The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/28/2008
Troubled Spanish property group offers HSBC the chance to buy back their headquarters in Canary Wharf writes Graham Ruddick.
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/23/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 7:06PM GMT 23 Nov 2008The commercial property world says the Government risks causing "long-term damage" to the economy if it does not announce a review of empty rates in the pre-Budget report today. Some of the biggest names in the sector have criticised the Government after it scrapped the relief enjoyed by retailers, offices and manufacturers on empty...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/21/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 10:11AM GMT 21 Nov 2008 Honda to close UK factory for two months Photo: PA Output at the company's Swindon site, which manufactures the Honda Civic, will be cut by 21,000 vehicles as part of proposals to cut global production by 79,000. The 4,800 staff employed at the UK factory will receive full pay during the closure. The move comes as carmakers around...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/20/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 11:31AM GMT 20 Nov 2008AstraZenecaThe company's site in Macclesfield will see 250 job losses by 2010, while facilities in Spain, Belgium and Sweden will close. Shares in AstraZeneca fell 4pc following the announcement. David Smith, executive vice-president for operations, said: "I realise these changes are difficult for our affected employees, with whom...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/20/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 7:57AM GMT 20 Nov 2008 of CompaniesAstraZenecaRolls-Royce GroupThe company, which has already announced 2,300 job losses this year, said it had made the decision after reviewing the impact of "current economic uncertainties". In the latest wave of job cuts to hit the economy, the UK's second largest pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, said it would be...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/17/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 11:19AM GMT 17 Nov 2008JP Morgan has bought land at Canary Wharf for £237m with a view to moving into a new 1.9m sq ft development, which would make it the largest tenant at the Dockland's site. The deal will provide a real boost to the UK commercial property market as concerns grow that the financial crisis will cause financial services group to downsize...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/13/2008
The Metropolitan Police is to enter into negotiations about buying its headquarters writes Graham Ruddick after Land Securities puts the famous building up for sale.
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/13/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 6:58PM GMT 13 Nov 2008Moneysupermarket.com GroupThe company said that consumers seeking to reduce debt and lenders tightening conditions were causing "extremely tough trading conditions".Moneysupermarket also warned that Platinum Loans, the replacement for Barclays subsidiary FirstPlus which was Moneysupermarket's largest loans provider until it withdrew...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/12/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 7:18PM GMT 12 Nov 2008ENRC said that full-year results will be at the lower end of management expectations because of the "dramatic" changes in the world economy.Miguel Perry, the chief financial officer, said: "The outlook clearly has changed dramatically post the end of the third quarter. We've seen reductions in demand and pressure on pricing, particularly...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/12/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 1:57PM GMT 12 Nov 2008Scottish & Southern EnergyIan Marchant, the chief executive, said he was "confident" that the decline in the price of oil, which has fallen from record $147 a barrel in July to just over $50, will be passed on to SSE's 9m customers early in 2009."A key issue for our domestic customers is when will they fall," he said. "I'm optimistic...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/11/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 8:06AM GMT 11 Nov 2008Taylor WimpeyIn a downbeat trading update, the group revealed that the decline in the UK property market has worsened and it is now seeing 165 new homes reserved each week - 27pc less than the second half of 2007 and the first half of 2008 when the credit crisis had already begun. The slump in sales comes despite Taylor Wimpey “pricing...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/10/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 5:32PM GMT 10 Nov 2008The company said the last few weeks has seen a "marked deterioration" in the UK's economic outlook and that it will be "some time" before the consumer feels the benefit of the 1.5 percentage point cut in interest rates by the Bank of England. Car registrations are 9pc down so far this year compared to 2007, with Pendragon reporting...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/03/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 7:41PM GMT 03 Nov 20083i Infrastructure, which is 43pc owned by private equity group 3i, said it had exploited an "anomaly in the market" and added it was keen to take part in any purchase of Gatwick, after BAA was told it must sell two of its three London airports. The fund has bought debt issued by Ireland's Viridian, Thames Water and Telediffusion de...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/02/2008
Small business face labour shortage as migrants quit UKSmall businesses face the prospect of huge gaps in their workforce as migrant workers return home because of the worsening economic climate in the UK, new research has warned. By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 9:50PM GMT 02 Nov 2008Britain's small and medium enterprises (SME) community, which employs about 13.5m people and produces...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 11/02/2008
By Graham Ruddick Last Updated: 9:17PM GMT 02 Nov 2008Surviving a potential recession will be about more than "blind cost cutting", according to accountants BDO Stoy Hayward and Verdict Research, and the only way retailers will increase their sales is to "excel in every way" as annual consumer spending in retail falls £19.4bn by 2010.Tesco was named top of the research's Survivability...
