WOULD YOU LIKE A WILL OR DIVORCE WITH THAT? July 28, 2011 WHEN the Legal Services Act was announced last year, it was quickly dubbed the Tesco law, due to rumours it could encourage supermarkets to start offering legal services to their customers. But come Monday the moniker may have to be altered. Despite news this week that the Act could be delayed until the end of [...]
FTSE on back foot as bank stress tests loom July 15, 2011 The FTSE mirrored markets across Europe in early trading as investors awaited the results of bank strss tests with some lenders expected to fail to meet the criteria required. With persistent fears over the Eurozone debt crisis and the threat of a US rating downgrade casting a shadow market sentiment was tepid. European shares overall [...]
British Land snaps up City apartment block for £57m June 30, 2011 BRITISH LAND has agreed to buy Wardrobe Court, a residential investment property in the City for £57m. Wardrobe Court, which is being sold by the Warnford Group, a family company, will mark British Land’s first residential acquisition in the square mile. The FTSE 100 group, best known for its retail and office schemes, is expanding [...]
Ocado slumps despite profit June 27, 2011 OCADO shares took a hit yesterday, falling 9.1 per cent despite the company reporting its first profit and unveiling a deal to deliver a range from French supermarket giant Carrefour. Chief executive Tim Steiner admitted the online delivery retailer had issues with capacity but said its growth plan was on track. In the six months [...]
London & Stamford to invest £1bn May 26, 2011 BRITISH property investor London & Stamford yesterday said it saw investment opportunities in retail, logistics and London residential for its £1bn war chest, after reporting a rise in 2010 net asset value (NAV). The company, which moved from the London Stock Exchange’s junior AIM market to the main board last October, said its NAV per [...]
London & Stamford to invest £1bn May 26, 2011 BRITISH property investor London & Stamford yesterday said it saw investment opportunities in retail, logistics and London residential for its £1bn war chest, after reporting a rise in 2010 net asset value (NAV). The company, which moved from the London Stock Exchange’s junior AIM market to the main board last October, said its NAV per [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 10, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES VIRGIN SEEKS US ROLE Virgin Trains is vying to play a role in the privatisation of the US rail industry in a move that could see it become the operator of the lucrative 457-mile route from Washington to Boston. Virgin, which already runs the profitable West Coast railway line between London and Glasgow [...]
All the world buys into London July 10, 2011 Office Space CENTRAL London looks set to be the prime beneficiary of a renewed appetite for direct investment into UK commercial property. The capital already tops the league table of largest global property investment markets, netting close on £11bn in 2010, significantly more than closest rivals Tokyo, Paris and New York. And the prospects for [...]
HSBC sells Russian consumer banking division to Citigroup June 14, 2011 HSBC has agreed to sell part of its Russian retail banking business to Citigroup in a deal valued at around $10.7m (£6.5m). The British bank said in April that it would quit its Russian retail operations, becoming the latest in a string of international lenders to pull the plug on consumer banking in the country. [...]
Commodities boost FTSE rise as China data elevates miners July 13, 2011 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 bounced yesterday, led by commodity stocks as economic data from China and soothing words from the US Federal Reserve raised hopes that stagnation in the global economic recovery might prove short-lived. Having fallen near five per cent over the previous three days, the mining sector rallied 1.8 per cent after China’s GDP [...]