Pre New Year and Investing.

Well we got through Christmas and the spending in retail was in the last two days only.Not enough to save some retailers in the U.K.The New Year will show who will not be around trading Christmas 2013.Sad as it is for those that lose their jobs at the present time we still have too much retail space in the U.K.Also some commercial landlords are holding debt on property that is worth less.They cannot sustain the debt levels on property in the High Street and also in some shopping centres.Watch the story unfold.

Now back to investing in local companies as they raise funding in 2013.

Many of those U.K.companies that have survived the recession are now looking to move forward in 2013.Raising finance without using banks will grow as banks do not want to lend at commercial rated deemed right for industry and other ways start to and will develop faster in 2013.Retail Bonds will now, we expect, move to fill that gap as they move into the mainstream in the U.K.Thay tick the boxes that finance directors require in some companies ,that are now taking notice of them.

Happy and successful investing to you all in 2013.

Retail Sales U.K. Christmas 2012.

So we are within a week of Christmas and the public are still not spending.It will finish some companies as even the cash flow is not there and those that have the cashflow what margins are some of them working on?

It is going to the wire as the public are waiting for price reductions on goods to similiar previous year.It is not going to happen as a lot of companies have kept their stock levels to a minimum.I wonder how many that have ordered online are not going to get the delivery they require?

Back to business,those of us that survive Christmas will look to take market share and to stabilise the business for the longer term.Too many have been working on thin margins and will not be able to increase their margins enough and consequently will suffer the results.

Planning for the long term reality is now coming into most businesses.However some will try and go the other way and push their prices higher than the market will allow and they will lose custom in being too greedy.

Planning for the long term requires a good base to work from,good ,efficient,qualified staff and acapital base that is stable.As banks are lending less other ways will develop to fill the gap.And fill it they will.

Retail Bonds will suit some ,as will non bank lending.

Happy and suucessful investing for the New Year from all at www.RetailBonds.co.uk

Spending and housing in the U.K. at Christmas.

Despite all the projections people are not parting company with their money this Christmas in the U.K. That will mean there will be some big name retailers go up for sale after Christmas as most of their profitability is in this 12 week period.

Even some that are 'profitable' should be looked at closely.There seems to be some retailers that call their staff in when they want them and send them home when they are quiet.Or have staff on work experience and dont offer some work afterwards even if they are competent and efficient.

The present way of employing people for 12hrs of 16hrs a week,ch is gaining in popularity with some companies does not bode well for house sales as fluctuating work patterns does not help in getting a mortgage.

So we will see a growing demand for rented property in the U.K. but let me tell you that a lot of rented property in the U.K.is now too expensive and we will see a re-alignment  in rented housing as people are not earning the money to keep up with what some landlords and agents keep pushing upwards.And there has to be a more concerted effort to offer longer rental periods.

Happy and successful investing to you all.

Retail Sales in the U.K.

12 days to Christmas and spending in the retail shops is struggling as customers hold off buying waiting for shops to start reducing prices,which they have now started doing. Some businesses make all their profit in this period and some are not going to make it as results will show after Christmas.

Part of the reason is there is too much retail chasing a market which is not there as much as all the data makes them believe.Supermarkets in the U.K. are going for bust with their expansion of smaller stores.
The buying public are a fickle breed and may turn against companies they are thinking trying to control the market they shop in.

I am sure some in the industry will not agree with me but history shows that however some in the world try to control totally the world they are in they never achieve that for long.

We are having that type of power develop in retailing in the U.K.Time will show when they are too big they will start to implode in on themselves with the mistakes they make and cannot control.

That is showing now in odd pockets.

Smaller companies employ more of the population than the large companies.It is making a living which is more important to most people. Surviving is what it is all about while big boys make big decisions affecting their lives.

Happy and successful investing to you all.

New Year Investment in the U.K.

As we move towards Christmas there are some of us thinking of the new year and what it will bring.For many they will be glad to see the back of 2012 but hey,it could have been worse at the beginning of the year.

There is obviously more secrets to come out about banks,which they would like to see kept in the dark but the sea change amongst the younger workers in banking seeing they can now disclose things to the authorities we will see more come out.

With the linking up of U.K. and American banking regulators in overseeing the financial markets of both countries I believe we will see more closer ties and business between the U.K. and the U.S.A. We are after all  their friend and confidant in Europe.

Many companies are looking forward to growing in 2013 and I hear more engineering is coming back to us because of the skills the U.K. has. It should have never gone in the first place ,the problems caused by substandard parts have cost some companies dear.I hope they have learnt their lesson.

