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  • Coniq raises £6.4 million to accelerate business growth

    Coniq raises £6.4 million to accelerate business growth

    Coniq announced it has secured £6.4 million of growth equity to meet the growing demand for its award-winning CRM and loyalty platform used by the world’s leading shopping malls, outlets and brands.

    The round was led by Guinness Asset Management with Maven Capital Partners, and participation from existing investors Venrex Investment Management. High profile angel investors, including Greg Marsh the founder of OneFineStay, also invested as part of this round.

    Coniq’s iQ Platform simplifies launching shopper engagement

    Coniq’s market-leading iQ Platform radically simplifies launching shopper engagement and loyalty programmes. This enables marketers to effectively and quickly increase sales by leveraging proprietary customer loyalty data, to understand and anticipate the purchasing behaviour and intent of shoppers. 

    Coniq powers over £1 billion of sales annually for its customers, with more than 17 million consumers in 24 countries globally relying on the Coniq iQ Platform to benefit from rewards and experiences from retail destination landlords and their tenants.

    Coniq’s technology helps its clients to build rich relationships with their customers, delivering an average increase in sales per customer by 32%.

    Coniq will use the investment to accelerate its technical development, including additional AI-driven product capabilities to automate customer loyalty activities; hiring marketing, sales and client success professionals, and expand internationally with new offices in Chicago, Warsaw and Barcelona.

    The fast-growing global customer loyalty management market is expected to be worth $7 billion by 2023 and is driven by retailer destinations seeking to win and retain customers. 

  • W. P. Carey announces £85 million investment in U.K. class-A logistics facility

    W. P. Carey announces £85 million investment in U.K. class-A logistics facility

    • W. P. Carey Inc. announced the acquisition of a 67,500 square metre (726,000 square foot) Class-A, cross-docked logistics facility in the U.K. for £85 million ($112 million) in an off-market transaction.
    • The facility is net leased to the U.K. operating subsidiary of Dixons Carphone plc (“Dixons”), a publicly listed multinational electronics and telecommunications retailer and services company.

    The tenant is the largest business segment of Dixons, a leading multichannel retailer of technology products and services, with 14 brands in nine countries and operating across 1,500 stores and 16 websites.

    Dixons is a publicly listed FTSE 250 constituent company with a market capitalization of over £1.5 billion ($2 billion) and annual revenues in excess of £10 billion ($13 billion).

    The facility functions as part of Dixons’ largest and most critical distribution platform in the U.K., primarily supporting its e-commerce business, which is central to the company’s long-term strategy.

    The facility is a Class-A, cross-docked logistics facility with up to 15-metre (50-foot) clear heights, solar panels and the capacity for automation and expansion. It is located in the U.K.’s East Midlands region in one of the country’s most active logistics corridors, with direct access to the A1 motorway connecting London and Edinburgh.

    This is triple-net leased for a period of 13.5 years with fixed rent increases.

  • European real-estate: office and industrial sectors at all-time highs

    European real-estate: office and industrial sectors at all-time highs

    • Green Street’s European Commercial Property Outlook exposes the increasing divergence visible among European real estate sectors.
    • While asset values for office and industrial sectors are at all-time highs (up circa 10%) and yields are at all-time lows, this is in stark contrast to retail, which is undergoing a paradigm shift due to ecommerce.
    • Over the next five years, operating fundamentals in the industrial and office commercial real estate sectors are expected to outperform retail by circa 20%.

    Pan-European retail spending growth remains in positive territory; however, with ecommerce likely in the middle of a robust growth phase, Green Street believes brick-and-mortar retail sales will continue suffering.

    The result is negative for retail real estate, but largely positive for industrial, stemming from strong tenant demand – especially for locations close to population centers with lower-than-average ecommerce penetration rates.

    Despite retail woes, Green Street notes that Pan-European commercial real estate values rose 5% in 2019 and are set to increase again by mid-single digits in 2020, with overall returns screening attractive relative to investment grade and high yield bonds.

