega-merger. The Dublin-based company said that while there can be no certainty that the discussions will result in a transaction, if an acquisition goes ahead it will most [...]
UK house prices in charts: London’s growth slows, but how are other regions performing? November 18, 2014 UK house prices growth slowed between August and September, as the cooling London market weighed on the rest of the UK. As this chart shows, London’s price index fell by 1.1 per cent between August and September. The UK as a whole saw a drop of 0.2 per cent. Once the London effect is removed [...]
Focus on Beckenham: Rising London house prices make this a south east hotspot January 29, 2015 Moving out to the sticks to start a family is hardly a new phenomenon, but the rapid rise of inner city house prices means more people are re-evaluating where the sticks start and the rat race begins. As a result, areas like Beckenham, once the preserve of the affluent suburban family, are starting to appeal [...]
Further oil price drop could pose financial threat to UK stability December 22, 2014 Financial market regulators have warned that if the fall in oil prices were sustained, it could be a problem for the UK’s financial stability. Falling prices could impact on the ability of some businesses to service their debt. Some such businesses are US oil and gas exploration firms, according to the minutes of [...]
UK GDP: Fourth quarter growth falls short of expectations January 27, 2015 UK GDP growth slowed in the fourth quarter of 2014, coming in at 0.5 per cent and falling short of expectations. Despite the drop, growth for the year was still 2.6 per cent, the fastest growth rate since the heady days of 2007. Economists polled by Reuters had expected slightly faster quarterly growth of 0.6 per [...]
House price growth slows but could be boosted by tax reform December 4, 2014 THE HOUSE price boom continued to cool in November, data from a UK mortgage provider shows. House prices climbed 8.2 per cent year-on-year in November, down from 8.8 per cent in October, figures released yesterday by Halifax show. Although still high, year-on-year house price growth has fallen for the past four months after peaking at 10.2 [...]
London house price boom loses steam as national prices pick up December 21, 2014 London house prices are moving at a rate more in line the rest of the UK, new data shows, while homeowners borrow more in the run up to Christmas.The average UK price was up 7.8 per cent year-on-year in November compared to 7.9 per cent in London, according to figures released today from Haart estate [...]