Topps Tiles says green shoots are in sight as sales show signs of stabilising September 23, 2009 TILE and wood flooring retailer Topps Tiles yesterday said its markets were stabilising with sales falling at a slower pace in its second half, adding to hopes the recession may be ending. Topps Tiles – which is seen as a bellwether for DIYspending – said it expected sales at stores open more than a year to [...]
Liberty launches a second fundraising September 23, 2009 SHOPPING centre operator Liberty International yesterday rattled analysts and investors after tapping shareholders for the second time this year in a £280.5m fundraising. The group announced a placing of 56.1m shares, representing 9.9 per cent of Liberty issued share capital, at 500p each. The price is an 11.3 per cent discount to Tuesday’s closing price. [...]
Social networking turns profitable September 21, 2009 FACEBOOK, now with 300m users, announced last week that it has broken even. Its revenues cover operating costs. In internet language, one’s “burnrate” is how much money you are losing monthly until you do just that – break even. What is the business model of Facebook? Well, there is traditional and self-service advertising, virtual property [...]
Belgian bank set to make loss selling off its British brokerage September 20, 2009 BELGIAN bank KBC has put its London brokerage and corporate finance house, KBC Peel Hunt, up for sale. The struggling bank has had to borrow around €7bn (£6.3bn) from the Belgian government, and is now likely to make a huge loss on its investment by selling the brokerage. KBC bought Peel Hunt in a deal [...]
Sellers raise asking prices September 20, 2009 THE average asking price for a UK property rose 0.6 per cent in September on the previous month, trimming the annual decline to 1.5 per cent as a shortage of stock boosted sellers’ expectations. According to figures from property website Rightmove published today, sellers are now asking an average of £223,996 for their homes as [...]
Great getaways for those who are bored of London September 17, 2009 DOCTOR Johnson was of the opinion that those who are tired of London are tired of life. But he didn’t have to deal with packed commuter trains, paying four quid for a pint of lager or being mown down by cycle couriers every time he crossed Fleet Street. For many modern inhabitants of the capital, [...]
Unite plans a fundraising September 17, 2009 STUDENT housing provider Unite is set to raise £82m through a share placing, it said yesterday, to take advantage of a “compelling business opportunity” in London. It is offering 32.8bn shares, priced at 250p each and is raising the cash via a firm placing of £24.6m, and an open offer of £57.4m. The offer is [...]
Unite plans a fundraising September 17, 2009 STUDENT housing provider Unite is set to raise £82m through a share placing, it said yesterday, to take advantage of a “compelling business opportunity” in London. It is offering 32.8bn shares, priced at 250p each and is raising the cash via a firm placing of £24.6m, and an open offer of £57.4m. The offer is [...]
Blackstone poised to snap up half of BritishLand’s Broadgate complex September 17, 2009 PROPERTY investment firm British Land is poised to complete the sale of half of its £2.2bn City office complex Broadgate to US private equity house Blackstone. The two firms were last night thrashing out the terms of the deal, which will see Blackstone enter into a joint venture with British Land. Blackstone will pay just [...]
Profits slide at John Lewis as crunch hits September 17, 2009 THE John Lewis Partnership, seen as a bellwether for middle-class consumer confidence, yesterday reported a 20 per cent dive in first-half profits. Despite a strong performance from its grocery chain Waitrose, the group said pre-tax profits were down by £21m to £86.3m in the six months to 1 August. The group’s department store, famed for [...]