  • Hyundai, Kia and Arrival, an UK startup, will co-develop eco-friendly vans

    Hyundai, Kia and Arrival, an UK startup, will co-develop eco-friendly vans

    • Agreement accelerates Hyundai and Kia’s clean-mobility transformation;
    • €100 million investment enables co-development of eco-friendly vans and other products for logistics, on-demand ride-hailing, and shuttle service companies;
    • Partnership takes advantage of Arrival’s scalable ‘skateboard’ platform technology to underpin future Purpose Built Vehicles (PBV) from Hyundai and Kia;
    • Arrival has developed in-house software, materials, components and other technologies for the development of Generation 2.0 electric vehicles;
    • Boosts Hyundai-Kia strategy for deployment of electrified commercial vehicles.

    Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation announced a strategic investment of €100 million (US $110 million) in a new partnership with Arrival, a UK-based electric vehicle startup.

    Through the partnership, Hyundai and Kia plan to introduce competitively priced small and medium-sized electric vans and other products for logistics, on-demand ride-hailing and shuttle service companies.

    Arrival’s scalable electric platform can be adapted for multiple vehicle categories and types which Arrival, Hyundai and Kia will explore for the development of a range of Purpose Built Vehicles (PBV).

    The partnership with Arrival will help Hyundai and Kia meet the rapidly growing demand in Europe for eco-friendly commercial vehicles, and accelerate the brands’ transformation from car makers to clean-mobility providers.

  • Algeco announces the acquisition of the French business, Altempo SAS

    Algeco announces the acquisition of the French business, Altempo SAS

    Algeco Group, the leading modular space leasing business in Europe and Asia Pacific, announces the acquisition of the French business, Altempo SAS.

    Altempo specialises in large, complex tenders which require bespoke solutions and innovative service offerings, and its acquisition will enable Algeco to participate more effectively in this attractive segment of the French modular space market.

    Altempo operates a fleet of c. 3,000 units, has 61 employees and revenues of c. €25 million.  

    Mike Smith, Chairman of Algeco, said: “Altempo will be an excellent addition to our market-leading business in France. Under the leadership of Thierry Munier, Altempo has developed a compelling and well-differentiated offering that is underpinned by constant innovation across its products, components and services. I am delighted that Thierry will remain with Algeco and continue to lead this business.”

    Who is Altempo

    Altempo operates solely in France and designs, builds and manages temporary installations. Altempo is focused on providing fully integrated service offerings to large customers and the majority of its clients are based in Paris and in Lyon. Altempo has one site near Colmar with 61 employees.

    Algeco leads Europe modular space business

    Headquartered in London, Algeco has operations in 22 countries with approximately 250,000 modular space and portable storage units and 3,400 remote accommodation rooms.

    The company operates as Algeco in Europe, Elliott in the United Kingdom, Ausco in Australia, Portacom in New Zealand and Algeco Chengdong in China.

  • W. P. Carey announces investments totalling €253 million

    W. P. Carey announces investments totalling €253 million

    W. P. Carey announced six investments completed during the 2019 fourth quarter totalling approximately €253 million ($282 million) and more than 251,000 square metres (2.7 million square feet).

    The investments are located in the U.S. and Europe and are diversified across property types. The properties are triple-net leased to industry-leading tenants with a weighted-average lease term of approximately 20 years.

    Investments completed by W. P. Carey during the 2019 fourth quarter

    €84 million ($94 million) sale-leaseback of a 111,500 square metre logistics and distribution facility net leased to a well-known S&P 500 manufacturing company. The facility is the tenant’s second largest distribution centre in the U.S., used primarily for distribution to its east coast markets and South America.

    It is located in the greater Charlotte area on the border of North and South Carolina in close proximity to key transportation routes, including Interstate 485 and Interstate 77. The lease is guaranteed by the tenant’s parent company, which is rated A by Standard & Poor’s and Baa1 by Moody’s. The asset is triple-net leased for a period of 12 years with fixed annual rent escalations.

    €50 million ($56 million) acquisition of a 22,600 square metre experiential retail store, net leased to a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bass Pro Group, LLC, a leading provider of outdoor sporting goods in the U.S. and Canada founded in 1971.

