AFFORDABLE HOME STARTS TO DROP BY ONE THIRD
Targets set by the Homes and Communities Agency show that construction on social homes will be reduced by a third next year. 29,900 grant-funded housing starts are scheduled for
2010
11, down from the 45,500 target for the current financial year. The country's new property quango has also revealed that the value of its development assets has fallen from 1.9 billion pounds to under 800 million pounds as a result of the housing crash. The new valuation takes into account an impairment charge of 540 million pounds and a 600 million pound reversal of gains made during the rising market.
HOUSING MARKET REVIVAL HELPS LIFT CONSUMER SALES
New data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG shows that retail sales in October rose by 5.9 percent compared with a year earlier, boosted by half-term holidays and Halloween. The increase was the biggest one-month rise since March 2007, excluding figures from April, which were lifted by the Easter holidays. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has also registered a further increase in the number of agents reporting rising sales during October. The most dramatic improvement was seen in London, where 95 of surveyors are reporting rising prices, a level unseen since 1996.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SURGES
Research by leading property consultancy Colliers CRE has found that a rapid recovery in commercial property values from the deepest slump on record to near bubble-like conditions may see the sector turn positive this year. Colliers has cautioned however that the strength of the rally could lead to a second price correction. Colliers has significantly upgraded its forecasts for this year and next, estimating that the total return for 2009 will be 0.4 per cent, compared to its previous forecast of minus 7.3 per cent for the year. Property consultants CB Richard Ellis say that British property capital values rose two percent in October, the strongest growth in the history of its index.
FSA CHIEF CALLS FOR UNITY TO CHALLENGE BANK EXECUTIVES
Hector Sants, chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, has accused bank leaders of failing to learn the necessary lessons from the financial crisis. He also said that a proposed reorganisation of the regulator by the Conservative party would sap precious resources at a time when the City of London should be forced to change its culture through tight supervision and tough enforcement. He went on to highlight the fact that the FSA has imposed 19.8 million pounds in fines since April, well ahead of last year's pace, which resulted in a record 27.3 million pounds in fines.
KRAFT OPEN TO RAISING OFFER FOR CADBURY
Cadbury has defiantly rejected a formal 9.8 billion pound bid from U.S. food group Kraft, which was launched on Monday. The confectionery group described the cash and share offer as 'derisory' as it had not altered the terms of Kraft's original approach two months ago. Cadbury chairman Roger Carr declared that the bid was 'worse than the proposal the board has previously rejected'. Kraft has refused to rule out a higher bid to win over Cadbury's shareholders during the formal takeover offer period, which could last up to three months.
DOUGLAS QUITS AS O'ROURKE STAYS ON
Tony Douglas has quit his job as chief operating officer of Laing O'Rourke after the chairman and chief executive Ray O'Rourke cancelled his plans to step down from the chief executive job in August. Douglas was being groomed to take over as chief executive at Britain's biggest privately owned construction company and had been charged with leading a shake-up of the business. Mr O'Rourke decided to remain as chief executive after shareholders pressed him to deal with the fallout from the recession. In a statement, the group said: 'Having guided the group through a number of serious recessions in the past, it was felt appropriate for Ray to continue to focus on retaining cash and personally engage with stakeholders.'
BC PARTNERS TO BUY ATI FOR 500 MILLION DOLLARS
BC Partners will shortly announce that it has tapped into the fast-expanding U.S education market by acquiring ATI Enterprises, an operator of 24 campuses, for around 500 million dollars. ATI is owned by a Riverside-led private equity consortium and runs colleges teaching vocational skills to 15,500 students in Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The deal, which has been signed and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, is being financed by about 250 million dollars of debt. Goldman Sachs has fully underwritten the deal ahead of its planned syndication to other investors.
