High street sales bounce back in January – but only in first two weeks as shoppers go bargain hunting February 5, 2016 High street sales bounced back in January after a disappointing Christmas when sales recorded their worst performance for December since 2008. Like-for-like sales grew by 1.4 per cent year-on-year sales in January, mainly driven by a strong performance in the first two weeks when consumers shopping the sales came out in force, according to BDO’s high street [...]
Ralph Lauren shares plunge as luxury fashion group slashes forecasts, blaming mild weather February 4, 2016 Ralph Lauren shares have plummeted by nearly 18 per cent after the US fashion brand reported a worse-than-expected decline in third quarter sales, blaming the mild winter weather and fewer tourists visiting its stores. The luxury goods group, whose brands include Polo Ralph Lauren and Club Monaco, said net revenues fell by four per cent, or one [...]
Private equity firms Blackstone and Catalyst win consent for Stratford Island scheme February 4, 2016 Plans for a major regeneration scheme at the centre of Stratford have been given the go-ahead by Newham council, paving the way for 600 new homes. Private equity firms Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Catalyst Capital have won planning permission to two tower blocks on the Stratford Centre site – one of 42 storeys and the other of 25 – [...]
Tory NHS reforms boost Primary Health Properties February 4, 2016 Primary Health Properties (PHP) said government plans to invest more in GP premises would help boost its prospects next year as it posted strong full-year results. The company, which owns a £1.1bn portfolio comprising of 275 properties let primarily to GPs, said its net asset value per share increased by 10 per cent to 87.7 pence [...]
Sofa-maker DFS sitting comfortably as sales jump February 4, 2016 Sofa chain DFS furniture said it remained on track to hit full-year profit expectations after a jump in the sales in the first half of the year. The Doncaster-based firm, which also trades as Dwell and Sofa Workshop, said all of its brands performed well in the 26 weeks to 30 January, with sales up [...]
Stamp duty hike boosts rental demand for London’s top end homes February 4, 2016 The hike in stamp duty on top-end homes has sparked a surge in super-prime rental deals over the last year, new research shows, as well-heeled families put off plans to buy. Knight Frank said rental deals on properties charging £5,000-plus per week rose by 10 per cent in 2015 as people hold off buying following George [...]
Eagle Eye wins contract with Canadian supermarket giant Loblaw February 3, 2016 Eagle Eye Solutions, an Aim-listed retail and hospitality voucher firm backed by Sir Terry Leahy, has won a significant contract with Canadian supermarket chain Loblaw to assist it with its digital promotions. Eagle Eye, whose clients also include Sainsbury's and Asda, said that Loblaw represented its first major international client and would contribute material revenue over [...]
Singapore’s Ho Bee Land puts Southwark’s Rose Court up for sale for £100m February 3, 2016 Singaporean investor Ho Bee Land has put a government office building on the south bank up for sale with a price tag of £98m. The company has hired agents at Savills to sell Rose Court, three years after buying the building for around £67m from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. The site, next to Southwark Bridge, [...]
Online farmers market Farmdrop receives funding boost from Skype’s co-founder February 3, 2016 Farmdrop, a grocery website that allows consumers to buy directly from producers, has secured £3m of investment in its latest round of funding led by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström. His investment firm Atomico was joined by a consortium of backers including JamJar Investments, run by Innocent entrepreneurs, Richard Reed, Jon Wright and Adam Balon. Farmdrop was founded by ex-Morgan Stanley stockbroker Ben Pugh with the aim of putting more [...]
Why Matchesfashion.com’s chief executive Ulric Jerome is on the way to world fashion domination February 3, 2016 Matchesfashion.com’s French-born chief executive Ulric Jerome has grown up surrounded by fashion since the time his designer label of choice was Pampers. His father ran a family business in haute couture while his mother used to work at fashion bible Vogue. But when the founders of the luxury retailer Matchesfashion.com, Tom and Ruth Chapman, approached [...]
