The company has a warehouse fund worth over £1 billion and an expansion of this has taken place by the company buying a retail park . . . → Read More: Henderson Property did a lot of deals in 2011]]> Henderson Property was involved in a large number of deals at the end of last year which meant the number of deals completed throughout the previous 12 month period was around 80.

The company has a warehouse fund worth over £1 billion and an expansion of this has taken place by the company buying a retail park in Livingston for a price of around £32 million. This site has over 100,000 square foot of space and was purchased from the previous owner Land Securities.

A fund manager for the company is Michael Neill who has said, “This retail park was an excellent acquisition because it has good mix of tenants and very strong trading profile. It is a sustainable retail location with a strong future that will be very profitable from company. High income is generated by the park every year and we feel the return will be good, even in the short and medium term.”

The company has also purchased properties on behalf of private clients including property in Norwich which was bought for around £6 million. This property, which houses a Waterstones bookshop, has been purchased for an Irish investor who has elected to remain private.

The company also purchased further property, including a warehouse, from a private investor. The reported purchase price was a little over £7.5 million and has brought an initial yield of 6 percent net.

The company also works for the UK Property Unit Trust and on behalf of them they purchased properties in Muswell Hill Road. This included six shops and an Odeon cinema which is expected to generate around half a million pounds in revenues every year. This gives a 5.5 percent initial net yield.

Property was also purchased at the Edinburgh Interchange for a price of nearly £5 million. This purchase included buying industrial units which were currently let to DHL, Xtreme Carting and Scottish Ministers. One unit in this facility was vacant but despite this it is expected that the company will still make an initial yield of around 8.5 percent.

In Belfast, several sales have also occurred and retail units in Belfast including O2 and Lush units have been sold for around £3 million. This reflects an initial net yield of 9.5 percent.

Outside of the United Kingdom, Henderson is involved in a joint venture with the company Warburg Anderson. Through company they sold an office building located in Paris for nearly €20 million. This building was sold to iii-investments and represents an initial net yield of nearly 5 percent.

This building is located in central Paris and has undergone extensive renovation since 2008. It is currently leased to 100 percent capacity to several different tenants. The rentable area in the building is over 2000 square metres and the purchase was advised by the law firm, Herbert Smith. On Henderson side they were advised by several different firms including Gide Loyrette Noue, Wargny-Katz and Cushman & Wakefield.

The two companies have a long-term working relationship that began with the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and the . . . → Read More: Atos joins with MSL Group]]> Atos announced on Monday 9 January that they have made a deal to acquire 50% of MSL Group, with the option of buying out the rest of it, and both parties have expressed keen enthusiasm for the move.

The two companies have a long-term working relationship that began with the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and the consolidation of their respective expertise is expected to create the world’s largest and most effective sports and events network for viewers’ enjoyment.

Atos is in the business of delivering hi-tech consulting, systems integration and management services to a global client base; they have about 74,000 employees in 42 countries and an annual revenue of more than 8.5 billion euros.  Atos is also the global information technology partner for the Olympic Games.

The MSL Group has 25 years in the business of providing real-time information and results for major sports and other national and international events.  They have been involved with the Olympics and Paralympics as well as other events in 50 countries, and developed new products in a wide range of  systems such as TV graphics, commentator information, timing and scoring devices and ticketing solutions.

Altos and MSL Group have different customer bases, so the merger of the companies should enhance their overall capabilities and performance.  As a sidebar, Atos also announced that they will be e-mail free within three years, replacing that mode of communication with other more efficient networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

A new “timeline” feature, which allows users to pick and choose information and photos from their profile to tell their story, is the latest effort by Facebook’s creators to keep the . . . → Read More: Facebook timeline feature]]> The social networking site Facebook is constantly coming up with new innovations and developments to keep its millions of members engaged and continually updating their statuses.

A new “timeline” feature, which allows users to pick and choose information and photos from their profile to tell their story, is the latest effort by Facebook’s creators to keep the site fresh – and one London company has secured an exclusive deal to help avid Facebookers make the most of the changes.