HAMPTON TO JOIN BOARD AT ANGLO
Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland and formerly chairman of J Sainsbury, has been appointed to the board of Anglo American. Anglo's chairman Sir John Parker said Sir Philip joins Anglo as 'the first in a series of appointment as we refresh the board'. At least two more board seat will be 'refreshed' in the coming months. Sir John became chairman in August as Xstrata promoted a 'merger of equals' which many saw as a veiled takeover attempt. The approach by Xstrata focused Anglo on the need for change, leading to the appointment of Sir John, who, in his few months as chairman, has presided over a 'put up of shut up' directive issued to Xstrata and Anglo's announcement that it will cut about 2,700 jobs.
HISCOX ASSERTS HEALTH AS IT PLEDGES NO EXTRA INVESTOR PAY-OUTS
Hiscox, the Lloyd's of London and specialist insurer, has said that it is in robust health to deal with what is likely to be a more difficult 2010 but that it will not promise extra pay-outs to investors. This follows the news last week that Lancashire, a smaller, Bermuda-focused rival, will return over 400 million pounds to shareholders after a year that has seen very limited catastrophe losses and strong recovery in investment markets. Some analysts expect a wave of special dividends and share buy-backs as a result of the reinsurance industry having far more capital than was expected a year ago during the depths of the financial crisis. Hiscox reported a
10.5 per cent growth in group
wide new business at constant currency rates for the first nine months.
LONG-HAUL CUTS HELP AER LINGUS OFFSET SALES FALL
The decision by Aer Lingus to cut its long-haul network has helped stem the fall in fare revenue, with declines of 9.7 per cent in the three months to September 30. The reduction in fleet capacity saw load factors increase 1.3 per cent overall, with short-haul up 1.4 per cent and long-haul up 0.6 per cent. Passenger numbers were up seven per cent at just over three million, with a 10 per cent increase in short-haul and a 13.2 per cent decline in long-haul. As well as staff cuts, the lossmaking airline is seeking a pay cut of 10 per cent for those earning more than 35,000 pounds a year. Brokers are forecasting operating losses for the year of about 110 million euros.
Prepared for Reuters by Durrants
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Targets set by the Homes and Communities Agency show that construction on social homes will be reduced by a third next year. 29,900 grant-funded housing starts are scheduled for
2010
11, down from the 45,500 target for the current financial year. The country's new property quango has also revealed that the value of its development assets has fallen from 1.9 billion pounds to under 800 million pounds as a result of the housing crash. The new valuation takes into account an impairment charge of 540 million pounds and a 600 million pound reversal of gains made during the rising market.
HOUSING MARKET REVIVAL HELPS LIFT CONSUMER SALES
New data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG shows that retail sales in October rose by 5.9 percent compared with a year earlier, boosted by half-term holidays and Halloween. The increase was the biggest one-month rise since March 2007, excluding figures from April, which were lifted by the Easter holidays. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has also registered a further increase in the number of agents reporting rising sales during October. The most dramatic improvement was seen in London, where 95 of surveyors are reporting rising prices, a level unseen since 1996.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SURGES
Research by leading property consultancy Colliers CRE has found that a rapid recovery in commercial property values from the deepest slump on record to near bubble-like conditions may see the sector turn positive this year. Colliers has cautioned however that the strength of the rally could lead to a second price correction. Colliers has significantly upgraded its forecasts for this year and next, estimating that the total return for 2009 will be 0.4 per cent, compared to its previous forecast of minus 7.3 per cent for the year. Property consultants CB Richard Ellis say that British property capital values rose two percent in October, the strongest growth in the history of its index.
FSA CHIEF CALLS FOR UNITY TO CHALLENGE BANK EXECUTIVES
Hector Sants, chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, has accused bank leaders of failing to learn the necessary lessons from the financial crisis. He also said that a proposed reorganisation of the regulator by the Conservative party would sap precious resources at a time when the City of London should be forced to change its culture through tight supervision and tough enforcement. He went on to highlight the fact that the FSA has imposed 19.8 million pounds in fines since April, well ahead of last year's pace, which resulted in a record 27.3 million pounds in fines.
