Capital Shopping Centres suffers as its rival Shaftesbury prospers July 26, 2012 CAPITAL Shopping Centres, Britain’s largest shopping centre owner, has suffered a drop in rental income in the first half of 2012 as it struggled to re-let shops following a string of retail failures earlier this year. The owner of malls including the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Lakeside in Essex, said like-for-like net rental income [...]
SIGNS OF LIFE AFTER SHOPPERS RETURN August 5, 2012 LONDON’S retailers were handed a welcome boost over the weekend as shoppers flocked back to stores, though figures released today show Britain’s high streets have seen their worst monthly sales in almost a year. Footfall picked up in the second half of last week and over the weekend, with the capital’s retailers reporting a leap [...]
South Asia fuels shops boom February 15, 2012 SHOPPERS from Asia helped keep Britain’s tills ringing last year, with their spending in the UK up by 34 per cent thanks to growing demand from south eastern countries like Singapore. Chinese travellers remained the biggest drivers of growth, with spending up 64 per cent year-on-year in January, according to Global Blue, the tax-free shopping [...]
As London firms report low visitor numbers, is hope for an Olympic business boost dead? July 31, 2012 YES Nica Burns So London has a big hit – the Olympics. A brilliant show, with a cast of outstanding performers – drama, fulfilled and shattered dreams, laughter and tears. It’s a once in a lifetime and we’re riveted. We’re either going to see the events, or we’re watching them on a screen. We’ve listened [...]
Have a very VIP Olympics July 26, 2012 THE OLYMPICS have finally arrived and London’s VIP landscape is ready and set to go. There are a number of venues across the capital being transformed to cater to deep-pocketed high-rollers who have a penchant for partying. The first of such pop-ups is The Retreat in the City which is being created this week at [...]
Plans unveiled for revival of Midtown area June 10, 2012 MAJOR BUSINESSES and political figures will meet tomorrow to discuss plans to rejuvenate London’s Midtown, an area wedged between the City and the West End, and drive investment over the next five years. Inmidtown, the business improvement district with authority over the area, will showcase a new framework aimed at restoring it as a commercial [...]
Meet the investment banker who gave insurance a whirl October 14, 2012 AFTER the chaos of last year, 2012 has so far been something of a relief to the insurance industry. A perfect storm of floods in Australia and Thailand, the Japanese tsunami and nuclear disaster and the earthquake in New Zealand made 2011 the second most expensive on record for the Lloyd’s of London market, and [...]
Shaftesbury profits rise as West End sites fend off retail gloom May 23, 2012 THE PROSPEROUS West End continued to shelter Shaftesbury from the wider gloom in the retail sector as the London property firm posted a 15 per cent jump in first half profits. The company, which owns 500 properties across London’s key tourist hotspots including Carnaby Street and China Town reported a pre-tax profit of £16.1m in [...]
Gatwick airport profit boosted by emerging market growth June 25, 2012 GATWICK airport yesterday reported a strong rise in full-year profit, helped by traffic growth and the addition of new routes to emerging markets in Asia. London’s second largest airport said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation rose 17 per cent to £221.5m in the year to the end of March on revenues up 8.6 [...]
Derwent makes more lettings May 9, 2012 Property group Derwent has credited London’s burgeoning technology sector for its rise in lettings at the start of 2012, as it ploughed ahead with new development projects. The firm has made 23 lettings in the year to date, worth over £8m per year, and gained planning permission for half a million square feet of building [...]