Newton Lettings has secured a lease on larger premises in Glasgow’s Elderslie Street to cope with the current rise in demand for rental properties throughout the city and other areas in central Scotland.

Managing director Riccardo Giovanacci acquired Newton Lettings - the lettings arm of his family’s long-established business, Newton Property Management, which continues to trade successfully - in 2019.

He said: “Our move to new premises in the Charing Cross area of the city has been prompted by two things: first, we are expanding quickly and plan to hire more staff, so we need more space.

“Second, our former owners, Newton Property Management, is also on the growth path, having recently acquired a long-established factoring business in Ayrshire, so needs more of its office space to accommodate its new staff.

“We have been happily based at its Port Dundas Road offices since our buyout last year, but now is definitely the right time to move, so it is a case of successful expansion all round."

The company's portfolio currently stands at more than 600 properties managed on behalf of nearly 400 landlords. Mr Giovanacci said the business has seen brisk demand from prospective tenants ever since the lockdown effects of Covid-19 eased off in early summer.

“This year has seen a surge in enquiries from tenants which, in turn, has helped to boost prices," he added. "We continue to grow organically by around 10 per cent and look continually to increase that year on year."

READ MORE: Tay Letting moves into Dundee

IKEA readies for second wave as profits boosted by stay-at-home shoppers

The Herald: The new IKEA at West Quay

Profits at the owner of the IKEA furniture brand grew in the 12 months to the end of August as shoppers spent money saved while stuck at home by the pandemic on furnishings.

Inter IKEA Group, a franchisor to store owners, said pretax profit grew 13% to €2 billion (£1.8bn), helped also by lower raw material prices. In the previous fiscal year, profit growth was 5%.

The company, which generates the bulk of revenues from sales of goods to its franchisees, said in September that retailers’ sales shrank 4% to €39.6bn because of Covid-19 and temporary store closures, but it saw sales growing this year.

Demand grew early on in the pandemic for office furniture, food jars and cooking products, and has stayed strong for storage. The company has also seen increased demand for things like new beds and kitchen refurbishments.

READ MORE: Issue of the Day: The rise and rise of online shopping

California voters to decide on fate of gig economy workers

The Herald: APP: The Uber app being used on a smartphone

Along with today's presidential election in the US, trend-setting California is set to vote on the future of the gig economy, deciding whether to back a ballot proposal by Uber and its allies that would cement app-based food delivery and ride-hail drivers’ status as independent contractors, not employees.

The measure, known as Proposition 22, marks the culmination of years of legal and legislative wrangling over a business model that has introduced millions of people to the convenience of ordering food or a ride with the push of a button.

Companies describe the contest as a matter of ensuring flexibility for a new generation of workers who want to choose when and how they work. Opponents see an effort to exploit workers and avoid employee-related costs running into the hundreds of millions.

The proposition is the app makers’ response to a new California law that requires companies that control how workers do their jobs to classify those workers as employees. The app companies argue the law does not apply to them because they are technology platforms, not hiring entities, and that their drivers control how they work.

READ MORE: Uber valued at $82bn in lower end share listing

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