Skanska wins contract for The Scalpel July 22, 2013 CONSTRUCTION firm Skanska has won the contract to build the 190m tall office building known as The Scalpel. The Nordic firm, which has also built the Gherkin and the Heron Tower, is due to start work immediately on the Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) designed high-rise, with completion set for early 2017. The building, at the [...]
July sees retail prices plunging at fastest pace ever recorded July 30, 2013 SHOP prices shrank again in July, declining at the fastest pace since the British Retail Consortium (BRC) began measuring them six-and-a-half years ago. The BRC’s shop price index fell by 0.5 per cent over the year to July, driven by the plummeting costs of non-food items, which dropped by 2.1 per cent. Although food prices [...]
Covent Garden portfolio sends Capco property values soaring July 30, 2013 CAPITAL & Counties (Capco) said a strong performance from its bustling Covent Garden estate helped push the total value of its property up by 13 per cent to £2.1bn in the first half of the year. The developer has been sprucing up its Covent Garden portfolio, attracting trendy restaurants and retailers including Dior and the [...]
Fresh economic hopes fuel the FTSE’s late rally July 18, 2013 UK EQUITIES rallied firmly into the close yesterday as bullish economic data both here and in the US calmed fears that the global economy may not be ready for a wind down in stimulus. The FTSE 100 closed up 62.43 points or one per cent at 6,634.36, its highest close since 30 May, while Wall [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 7 August 2013 August 6, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES TPG looks for time to spend key fund TPG, one of the world’s largest private equity companies, has taken the unusual step of asking investors in its $19bn flagship fund if it can have an extra year to spend $3bn of undeployed capital, underscoring the difficulty finding good deals in the aftermath of [...]
Innovation Diary: British entrepreneurs aren’t lazy – but life could be getting easier for part-time small businesses October 22, 2013 NEW RESEARCH from Hiscox, the insurer, has turned some heads. Its fifth annual study into the entrepreneurial DNA has found that UK small business owners work an average of only 37.6 hours a week – down from 38.5 in 2012. Based on a relatively small sample of 3,000 business owners across six countries, the UK [...]
Bargain Booze owner to raise £65m in London Aim listing July 17, 2013 THE COMPANY behind Bargain Booze announced plans yesterday to launch on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) as the north west-based off-licence chain looks to target thirsty shoppers in the south of England. Conviviality Retail, which also trades as Bargain Booze Plus, Select Convenience and Thorougoods, said it hopes to raise £60m to £65m through a [...]
Inside Track: More than one elephant in the Royal Mail sorting room September 25, 2013 IT’S NOT hard to identify the biggest of the elephantine threats to Royal Mail’s imminent stock market listing, which heralds the most contentious privatisation since the 1980s. With unions poised to ballot members over the prospect of industrial action within weeks, the prospect of a multi-day walkout at the precise time that the company’s shares [...]
Lloyds reprivatisation expected to raise over £3.2bn September 16, 2013 A statement from the government agency managing the state's stake in Lloyds has given the green light to the chancellor to begin reprivatising state-backed bank Lloyds. UK Financial Investments (UKFI) has given the nod shortly after the Office for Fair Trading said that TSB should be given more financial help by parent Lloyds. Our banking [...]
Walkie-Talkie awaits more calls July 17, 2013 PROPERTY giant Land Securities said yesterday that it expects the Walkie-Talkie skyscraper to be two thirds let by its completion next year, in a sign of growing confidence in the market. The City office market has seen a pick-up in leasing activity in the past year as companies who had previously shelved plans rushed to [...]