European culture capital 2008 and the third in a top ten city destinations to visit by Rough Guide 2014, Liverpool is currently considered to be one of the hottest UK property locations to invest in.
The Liverpool housing market has seen prices climb by 7.8% over the past two years, unsurprising in a location that has attracted over £5 billion of physical investment and is strongly connected to global markets, with many multinationals including Barclays.
Liverpool offers a range of opportunities available for investment from prime commercial sites in the heart of the city to listed Victorian warehouses next to the motorway network. One example of an exciting investment opportunity in Liverpool is Liverpool Waters, a major development that includes new opportunities in the student property sector and is predicted to transform northern parts of the city.
So is Liverpool really a safe bet? In a city where homes are 75% cheaper than London, with average house prices at £109,600, property investment in Liverpool is considered a hotspot due to the high rental returns, thanks to the low house prices and high rental rates.
To find out more, the Property Investor and Homebuyer Show is being held at ExCel London on the 9th and 10th of October with investment and development specialists from the city to show everyone from first time investors to professional landlords the benefits of investing in such a vibrant city.
The FTSE 100 has surged 2 percent in early morning trade this morning, with gains in mining shares pushing the index upwards.
Shares in both Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and BHP Billiton (LON:BHP) are up, with Glencore (LON:GLEN) gaining nearly 20 percent at market open. The company showed strong gains on the Hong Kong market, pulling up from last week’s lows.
Elsewhere on the FTSE, Rolls Royce (LON:RR) has announced plans to cut 400 staff from its marine business by the end of next year, in its latest move to make the company more economically efficient.
Rolls Royce have been under pressure from falling oil prices, which account for around 60 percent of its business.
In a statement, Rolls-Royce’s marine president Mikael Makinen said it planned to “sharpen focus on the marine technologies of tomorrow by significantly increasing our current rate of investment in research and development.”
The company hopes that the latest cuts will generate £40 million over the year, with benefits being seen from 2016 onwards. The company is currently trading up 3.34 percent at 728 pence per share (1047GMT).
The Treasury have announced plans to sell at least 2 billion pounds worth of shares in Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) to retail investors, in a move that will further reduce the government’s 12 percent share in the bank.
According to George Osborne, the sale is aimed at encouraging ordinary Britons to invest in the stock market. The shares will go on sale in Spring 2016, and people applying for investments of less than 1,000 pounds will be prioritised. Shares will be offered to the public at a 5% discount on market price.
The finance ministry also stated that those who keep their shares for at least 12 months will get one bonus share for every 10 they own.
This is the latest in a string of plans to plans to privatise British government-owned companies. The new Conservative government is appearing to follow in the footsteps of their predecessor Margaret Thatcher, who sold shares worth £3.9bn in British Telecom and a £5.6bn stake in British Gas.
The government have continued to cut their stake in the bank down from the 43 percent share it owned after the financial crisis.
Lloyds Banking Group is currently up 1.6 percent at 77.7 pence per share (0933GMT).
Shares in clothing brand American Apparel (NYSEMKT:APP) have fallen over 6 percent this morning, after announcing that it will file for bankruptcy.
The LA-based company has been in trouble for months, after a suit of law suits surrounding its founder Dov Charney and warnings for sexualised advertisements.
In a statement, it said it had reached a restructuring support agreement with 95% of its secured lenders who will write off $200m of bonds in exchange for equity in the company. The deal also involves the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Paula Schneider, American Apparel’s Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“This restructuring will enable American Apparel to become a stronger, more vibrant company.
“This process will ultimately benefit our employees, suppliers, customers and valued partners. American Apparel is not only an iconic clothing brand but also the largest apparel manufacturer in North America, and we are taking this step to keep jobs in the U.S.A. and preserve the ideals for which the Company stands.”
