The company is making a killing because city housing and offices are so cramped | ||
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The Big Yellow Group, one of Britain's biggest storage companies, unveiled a 17% rise in revenue to £84.3 million ($132 million) for the full year ending March 31, 2015. The group said it was mainly due to people needing to store their personal or business related items elsewhere because London, and other city properties, are really "constrained." The Big Yellow Group said in a statement (emphasis ours): Self storage demand from businesses and individuals at any given store is linked in part to local economic activity, consumer and business confidence, all of which are inter-related. Fluctuations in housing activity whether in the rented or owner occupied sector are also a factor and in our view influence the top slice of demand over and above a core occupancy. This has been demonstrated by the resilience of our like-for-like stores since September 2007 despite a collapse in housing activity and GDP over the period 2007 to 2009. Local GDP and hence business and housing activity are greatest in the larger urban conurbations and in particular London and the South East. Furthermore, people and businesses are space constrained in these more expensive areas. Barriers to entry in terms of competition for land and difficulty around obtaining planning are also highest in more urbanised locations. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 'Game of Thrones': The Iron Throne is a terrible investment  | ||
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Car sales are going through the roof with Europe's surprising spending recovery | ||
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European car sales kept on climbing in April, with no speedbump for the solid cyclical recovery the eurozone has been recording for several months now. Sales rose 6.9% in the year to April alone, and 8.2% over the first four months of the year, compared to the first four months of 2014, according to the latest data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Car sales are often used as not just a barometer of spending, but a gauge of economic confidence and security. If you're afraid for your job, a big-ticket purchase like a car is something you're going to delay. Greece saw very impressive growth in April alone, with sales up 43.3% from the same month in 2014. But as Pantheon Macroeconomics' Claus Vistesen points out, in total sales are still below 1990 levels. The Telegraph's Mehreen Khan also suggests that this spike may not be a sign of confidence — it may be more about Greeks looking for somewhere other than banks to put their money. It's easy to pick out the countries that have had particularly strong cyclical recoveries in the last year. Over the first four months of the year, four nations in the eurozone saw sales growth of over 15% compared to the same month last year: Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal:
Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's how Floyd Mayweather spends his millions  | ||
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Deutsche Bank might abandon Britain if there is a 'Brexit' | ||
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Deutsche Bank is so serious about potentially abandoning Britain that it has set up a "working group" to mull over whether the lender should move a bulk of its UK divisions to Germany. The bank confirmed its plans in the Financial Times and said that the "working group" was established to determine the advantages of the German lender moving its operations abroad, should the UK decide to leave the European Union after the referendum. It added that it's "early days and no decisions have been made." Deutsche Bank employs 9,000 people in Britain. Britain's ruling Conservative Party will have to deliver a referendum by 2017 over whether Britain will stay part of the EU or not, since it was a linchpin pledge during the campaign. According to reports, Prime Minister David Cameron is said to be already putting plans in motion to bring forward an in/out referendum by a year. Though the Tories are pushing through the promise of a referendum, however, the party is largely against leaving the EU. In January last year, UK Chancellor George Osborne said the Tories were determined to deliver on the promise of a referendum but they would prefer to stay within the EU and negotiate "a better deal." Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Kids settle the debate and tell us which is better: an Apple or Samsung phone  | ||
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Two startups that are trying to destroy the banks just joined forces | ||
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Bad news for banks — two startups trying to reinvent finance and destroy traditional lending just teamed up. Challenger bank Metro Bank has just struck a deal with Zopa, one of the UK's biggest peer-to-peer consumer lenders, to lend money over Zopa's platform. The amount lent wasn't disclosed but a source told Business Insider that it was around "millions a month." The pair signalled their ambition in the release announcing the deal, writing: "Zopa and Metro Bank believe this partnership is a great example of how disruptive financial challengers can collaborate to provide additional value and revolutionise the UK banking sector." Both companies want to not only steal market share from the UK's traditional banks but also force them to reinvent their business by doing so. Management at both Metro Bank and Zopa have said traditional banks don't do enough to cater to customers' needs. Metro Bank, known for its strong customer service focus, has in the past labelled the UK's five dominant high street banks "a cartel" and Zopa's boss Giles Andrews has chided banks for overlooking customers. Clearly these are two companies that aren't just happy to work alongside traditional lenders. Zopa's CEO Giles Andrews said in a statement: "This partnership brings together two key challengers to the traditional financial services landscape and signals our intent to become a mainstream service.” Metro Bank's CEO Craig Donaldson echoed Andrews' sentiment, saying: "At Metro Bank we’re committed to revolutionising UK banking and we’re delighted to have partnered with Zopa, a fellow financial challenger." Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's what 'Game of Thrones' stars look like in real life  | ||
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