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The group said the Crossrail project, currently making central London looking like the world's largest building site, will be a welcome addition to London's transport infrastructure when completed in 2018, and will also facilitate further expansion on land at and adjacent to the Canary Wharf Estate, such as the Wood Wharf site. On a much shorter-term view, this summer's Olympic games is set to make London's East End busier than Piccadilly Circus and, in the group's words, "emphasise the eastward shift of London's centre of gravity."

The occupancy level improved to 96.5% at the end of the year from 96.1% a year earlier. In a statement the firm said: "Although demand for high grade office space across London has reduced largely due to broader economic uncertainties, supply has remained relatively constrained. Overseas real estate investors and businesses are also still being attracted to the relative stability, transparency and traditional strengths of London as a pre-eminent global business centre."

The group said the retail portfolio, now facing competition from the recently opened Westfield centre in Stratford, has been doing well with the portfolio valuation up 8.1% and turnover up 2.2% year-on-year. Footfall increased by 1.52% to 739,760 shoppers per week and all retail units are occupied. Year on year, the market value of the investment portfolio increased by £62.0m or 1.3%, primarily reflecting an improvement in rental values, and net of a fall of 0.6% in the second half of the year.

Earnings per share dropped from 41.3p to a loss of 9p per share. Net asset value per share rose to 190p at the end of 2011 from 187p a year earlier, but was down from 194p at the half-way point of the yea

Underlying pre-tax profit (PTP) fell from £28.8m to £4.6m, well below market expectations of £20m. The reduction in underlying profit was partly attributable to a slide in rental income, following the sale of two properties in the previous year, and partly as a result of a decline in income from lease surrenders. Rental income was down from £287.5m in 2010 to £251.3m, and fell below market expectations of £262m

Office workers at Canary Wharf were not the only ones feeling a chill wind last year, as Songbird Estates, the company which owns the giant wind tunnel in the East End of London, saw its profits plummet. A statutory profit before tax of £463.8m in 2010 turned to a loss of £212.8m in 2011, largely because of a negative adjustment to the tune of £288.7m in respect of movements on derivative financial instruments held by the company, and interest payable on preference shares issued by Songbird. In 2010, these charges had been lower, but still chunky at £127.1m.

Enegi Oil is nearing completion of the workover on the PAP 1 well, where data has indicated that the well can be flowed on a continuous basis. The firm has also signed an agreement with Advanced Buoy Technology to apply for licenses in the UK North Sea under the 27th Seaward Licensing round organised by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). "We are encouraged by the initial results on the workover on Garden Hill South which indicate that upon completion we can expect a positive final outcome which will provide the Company with a strong basis from which to develop," the company said.

@UK has also won the "NHS Sustainability" contract to work out the carbon footprint of Britain's national health service. The firm is also a major player in university and local authority procurement, offering a platform for the public sector to buy through its "Cloud Platform". At 10:49 the shares had risen 5.7%. Over the last 12 months the stock is still down 10.4%.

Cloud commerce company ATUK has cut losses and won several big contracts to push its share price up significantly. Revenues in 2011 increased by 15% to £2.4m (2010: £2.1m), while the loss after tax decreased by 84% to £0.09m (2010: £0.55m). The Company's ecommerce business, its main growth engine, delivered a stronger than expected performance with a 65% growth in revenues.

The management have responded by saying that such an auction would best be conducted in the third quarter of this year. API shares were flat at 11:00 at 57.75p. In the last 12 months the stock has nearly quadrupled in value although the shares are still 85.6% away from their peak in 1999.

The laminates, holographics and foils businesses in the US have all delivered year-on-year growth in profits. At foils Europe, weaker volumes offset the impact of lower raw material costs. The big issue for API is an open letter it received in February from its two largest shareholders, Steel Partners and Wynnefield Capital, suggesting that it began an auction process for a sale of all the company's shares.

Laminate and foil manufacturer API says sales will come in ahead of 2010's full-year numbers as it prepares to put itself up for sale. A trading update released on Friday revealed that full-year results (due May 30th) will be in line with expectations, with sales 14% ahead of last year at approximately £114m. The group's net debt position is predicted to close the year at £8.5m

Nightmare Scenario: Fears of a European slowdown cap Croda shares at current levels.

Dream Scenario: The markets continue to view Croda as an exciting blue chip growth play in the chemicals sector.

Shares in Croda have occupied a rising trend channel on the daily chart since November. The rising 100-day moving average currently at 1,938p provides rising support for the price action, and while this stays in place, upside for the shares is indicated towards a November resistance line projection at 2,300p.

On February 21st speciality chemical producer Croda International announced profit before tax of £60m in the final quarter of 2011, a rise of 22.7% compared to the same period of 2010. For 2011 as a whole the company's pre-tax profits rose 25.9% as compared to 2010, reaching £242.2m by the end of December. Total sales for the year were £1.068bn compared to £1.002bn in 2010, a 6.6% rise. The Consumer Care division saw a rise in sales of 11.2% over 2011; with Industrial Specialities, sales gain up to 1.8% during the year. The final quarter saw sales at Industrial Specialties fall 4.8%, as comparatives with 2010 and a European slowdown hurt performance. Consumer Care sales in the quarter gained 9.1%system for the power plants to ensure they comply with safety and licensing requirements. Croda's 25% plus profits gain for 2011 tops off an exceptional performance from the speciality chemicals group, and further underpins its attractions as a blue chip growth play. This along with the solid and ongoing uptrend in the shares since Autumn 2011 marks Croda out as a buy for Galvan Research.

A High Street name that has struggled of late is bikes and motor parts group Halfords (HFD). A sharp fall in Q3 retail sales worsened in the period leading up to Christmas, as reported on in early January. Apart from cash strapped shoppers, mild weather was blamed for a 4.4% fall in revenues, primarily due to a poor performance from the car maintenance division. The only bright spot was the Autocentres division where revenues grew by a sixth, so clearly the market will be hoping for news of an improvement in overall revenues in the latest trading announcement.

As long ago as October, broker Peel Hunt highlighted a potential recovery story at cash and carry operator Booker (BOK). The broker raised its target price from 65p to 70p after what were described as excellent first half results that triggered a full-year profit hike of 3%. In fact, the shares have put on 10% plus since then backed by a strong January update driven by demand for fresh produce. This led to a 6.7% overall like for like sales growth number for the final quarter of 2011 - a great outperformance compared to many High Street names. If Q1 2012 has continued in this vein, Booker stock may well continue its recent breakout.

VCT) said at the start of February that the de-stocking seen in the last quarter of 2011 among its customers had reversed in a positive way, with sales bouncing back strongly – albeit still around 100 tonnes (at 582 tonnes) less than over the same period last year. But there has clearly been a squeeze higher for the shares after the warning from Victrex in its December full year outlook, something that suggests that investors expect the improvement to continue.

Private shareholders are entitled to a discount on ISAs. Close Brothers will meet the administration charges of the ISA which is operated through Reyker Securities plc.