American Apparel financial results have been disappointing over recent quarters, recorded a loss of $19.4m in the second quarter of this year. The company is currently trading down 6.34 percent at 0.112 pence per share. (0921GMT)
The growth forecast for the Asia Pacific region has been cut for both this year and next, as China’s slowdown and the threat of a US interest rate rise continues to hit the markets.
The World Bank has cut growth from its earlier forecast of 6.7 percent down to 6.5 percent this year, and 6.4 percent in 2016.
In a statement, the World Bank’s chief economist Sudhir Shetty said on Monday:
“Developing East Asia’s growth is expected to slow because of China’s economic rebalancing and the pace of the expected normalization of US policy interest rates.
“If China’s growth were to slow further, the effects would be felt in the rest of the region, especially in countries linked to China through trade, investment and tourism.”
In spite of this, Asian markets had a positive day on Monday, taking its lead from US markets which jumped more than 1 percent at close on Friday despite the release of disappointing jobs data.
Tokyo’s Nikkei rose 1.8 percent, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbing 1.8 percent and South Korea’s Kospi 0.5 percent.
U.S. non-farm payrolls rose by 142,000 in September, considerably lower than the 203,000 jobs the markets had expected, data showed on Friday.
The rise of crowdfunding has often been highly acclaimed for ‘democratising’ the world of business, allowing anyone with an idea to start a company and achieve investment without the traditional problem of having ‘the right connections’ to find investors. However, arguably be said that the biggest sector to benefit has been the arts; traditionally underfunded by the government, British music, film and art is now thriving again on the back of crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter.
A prime example of crowdfunding’s success is the Ai Wei Wei exhibition that has just opened at the Royal Academy, after successfully raising enough money to bring his works to the UK. It allowing projects to obtain funding and the British arts industry to thrive; one such project is Roady Magazine. They have just begun a campaign on Kickstarter to raise the £5500 needed to launch their first issue. The concept: an arts magazine “which could serve as a coherent travel guide as well as a crisp coffee table essential”.
A page from the magazine’s first issue
Elegant design and high quality travel and lifestyle content make this magazine the perfect example of a project worth supporting through crowdfunding. It’s a unique idea with a niche but very interested audience, and “strives to balance adventures with an aesthetic approach and clearly portray that having a budget is an advantage whilst travelling, bringing you closer to beautiful and untouched places”.
The money raised will be directed towards the biggest cost of the publishing – high quality print – and distribution of the magazine; as well as Kickstarter fees and well deserved rewards for those who choose to contribute.
The founders of the project are Karolis, who running public relations and new media operations and is the driving force behid the magazine, and Miglé, its editor, who is in charge of the visualisations and the detailed content.
A photograph by Julie Sarperi, an award-winning French travel writer and photographer
When asked why they started a crowdfunding campaign, Karolis said:
“After running an online platform and receiving requests for hard copies of the magazine we made a decision to take this step and we believe that crowd-funding is a perfect way to test the market and at the same time your product.
“We chose Kickstarter due to its design orientated vibe where we have not found any similar project going live at this time. We want to be unique and eye catching as well as informative and relevant.”
The magazine is already partnered with high-profile brands such as Hovelstay, Wahaca and Portrait. Crowdfunding in the arts industry is something that is beginning to really take off, and anything that expands and encourages the arts scene can only be a good thing for Britain.
For further information on how to support this project, please visit their campaign page here.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) have announced the release of two new Nexus phones and the first completely Android built tablet, in the company’s latest attempt to take market share from rival Apple.
The Nexus 6P is the first all-metal-body Nexus phone, and was built in collaboration with Chinese phonemaker Huawei. Initial reviews have been promising, with engadget.com labelling it “shockingly svelte”. The 5.7” phone is made of aeronautical-grade aluminum, with a powerful 64-bit processor, and a 12.3 MP camera starting from $499; slightly cheaper than the iPhone.
The announcement also included the launch of Android Pay – primarily only in the U.S. – after the launch of Apple Pay a few months ago.
Branching further into tablet technology, the company have made their first Android tablet built end-to-end by Google, bringing together “the benefits of a full-size keyboard with the portability of a tablet”.