KRAFT OPEN TO RAISING OFFER FOR CADBURY
Cadbury has defiantly rejected a formal 9.8 billion pound bid from U.S. food group Kraft, which was launched on Monday. The confectionery group described the cash and share offer as 'derisory' as it had not altered the terms of Kraft's original approach two months ago. Cadbury chairman Roger Carr declared that the bid was 'worse than the proposal the board has previously rejected'. Kraft has refused to rule out a higher bid to win over Cadbury's shareholders during the formal takeover offer period, which could last up to three months.
DOUGLAS QUITS AS O'ROURKE STAYS ON
Tony Douglas has quit his job as chief operating officer of Laing O'Rourke after the chairman and chief executive Ray O'Rourke cancelled his plans to step down from the chief executive job in August. Douglas was being groomed to take over as chief executive at Britain's biggest privately owned construction company and had been charged with leading a shake-up of the business. Mr O'Rourke decided to remain as chief executive after shareholders pressed him to deal with the fallout from the recession. In a statement, the group said: 'Having guided the group through a number of serious recessions in the past, it was felt appropriate for Ray to continue to focus on retaining cash and personally engage with stakeholders.'
BC PARTNERS TO BUY ATI FOR 500 MILLION DOLLARS
BC Partners will shortly announce that it has tapped into the fast-expanding U.S education market by acquiring ATI Enterprises, an operator of 24 campuses, for around 500 million dollars. ATI is owned by a Riverside-led private equity consortium and runs colleges teaching vocational skills to 15,500 students in Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The deal, which has been signed and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, is being financed by about 250 million dollars of debt. Goldman Sachs has fully underwritten the deal ahead of its planned syndication to other investors.
HAMPTON TO JOIN BOARD AT ANGLO
Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland and formerly chairman of J Sainsbury, has been appointed to the board of Anglo American. Anglo's chairman Sir John Parker said Sir Philip joins Anglo as 'the first in a series of appointment as we refresh the board'. At least two more board seat will be 'refreshed' in the coming months. Sir John became chairman in August as Xstrata promoted a 'merger of equals' which many saw as a veiled takeover attempt. The approach by Xstrata focused Anglo on the need for change, leading to the appointment of Sir John, who, in his few months as chairman, has presided over a 'put up of shut up' directive issued to Xstrata and Anglo's announcement that it will cut about 2,700 jobs.
HISCOX ASSERTS HEALTH AS IT PLEDGES NO EXTRA INVESTOR PAY-OUTS
Hiscox, the Lloyd's of London and specialist insurer, has said that it is in robust health to deal with what is likely to be a more difficult 2010 but that it will not promise extra pay-outs to investors. This follows the news last week that Lancashire, a smaller, Bermuda-focused rival, will return over 400 million pounds to shareholders after a year that has seen very limited catastrophe losses and strong recovery in investment markets. Some analysts expect a wave of special dividends and share buy-backs as a result of the reinsurance industry having far more capital than was expected a year ago during the depths of the financial crisis. Hiscox reported a
10.5 per cent growth in group
wide new business at constant currency rates for the first nine months.
LONG-HAUL CUTS HELP AER LINGUS OFFSET SALES FALL
The decision by Aer Lingus to cut its long-haul network has helped stem the fall in fare revenue, with declines of 9.7 per cent in the three months to September 30. The reduction in fleet capacity saw load factors increase 1.3 per cent overall, with short-haul up 1.4 per cent and long-haul up 0.6 per cent. Passenger numbers were up seven per cent at just over three million, with a 10 per cent increase in short-haul and a 13.2 per cent decline in long-haul. As well as staff cuts, the lossmaking airline is seeking a pay cut of 10 per cent for those earning more than 35,000 pounds a year. Brokers are forecasting operating losses for the year of about 110 million euros.
Prepared for Reuters by Durrants
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.