More companies are looking for other forms of finance than banks.Banks being happy to take money from the E.C.B. and the British Government and think nothing of their customers cash deposits.At some time the funding will dry up for banks and they will be chasing customers cash.It may have moved on by then.The banks have not learnt yet have they.

Retail bonds will start to come into their own now as a way of company funding its debt and cash flow.Along with other new ways now coming about. See www.RetailBonds.co.uk

Happy and successful investing to you all.

Interest grows in Retail Bonds.

As more investors look for higher returns on their investments there is a growing use of funds specifically investing in higher rate short term Retail Bonds in the U.K.This is an interesting move as the market for Retail Bonds is beginning to get into its own stride as more companies look at issuing these type of bonds to replace bank debt.

The movement by fund managers into offering this type of investment is because their investment clients are looking to good reasonable stable returns , as nobody knows which way the economy is going to jump.

For more information regarding Retail Bonds go to RetailBonds.co.uk

Happy and successful investing to you all.

Austerity in the U.K.and business.

So it is the same old stuff called austerity.We are all in this together,I dont think.People in the U.K. are getting fed up with this old story.They do however realise things are difficult but  it is up to the Government of the time to at least show serious optomism.

It is really good that corporation tax is going down to 21% by april 2014  but many people in the real world of life think about JOBS, HOUSING and living costs.   Housing does not seem to come on the agenda as a major priority and  I think a period of temporary housing will have to be erected,similiar to after the war. (Some of this is still standing and being used today).


Housing and jobs must become a major priority now as that is at the front of peoples' minds.

The present business climate is not good and the need to settle peoples' minds and get them spending is the only way to assist the economy in moving forward.It will be an interesting Christmas.

Happy and successful investing to you all.

Loans by banks in the U.K.

It has come out that some of the main banks borrowed money from the U.K. government and immediately reduced their loan portfolio,opposite of what the U.K. government wanted.Surprise surprise.It was not a surprise to most of the public.

However the government says it is early days in the loan scheme.Time alone will tell but do not hold your breath.I know the banks need more capital but now theyseem to do what they want with the money and not let it feed through.No wonder the U.K. economy is still in a mess and businesses and the public still have no respect for the banks.

Until banks start to behave with the U.K. in mind we are obviously going to get more of the same.The drying up of cashflow in the U.K. is doing severe damage and just because one or two major companies keep publishing the facts their turnover is up will not save the economy as a whole.

If there is a leader out there that can start to make the U.K. strong again and they are reading this please stand up and take your place at the front.Thankyou.

Happy and successful investing to you all.

Retailing and property in the U.K.

It has been reported in one of the national newspapers that a major bank has offloaded a substantial portfolio of commercial property in Ireland at 25p in the £ which means a discount of 75% to book value.Not good.Although it clears it off the books it is now setting a precedense without them realising .It is a second portfolio that they have sold and the previous was at a   90% discount,again in Ireland.

Back to the U.K. It is also reported that a large retailer,well known in the U.K. is starting to move out of the retail high street because of expensive rents and rates.This is not just a one off. High street rents and rates have been too high for years in the U.K. This has encouraged investors to pile into commercial property in a big way.Reality is here now and we are going to see a lot of lanlords disappear and commercial property prices will come down in value dramatically. Have our banks recognised this on their balance sheets? If they have they are keeping quiet about it.

Even if every high street shops have their upper floors converted to living accomodation it will not save the commercial side as they are too overvalued.

We still have a lot of adjusting in the U.K. to come too and it will start with the downward pricing on commercial property and then spread to domestic housing.
Mortgage lenders have accepted this in reality  because many want a 30% deposit on domestic property.This covers them in a fall of up to 30% as that percentage of risk lies with the purchaser.

Happy and successful investing to you all.

December is here and business loans.

December is here and we are still surviving in business in the U.K. I have read this morning in a national newspaper that pay day loan companies are moving into business loans in a big way.Is that a good thing,time alone will tell.

Being in business is hard in this present recession,which we are told we are not in ,but in borrowing money to sustain abusiness through difficult times needs to be looked at very seriously indeed.High interest rates will not help.

Confidence amongst those with money needs stabilising and they need to be encouraged to spend more.Cashflow is the thing that will save companies not borrowing more money unless it is to invest.

The U.K.business enviroment is not good at the moment ,it would be nice if it started to improve.

Happy and successful investing to you all.