Meat and the City: why Barbecoa is thriving October 27, 2011 Q.One year in, can you shed light on the City’s love affair with beef? A.It’s a funny one, beef. It seems to be the most robust thing through these difficult economic times. Certainly there’s something very manly about red meat – in an environment dominated by suits and business, having a big steak on your [...]
Home Retail Group looks to bid for Habitat stores June 23, 2011 HOME Retail Group, the owner of the Argos and Homebase retail chains, is in talks to buy Habitat. The luxury furnishings company is now owned by restructuring specialist Hilco. It has 71 stores worldwide, including 35 in the UK, 26 in France, five in Spain and five in Germany, employing 2,100 staff. It is understood [...]
Train ticket prices to rise by up to 13pc August 16, 2011 RAIL commuters will face inflation-busting hikes in ticket prices next year, which could see some fares rise by as much as 13 per cent, following the release of latest inflation figures yesterday. Under the revised scheme, which was set out in the Treasury’s spending review last October, regulated fares such as season tickets will rise [...]
G4S shares plunge after £5.2bn offer October 17, 2011 INVESTORS took fright yesterday after security firm G4S revealed plans to buy ISS from its private equity owners in a £5.2bn deal. Shares in G4S plunged more than a fifth after it said it would pay £1.53bn in an even split of cash and shares for the Danish facilities management group. It will raise £2bn [...]
British Land buys Virgin Active clubs in £179m deal July 8, 2011 Property investor British Land bought a portfolio of 17 freehold and leasehold Virgin Active premium racquet clubs from French bank Societe Generale for £179m. It said the clubs – about half of them within London’s M25 ringroad – would be let to Virgin Active on new, 25-year leases, pending its acquisition of Esporta. British Land [...]
British Land buys Virgin Active clubs in £179m deal July 8, 2011 Property investor British Land bought a portfolio of 17 freehold and leasehold Virgin Active premium racquet clubs from French bank Societe Generale for £179m. It said the clubs – about half of them within London’s M25 ringroad – would be let to Virgin Active on new, 25-year leases, pending its acquisition of Esporta. British Land [...]
FTSE steadied by Greek breakthrough July 21, 2011 The FTSE 100 started solidly this morning as it emerged that France and Germany had reached an agreement on a second bailout for Greece. Banks led the way as investors gained confidence in stocks recently buffeted by fears of exposure to the debt crisis which has engulfed the Eurozone. Leaders of the 16-country bloc will [...]
Top banker jumps ship to Merrill from Swiss rival July 26, 2011 IN a blow to UBS’s UK investment bank, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch has poached one of its top managing directors. Jonathan Bewes, whose client list boasts Capital Shopping Centres, Rentokil, Home Retail Group and Carphone Warehouse, will start at his new post in October. The move forms part of a broader strategy to grow Merrill Lynch’s [...]
SuperGroup eyes overseas expansion as profits impress July 13, 2011 SUPERGROUP boss Julian Dunkerton said yesterday the company would consider opening more flagship stores across the globe as it recorded a bumper annual profit. The retailer announced a pre-tax profit for the year to 1 May of £47.3m, up 110 per cent. A highlight of the year for the company was the purchase of a [...]
Stratford is a smooth retail experience September 13, 2011 I GREW up in a suburb of Boston, USA, where the only places to shop were malls. Despite America’s reputation as a shopping paradise, these were terribly dreary places, department store complexes off highways. Sure, you could pick up a washing machine, get your ears pierced, eat a Cinnabon and buy a sixpack of white [...]