The markets reacted well to the news, sending share prices up after it was announced. However, rivals such as Google and Samsung have consistently struggled to match the success of Apple, and whether new similar features will help bridge the gap remains to be seen.
Love it or hate it, Uber has undoubtedly revolutionised taxis in all over the World. With now over 60,000 private hire vehicles in London, it isn’t surprising there is tension and dispute with TFL and traditional black cab drivers.
Despite being criticised for being too soft on Uber, TFL has recently proposed a series of measures that will change many of Uber’s business models; one of which includes a compulsory five minute wait after requesting a taxi.
Whilst the chief operating officer for surface transport at TFL Garrett Emmerson claims these changes will “improve the regulations that govern the capital’s private hire trade”, this crackdown on the app-controlled taxi ride have been described as bureaucratic by Uber’s UK head.
This severe crackdown may be what the black cab drivers have been looking for, but Uber is fighting back with an online petition that has already gathered over 80,000 signatures to ensure these new laws for private car hire won’t ‘be the end of Uber we all know and love”.
As the UK’s economy moves ever closer towards recovery and growth, there is still great debate on the controversial austerity measures introduced by the government over the past couple of years. Labour’s new leader Jeremy Corbyn has recently set out plans to increase the country’s finances without introducing further cuts, and alarming figures are often used to carefully illustrate why further austerity measures, heralded by chancellor George Osborne as the UKs saving grace, are not the answer.
According to start-up company Cocontrol, 4.1 million householders live in social housing as a result of benefit cuts and reduced rent protection schemes. Of these householders, 43 percent live in poverty and struggle to balance food expenses and rent with the increasing cost of gas and electricity bills. To counter this problem, Cocontrol have designed new technology in the hope of helping tenants, easing the burden on social landlords and saving money and energy in the process.
Social landlords are now required to comply with ‘duty of care’ legislation which requires them to continuously improve the well-being of their tenants, although overall funding has been cut. Cocontrol’s system helps manage heating requirements within a budget through cloud-based intelligence, enabling heating systems to work more efficiently and economically; making both tenants’ and landlords’ lives easier.
The team behind the company have great potential: Cocontrol’s Chairman is Andrew Wordsworth, something of a celebrity in the crowdfunding sector after his company E-car Club became the first UK equity-crowdfunded startup to successfully exit and pay back their investors. He works alongside the company’s founder, James Byrne, who has a built up a wealth of experience in the energy efficiency and social housing over the past five years, founding several different companies who operate in the sector. He also advises The Mayor of London as a Commissioner on the LSDC.
The business has raised over £300,000 in grant funding to date, securing £225,084 of non-dilutive grant funding from InnovateUK’s Future Energy Management For Buildings Collaborative R&D competition, establishing strong sales partners and achieving early sales with a London Council. Cocontrol are aiming to use the money raised through crowdfunding to strengthen their marketing, recruit additional management staff and enhance user experience.
Cocontrol are offering 100,000 for 14.29 percent equity on Crowdcube.com. For further information on how to invest, visit their campaign page here.
Shares in supermarket chain Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) shot up by 13 percent this morning, as the grocer announced that it would be raising its full-year profit forecast.
Total retail sales for second quarter were up 0.3 per cent excluding fuel and its full year underlying profit before tax now expected to be moderately ahead of published consensus.
The chain have opened 27 new convenience stores this quarter, with their clothing section growing by nearly 13 per cent.
Mike Coupe, Chief Executive, said:
“Our programme to enhance the quality of over 3,000 own-brand products is on track. Taste the Difference volume grew by over four per cent in the quarter and was voted the best supermarket range by Good Housekeeping for the third year running.
Whilst the market is clearly still challenging, with food deflation impacting many categories, we are making good progress on delivering our strategy.”
Sainsburys is currently trading up 13.74 percent at 260.80 pence per share (1006GMT)
