West End landlords club together to create business improvement district October 15, 2015 The lobby group behind London’s West End has unveiled plans to launch a new business improvement district (BID) run by the area’s landlords to oversee £16m of investment into the area. The New West End Company, which represents 600 businesses around Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street, is already a BID itself but funded [...]
Retailers face £25.6m in extra costs from National Living Wage – PwC October 15, 2015 Large retailers could see their wage bills increase, on average, by £25.6m by 2020 due to the new National Living Wage (NLW), according to a new report out today from PwC. PwC polled more than 100 businesses with an average of 11,000 employees, finding that firms expect to pay, on average, an extra £1.6m in [...]
City looks to end of year float flurry as companies prepare IPOs October 15, 2015 London flotations are bouncing back as investor confidence returns to the market, with a pipeline of new listings expected before Christmas. Initial public offerings (IPOs) were in short supply during the summer, with China’s slowing economy triggering global stock market mayhem and a sharp downturn in investor morale. But yesterday, McCarthy and Stone, which builds [...]
LinkedIn’s Project Voyager: Finally, LinkedIn’s app is getting a major makeover for mobile October 14, 2015 LinkedIn has made some major improvements to its mobile app designed to attract users who are increasingly turning to their smartphone over desktop computers to connect with contacts and find jobs. Inspired by the popularity of messaging apps, LinkedIn's familiar inbox feature used for communicating with others on the professional network will now work as [...]
BlackRock sees net inflows of $50bn despite difficult market conditions October 14, 2015 BlackRock reported third quarter net inflows of $50bn (£32bn), despite hefty outflows from investors in the Asia-Pacific region amid difficult market conditions. Volatility in stock and bond markets resulted in net outflows of $7.5bn from clients in the Asia-Pacific region, which partially offset inflows from investors in the Americas. Assets under management at September 30 [...]
E.On to sell Norwegian oil and gas assets to firm owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman October 14, 2015 German utility giant E.On is selling its Norwegian oil and gas assets to a company owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman for $1.6bn (£1.04bn), as part of its ongoing restructuring plan for its oil and gas division. The blue-chip firm, whose UK supply arm is one of the big six energy providers, saw its share price [...]
Drop in Eurozone industrial production points to lack of momentum in the economic growth October 14, 2015 Industrial production in the Eurozone took a breather in August as it failed to add momentum to its lacklustre recovery. Industrial production – which includes manufacturing, mining and energy production – dropped 0.5 per cent in August compared with July, according to data published by European statistical office Eurostat this morning. Of the big four [...]
Cain Hoy and Sager secure loan for £400m luxury Islington scheme October 14, 2015 Cain Hoy, the US private equity firm that fleetingly considered buying Tottenham Hotspur last year, is pushing ahead with the £400m luxury development of a landmark Islington site after securing a £190m loan. Cain Hoy and its joint venture partner Sager Group are turning the Edwardian former Royal Mail sorting office on Upper Street into a residential, [...]
Virtually flat US retail sales back case for delaying 2015 Fed interest rate hike, say economists October 14, 2015 US retailers sold $447.7bn (£290.1bn) of goods last month, hardly posting a rise compared with August as falling gasoline prices weighed on revenues at petrol stations. Retail sales climbed by 0.1 per cent on the month in September, according to figures released today by the US Census Bureau. The sales figure also marks a 2.4 per [...]
German drugs giant Merck launches makeover to differentiate from US competitor October 14, 2015 German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA is re-branding itself in order to stand out against competitors. By re-designing its logo and altering its business structure, it hopes to have a greater claim over the “Merck” brand. Everywhere outside the North America, where US company Merck & Co has dominance over the Merck name, it is ditching [...]