Business briefs: Superglass | Lego | St James’s Place

Published on 25/01/2013 00:00

IRISH building industry veteran Michael Chadwick, chairman of Grafton Group, is continuing to increase his stake in Stirling-based insulation manufacturer Superglass.

Chadwick has bought a further 1.25 million shares to up his holding to 11.2 per cent.

The company’s biggest shareholder is another Irish buyer, Belfast-based family firm W&R Barnett, which has also just increased its holding to 22.3 per cent after upping its stake last year.

Superglass has seen its value plunge from more than £120 million to less than £4m in the past five years.

Lego eyes Glasgow for first Scots store

Iconic toy firm Lego is to open its first Scottish branch after unveiling plans for an outlet in Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries.

The firm said the new store, which will cover more than 2,500sq ft, was due to open in the spring. It will mark the company’s 11th shop in the UK.

Florian Mayer, marketing manager Europe for Lego Stores, said: “With the opening of our 11th store, we are now offering our Scottish fans a wide range of Lego products, including exclusive and difficult-to-find sets that aren’t available elsewhere and unique hands-on, minds-on play experiences”.

St James’s clients happy to invest

St James’s Place, the wealth management business majority owned by Lloyds Banking Group, enjoyed a jump in fourth-quarter sales as its well-heeled customers gained confidence in the economy and put their money to work.

New business increased 46 per cent year-on-year in the last three months of 2012, with sales of £223.8 million.

Chief executive David Bellamy attributed much of the spike in sales to a mounting feel-good factor among investors as anxiety over Europe’s debt crisis eased after the summer.