    The facility, located on Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania, has been in operation for more than 17 years. The state-of-the-art asset is a destination experiential retail location, featuring restaurants, nature exhibits, a museum, conference rooms and an aquarium, that along with the breadth of its product offerings and level of in-store customer service, differentiate it from its mass market and e-commerce competitors.

    The lease is guaranteed by the tenant’s ultimate parent, which is rated B+ by Standard & Poor’s and Ba3 by Moody’s. The asset is triple-net leased for a period of 24.5 years with CPI-based rent escalations.

    €35 million ($39 million) sale-leaseback of a six-property portfolio, comprising four flex-industrial and two office facilities totalling 19,800 square metres and representing the majority of the tenant’s operating footprint.

    The mission-critical portfolio is net leased to a leading engineering design solutions and analysis provider that serves a broad range of industries, including energy, consumer packaging and logistics.

    The facilities, located in Texas, Ohio and Louisiana, are master-leased on a triple-net basis for a period of 20 years with fixed annual rent escalations. W. P. Carey has also agreed to invest up to an additional €2.2 million ($2.5 million) in the expansion of the Ohio facility, with completion expected in late 2020.

    €35 million ($38 million) sale-leaseback of two logistics facilities located in Denmark and Sweden, totalling 46,100 square metres (496,000 square feet), net leased to Stark Group A/S, which was founded in 1896 and is the largest supplier of building and construction products in the Nordic region.

    The two assets are strategically located in prime distribution centres with easy access to major highways and shipping routes. The assets are triple-net leased for a period of 20 years with annual Danish and Swedish CPI-based rent escalations.

    €34 million ($38 million) acquisition of a modern, 35,800 square metre (385,000 square foot) Class-A distribution facility in the U.K. net leased to Poundstretcher Limited, a leading variety discount retailer established in 1981 with over 450 locations across the country.

    The facility is located in Yorkshire, within a core logistics corridor, in close proximity to major motorways and arterial routes and is triple-net leased for a period of 23 years with annual RPI-based rent escalations.

    €15 million ($17 million) sale-leaseback of a 15,100 square metre (162,000 square foot) warehouse facility, net leased to Safco Dental Supply, a national distributor of dental products.

    Founded in 1945, the company offers more than 20,000 products to over 16,000 customers across the U.S. and benefits from strong private equity sponsorship.

    The facility is located near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and is highly critical to the company’s operations, housing its headquarters and sole distribution centre. The asset is triple-net leased for a period of 20 years with fixed annual rent escalations.

  • Rolls-Royce delivers historic record result in 2019

    Rolls-Royce delivers historic record result in 2019

    Rolls-Royce has delivered an historic annual sales record in 2019, with a global performance unequalled in the company’s 116-year history.

    A total of 5,152 cars were delivered to customers in over 50 countries around the world, an increase of 25% on the previous high set in 2018.

    Commenting on the results, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said: “This performance is of an altogether different magnitude to any previous year’s sales success. We are pleased and proud to have delivered growth of 25% in 2019. Worldwide demand last year for our Cullinan SUV has driven this success and is expected to stabilise in 2020.”

    Key facts for Rolls-Royce in 2019

    • Annual sales of 5,152 are the highest in the marque’s 116-year history
    • Sales reflect growth of 25% on 2018’s previous record of 4,107
    • Significant sales growth recorded in all regions worldwide
    • Cullinan, the brand’s new SUV, makes major contribution to sales growth
    • Black Badge continues to enjoy strong demand, particularly amongst younger clients
    • Strong demand for Phantom, Wraith, Dawn and Ghost (in its final year of production)
    • Spectacular Bespoke commissions and Collection Cars reaffirm Rolls-Royce’s status as the world’s foremost manufacturer of luxury products
    • Significant new investment in manufacturing plant at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood
    • 50 new jobs created to meet expanded global demand
    • Record number of Apprenticeship Programme recruits in 2019
  • More than half of UK adults have a personal debt of up to £100,000

    More than half of UK adults have a personal debt of up to £100,000

    More than half of the UK adult population (almost 27 million), will head into 2020 in debt, with almost five million owing over £10,000 in loans and credit, according to a poll conducted by money.co.uk.

