Business Rates Hike to Hit Hard

Retailers urge Osborne to reconsider rates
By Samantha McClary | Estates Gazette | 27-02-2012 | 13:25 |

Business Rates Increase: More Pressure on Overheads?

A group of Britain's leading retailers and landlords have written to chancellor George Osborne demanding he reconsider the government's 5.6% hike in business rates - the highest rise in more than 20 years.

Retailer and landlord body BCSC, acting on the group's behalf, is calling on the government to increase rates in line with Bank of England's consumer price index inflation target of 2% and not September's RPI of 5.6%, which fell to 3.9% by January this year.

The letter has been signed by Land Securities, JD Sports, Capital Shopping Centres, Kingfisher, Primark, British Land and Boots, among others.

BCSC warns that the proposed rise poses a "clear risk of more retail insolvencies" leading to higher unemployment and more empty shops blighting our high streets as companies look to cut operating costs to ensure their survival.

Chief executive Michael Green said: "While the government is giving people a helping hand by encouraging local authorities to freeze council tax, it seems to think businesses are a bottomless source of cash. But hiking business rates will have wider social consequences than simply causing retailers to take a hit on their profit margin.

"The chancellor should be under no illusion that jobs will be lost and consumers will be hit in the pocket if this unprecedented rise goes ahead."

Retailers pay around £6bn a year to the Treasury and many report their margins are under huge pressure, with operating costs for the sector and especially small and medium sized firms at a historic high as a proportion of their overall turnover.

BCSC President Peter Drummond added: "To increase business rates by the highest level in 20 years at a time when retailers are facing the toughest struggle in a generation is madness. This government has shown it recognises the challenges faced by commissioning the Portas review. Now it's time to back up those words with action.

"Business rates are a tax on high streets, hitting retailers who invest in our towns and cities hard in comparison to online-only retailers."

samantha.mcclary@estatesgazette.com

Hammerson to dispose of All Office Investments

By Joanna Bourke | Office | 24-02-2012 | 08:31 | Estates Gazette
Hammerson has announced it will sell all of its office investments in order to focus on being a specialist retail REIT in the UK and France.

99 Bishopsgate

The REIT today said in its results for the year ended 31 December: "Our standing office investments will be sold over the medium term in order to maximise value, with capital redeployed to retail assets, increasing our focus and scale."

David Atkins, chief executive of Hammerson, said: "We will focus on being the best owner-manager and developer of retail property within Europe. We now intend to sell our standing office investments over the medium term to maximise returns, redeploying capital into the retail sector to exploit our expertise and build on our existing scale. This will create efficiencies that lead to further cost savings and income growth from our portfolio."

The £600m London offices portfolio includes 99 Bishopsgate, EC2, which it acquired for £100m in July 2011, and 125 Old Broad Street.

The strategy is intended to attract further JV capital for specialist retail projects.

Hammerson's results also revealed that net asset value per share rose 7.1% to 530p in 2011, and net rental income climbed to £296m from £284.7m the previous year.

joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com

Foreign Payment Specialist Payment Providers dissects the UK's Import and Export figures from 2011

What are the top products imported and who are the UK's leading trading partners.

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Here at Payment Providers http://www.paymentproviders.co.uk/  import and export plays a major role in our business and future expansion and growth plans. So when the Guardian alongside HMRC published these figures of what is imported and exported from and to the UK it was a great insight for us. Looking at the latest figures the automotive industry showed a decline in UK car sales. They also shone a light on the UK's third biggest export - eight out of 10 cars built in the UK are exported. HM Revenue and Customs releases monthly figures for UK trade and we watch these figures like a hawk. 

According to the latest figures, the UK's biggest export in the year to date was nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances (including parts thereof). Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation, bituminous substances and mineral waxes followed in second place, although incidentally it was also the most highly imported product in 2011 rising by 46% on the year.

Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof ranked as both third highest import and export. In the year to date (October 2011) the UK exported £23bn worth and spent £32bn on importing these items.

The United States received the most British export goods last year, followed by Germany and France. The top trade partner for imports was Germany, followed by the United States and China. The UK exported £31.7bn worth of products to the US.

Check out the tables below for top trading partners or download the spreadsheet for the full data on the UK's top exported and imported goods year on year.

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Top UK export countries

Rank	Country	Year to date 2011 (£m)	Year to date 2010 (£m)	% Change
SOURCE: HM REVENUE & CUSTOMS
1	UNITED STATES	31,712	30,894	2.7
2	GERMANY	27,539	23,502	17.2
3	FRANCE	18,905	16,542	14.3
4	NETHERLANDS	18,823	17,189	9.5
5	IRISH REPUBLIC	14,063	13,307	5.7
6	BELGIUM	12,949	10,835	19.5
7	ITALY	8,287	7,193	15.2
8	SPAIN	7,946	8,065	-1.5
9	CHINA	7,055	5,839	20.8
10	SWEDEN	5,103	4,504	13.3
11	INDIA	4,597	3,172	44.9
12	SWITZERLAND	4,400	4,063	8.3
13	CANADA	4,126	3,445	19.8
14	HONG KONG	4,120	3,464	18.9
15	RUSSIA	3,853	2,692	43.1
16	UAE	3,844	3,101	23.9
17	JAPAN	3,667	3,443	6.5
18	POLAND	3,655	2,999	21.9
19	AUSTRALIA	3,380	2,609	29.5
20	TURKEY	3,115	2,452	27.1
21	SINGAPORE	2,929	2,704	8.3
22	SOUTH AFRICA	2,836	2,201	28.9
23	NORWAY	2,732	2,390	14.3
24	SAUDI ARABIA	2,554	2,440	4.7
25	DENMARK	2,477	2,242

Top UK import countries

Rank	Country	Year to date 2011 (£m)	Year to date 2010 (£m)	% Change
SOURCE: HM REVENUE & CUSTOMS
1	GERMANY	41,107	37,812	8.7
2	UNITED STATES	25,076	25,574	-2
3	CHINA	24,828	23,172	7.1
4	NETHERLANDS	23,019	21,390	7.6
5	NORWAY	20,014	15,359	30.3
6	FRANCE	19,138	18,133	5.5
7	BELGIUM	15,729	14,054	11.9
8	ITALY	11,629	11,720	-0.8
9	IRISH REPUBLIC	10,436	10,421	0.1
10	SPAIN	9,094	8,350	8.9
11	JAPAN	6,998	6,220	12.5
12	SWITZERLAND	6,525	7,018	-7
13	RUSSIA	6,326	4,290	47.5
14	SWEDEN	6,289	5,282	19.1
15	HONG KONG	6,119	6,141	-0.4
16	POLAND	5,843	4,957	17.9
17	CANADA	5,208	5,483	-5
18	DENMARK	5,017	3,306	51.8
19	INDIA	4,954	4,560	8.7
20	TURKEY	4,498	4,141	8.6
21	QATAR	4,185	1,756	138.3
22	CZECH REPUBLIC	3,510	3,279	7.1
23	SINGAPORE	3,194	3,205	-0.3
24	TAIWAN	2,831	2,387	18.6
25	HUNGARY	2,516	2,593	-2.9

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