The online print firm MOO.com has signed an exclusive deal with Facebook, making them the printers of choice for those who want to use the timeline feature to create their own business cards based on facts, figures and photographs from their profile.

To celebrate the deal, which will see MOO.com accessing a potential 8 million new customers, the first 200,000 users who sign up will receive a bundle of the cards free of charge. The easy-to-use interface allows customers to pick and choose which details from their timeline they want to include on the card and which they want to exclude, depending on who target audience is.

The founder of MOO.com, Richard Moross, was shocked to get a call from one of Facebook’s founders inviting them to put together a bid for the lucrative contract. Moross added that this is the next logical step in the way that the business world is developing, with many executives using social-networking sites to connect with staff and clients.

Once the new timeline feature is fully launched in January, users will notice a MOO.com button on their profile which will take them straight to special page developed by the company to help design business cards, Facebook-style.  Both Moross and Facebook are confident that the option will prove a big hit, as the development of business cards in recent years has lent towards the inclusion of photographs and personal details.

The California Gurls singer had been a keen wearer of the Eylure lashes for some time and was happy to lend . . . → Read More: Katy Perry false eyelashes for Eylure]]> Celebrity endorsements can often seem to be more about the pay cheque than the product, but Katy Perry is putting her money where her mouth is by designing her own false eyelashes for make-up company Eylure.

The California Gurls singer had been a keen wearer of the Eylure lashes for some time and was happy to lend her name to the product when bosses asked her to come up with her own ideas for a new style. Gossip columnists report that Katy has been busy working on potential designs while spending New Year in Los Angeles and Hawaii, in a bid to keep away from the paparazzi after the announcement that her marriage to British comedian Russell Brand has come to an end.

A spokesperson for Eylure was full of praise for the early designs submitted by Perry, adding that the looks she had created reflected her very identifiable image and very individual style. The LA-based star is not the first celebrity to branch out into designing, and British girl-band Girls Aloud have already created five false eyelash designs for Eylure’s UK market.

The Katy Perry eyelashes are also expected to go on sale in the UK as well as around the world, and the project should help the singer keep her mind off her very public divorce at a difficult time. Two live gigs later in January, as well as an appearance at an upcoming awards ceremony, will give her fans the chance to see Katy doing what she does best – performing – and perhaps even a first glimpse of the Perry-designed eyelashes.

Mark Gidge, who, after establishing . . . → Read More: Ford Campbell get entrepreneurs investment]]> Two entrepreneurs from the north west have both taken stakes in Ford Campbell, the corporate finance outfit that is based in Manchester. Mike Driver, who who set up the managed print service businesses M2 Digital and Mark Gidge, Professional Finance and Leasing’s founder, have both joined Ford Campbell’s board as equity partners.

Mark Gidge, who, after establishing Professional Finance and Leasing back in 1990 and built it up into an enterprise with a turnover of £10m before selling it to Syscap, the IT finance group, is succeeding Ford Campbell’s founder Tony Ford as Chairman. He will be working alongside the company’s partners to implement a growth strategy.

Mark Driver appointed Ford Campbell in 2004 to mentor the Old Trafford based M2  Digital and two later sold a 39% stake in the company to the private equity firm ECI Partners. Mr Driver is coming into Ford Campbell as a partner with the aim of developing their deal origination strategy. He will also be acting as an advisor in the larger and more complex transactions.

During his time at M2, he actively took part in the corporate finance process, and was involved in the writing up of the information referendum during the run up to the sale and delivered presentations as well as leading the negotiations.

Chris Froggatt is a managing partner at Ford Campbell and he has said of the new appointments that having Mike Driver and Mark Gidge as shareholders makes the board of Ford Campbell one of most diverse and strongest in the corporate finance sector, and also gives them the management structure that befits a company that is their size and has their track road and ambition.

He added that both Mike and Mark have built and then sold successful businesses and exemplified their typical clients by being passionate, motivated and driven to achieve the best price possible for their business.