    The financial comparison website polled 2,018 people living in the UK, aged 16-64 years, and found that, not including mortgages, almost two thirds (63%) will go into the New Year with some form of personal debt – including money owed on credit cards, personal loans, car loans, bank overdrafts and payday loans.

    Of the 42.7million people aged between 16 and 64 in the UK, 26.9 million people are potentially heading into the New Year in debt, by as much as £100,000.

    The poll also revealed that a third (33%) of respondents have a personal debt between £2,000 and £10,000; that’s nine million people. While, almost a fifth (18%) said their personal debt was above £10,000, which equates to 4.8 million adults in the UK saddled with this level of debt.

    More than a quarter (26%) of those polled, from the North West, said they will go into 2020 with a personal debt between £5,000 and £10,000, while more than a fifth (21%) of respondents from Wales said 2020 will kick off with debts between £10,000 and £50,000.

    Meanwhile, almost half of Scots (45%) won’t enter the New Year with any debt. This compares to just 30% of Londoners being debt-free at the start of 2020.

    Types of personal debt

    More than a third (38%) of those polled said they have credit card debt, 19% personal loan, 19% bank overdraft, 12% car loan and 6% payday loan.

    The average credit card debt of those polled is £2,966, with men (£3,138) owing over £300 more than women (£2,793). Respondents aged between 35 and 44 years have an average debt of £4,076 vs £1,784 for 16-24 year olds.

    Half (50%) of 35 to 44-year-olds owe money on plastic, compared to just over one in five (23%) 16 to 24-year-olds.

    Almost three quarters quarter (74%) of those polled with credit cards said they do not pay off the full balance every month, while a fifth (22%) make the minimum payment or less.

    Causes of debt

    Asked what their debt was due to, four-in-ten (40%) stated normal living expenses, 21% said debt consolidation, 19% attributed their debt to holidays, 18% towards paying for Christmas, 18% due to spending on luxury items, 12% paying off debt accrued from previous Christmas spending and 10% on helping others out of debt.

    Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at money.co.uk, comments: “It’s sobering to think that almost 27 million people will be heading into 2020 saddled with thousands of pounds of personal debt – a number that shows no sign of diminishing any time soon.”

    Growing and paying off debt

    Almost half (46%) of respondents said that they have built up a personal debt over a number of years and believe that it will take on average three years to pay it off. While, 34% said it had accrued over the past 12 months.

    On average, people have been in debt for two years and a half years, but a fifth have owed the money for four years or more. 1.3 million people (5%) have had their debt for seven years or more.

    One in six (16%) of those polled believe it will take seven years or more to pay off their debts, and 8% admit they don’t know when they’ll pay off their debts.

    According to the poll, people allocate almost a quarter (22%) of their monthly wages, on average, to paying off debt. Two-thirds (67%) are trying to pay off their debt on their own, 13% are attempting to solve their problems by consolidating debts into one place to make repayments more affordable, while 15% have borrowed from their partner and/or family members.

    Respondents say they save £190 on average each month, but just under a third (31%) say they are only able to save £50 or less.

  • China Mobile International opens UK data centre

    China Mobile International opens UK data centre

    China Mobile International Limited (CMI) officially opened its data centre in the UK in early December. As a purpose-built data centre, the new building is CMI’s first data centre in Europe.

    Serving as both an International Network Exchange hub and an Internet Data Centre (IDC), the UK data centre supports the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative by providing connectivity and enabling closer ties between Asia and Europe.

    The UK Data Centre seamlessly connects with CMI’s newly opened Singapore data centre, its Global Network Centre (GNC) in Hong Kong, China, and its extensive global mobile communications and cloud network infrastructure. CMI is currently also building a dedicated data centre in Frankfurt, Germany as well as other locations.

    “The opening of our new data centre in UK is the sign of CMI’s commitment to promoting secure and reliable high-speed connections around the world, and we continue to see strong customer demand for connectivity, cloud and content delivery solutions between Asia Pacific and Europe, but also among with Middle East and Africa regions,” said Dr Li Feng, Chairman & CEO of China Mobile International Ltd.

    Located in Slough Trading Estate, the CMI UK Data Centre houses more than 1,600 racks. It has obtained the Uptime Institute Tier III TCDD data centre standards and offers 99.99% service and power availability. 

  • DRIVE secures funding from Swiss private equity investor

    DRIVE secures funding from Swiss private equity investor

    DRIVE Software Solutions (DRIVE) has secured funding from Swiss investment firm VIVA Investment Partners (VIP) to accelerate its global growth in the consolidating digital fleet management market.  

    Based in Stevenage UK, DRIVE is the company behind ODO, the leading software as a service (SaaS) product that manages the administration, service delivery and compliance of customer vehicle assets through one secure, organised application.

    The ODO platform runs on Oracle Cloud and is deployed in either an App, Tablet or PC form. It enables SME businesses to transform their purchasing and control all vehicle asset-related services in an ordered service usage model. 

    VIVA Investment Partners, with a focus on the transportation and mobility sectors including aviation, spacetech and the automotive ecosystems, considers digital services as an integral part of the future of the car industry.  

    To oversee the company’s global expansion, Alastair Houston has been appointed as the new CEO of DRIVE. Alastair brings more than 30 years’ experience in the automotive sector, most recently as Managing Director of Sandicliffe Motor Contracts and as a board member at Northgate. He has extensive management experience and has consistently executed profitable sales growth.  

    Commenting on VIP’s investment in DRIVE, Houston said: “The automotive sector is going through unprecedented change, resulting from the fragmentation within the marketplace. ODO is a brilliant and simple solution to seamlessly connect fleet providers, services and end users. We have a unique product and are thrilled to now have the financial strength and expertise that VIVA Investment Partners brings to the business. Securing this expansion funding from a sophisticated international investor despite the uncertainties around Brexit is a significant milestone.”   

  • British Gas: “OK Google, tell me how to fix my boiler”

    British Gas: “OK Google, tell me how to fix my boiler”

    British Gas has used its knowledge of UK boilers and expertly trained engineers to develop a voice activated troubleshooting service with Google Assistant. The service is available via the Google Assistant app on a smart phone, Google home or Google Nest device.  

    British Gas Boiler Support helps solve the most common heating and hot water issues by giving clear and practical directions. It is available at any time and for anyone – not just British Gas customers – experiencing a boiler breakdown this winter.

    British Gas receives around 1.3 million boiler breakdown call outs each winter and estimates that many of these issues could be resolved using the service – saving time and money with no need to call an engineer. It will only guide consumers through safe and easy to perform instructions that won’t damage the boiler.

    Jay Slaney, technical support engineer at British Gas said: “This service solves many of the common, but fixable, problems our engineers encounter all the time while visiting customer homes. We’ve used their knowledge, combined with the latest voice-recognition technology, to quickly narrow down any issue with your heating or hot water.“

    If you live in UK and think there’s a problem with your boiler, you simply say to your Google Home or Google Nest device (or to the open Google Assistant app on your smartphone): “Ok Google, talk to Boiler Support”. The system will then help you troubleshoot the issue.

  • The Property Block identifies development sites in areas with demand for more housing

    The Property Block identifies development sites in areas with demand for more housing

    The Property Block is a new Land Option company using pioneering technology to identify development sites in areas with demand for more housing.

    The Property Block is the brainchild of Financial Advisor, Glyn Williams. It is powered by their cloud-based property acceleration platform. The team are tackling the shortage of housing in the UK by revolutionising the fragmented, time consuming and costly land identification and development process.

    By positioning themselves in the one to four bed property market in prime areas and focusing on relatively small developments, they are bringing alive a huge market, helping landowners to profit and supporting the community need for more housing,

    19,200 undeveloped sites identified in Surrey

    The Property Block has been able to identify 19,200 undeveloped sites which were ideal for residential development in Surrey alone. The Property Block has far greater aspirations however and plans to assist in the delivery of 20,000 homes per year across the UK.

    Glyn Williams, founder and CEO of the company, said: “Surrey is just the beginning. The Property Block is working to integrate into the Planning and Building departments of all 400 Local Authorities. Even at a conservative estimate of ten sites per Local Authority we are set to change the industry. To put this into perspective, each site would most likely host an average of five homes each, or 50 homes per local authority.”