Enjoy a gin-fuelled long weekend at Bombay Sapphire’s Laverstoke Mill distillery June 1, 2016 A partnership between Bombay Sapphire and – improbably – the wine-heaped environs of the Vineyard Hotel in Newbury, the Bombay Gin Break is a package holiday designed with the more holistic bon viveur in mind. Arrive to complementary gin and tonics, then head to the very place they were made to discover just what it [...]
Olympic controversy and Zika outbreaks have done nothing to dampen Rio de Janeiro’s party atmosphere June 1, 2016 In what is surely a daily occurrence in Brazil, a bunch of transfixed foreigners sat speechless ogling a local. “Wesley, she looks friendly, get out of the van and walk up to her,’’ suggested our Iguassu Falls host Juliana. “I have two daughters, I’m not going anywhere near her,’’ Wesley replied. Juliana, let me confirm, [...]
Heineken hopes F1 will help its beer zoom off shelf June 1, 2016 Brewing giant Heineken is reportedly close to tying up a five-year £100m deal to sponsor Formula One. The sport is more globalised than ever, with races now taken place in extremely lucrative markets across the Middle East, America and eastern Europe. Although many consumer brands have sponsored the sport over the years – with Red [...]
Jaguar Land Rover in for bumpy ride as profits fall despite stellar sales May 30, 2016 The UK’s largest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover’s sales increased 28 per cent to 158,813 vehicles in the fourth quarter ended 31 March, thanks to a strong demand for the Jaguar XE compact saloon, nicknamed the “baby Jag”. Despite reporting bumper sales, the British luxury car manufacturer saw its pre-tax profits fall to £1.56bn, down from £2.6bn [...]
Superforecasting: How seemingly ordinary people can predict everything from world events to election results May 27, 2016 The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was having a stressful time in 2013. A rebel militia had just taken control of Goma, a large province with a population of about a million people, and regional powers were putting pressure on him to wrest it back by force. Little did he know that [...]
Mercedes-Benz GLS review: can it topple the Range Rover as the S-Class of SUVs? May 27, 2016 The trouble with making the best car in the world is that you become a target for everyone else obsessed with doing better. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a wondrous machine whose chauffeurs, so often seen parked up in London watching the in-car TV, should count themselves very lucky indeed. But they’d be luckier still in [...]
Jekyll and Hyde at the Old Vic review: Toe-tappin’ fun, if a little shallow May 26, 2016 The Old Vic | ★★★☆☆ Much is unfamiliar in this dance adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde – the lurid suits, the jazzy score, the fact that Jekyll is reimagined as a doctor of botany. That there’s little tying the production to RL Stevenson’s source material is testament to the enduring power of Dr Jekyll, a character [...]
Romeo and Juliet at The Garrick Review: Richard Madden and Lily James love it up in this Mafioso-themed production May 26, 2016 Perennial favourite Romeo and Juliet is undoubtedly a great play, but it’s not always a good production. We all know the story – dumb rich kids making stupid choices – but for jaded modern audiences, it can be a struggle to care. Cynicism has encouraged a gimmicky approach in recent productions, with increasingly elaborate re-imaginings [...]
Are you a GloMad or Tumbleweeder? Discover the London housing tribes that’ll be determining the property landscape May 26, 2016 Every week, City A.M. invites an industry professional to write about an emerging trend in the property market. Are you a MeCo, a Tumbleweeder, or perhaps a My Sizer? These are London’s new housing tribes. Through Strutt & Parker’s latest Housing Futures research, we discovered that 65 per cent of Londoners who intend to move [...]
Property Entrepreneurs: Johns & Co founder John Morley on how he plans to improve landlord-tenant relations May 26, 2016 For too many of London’s flat dwellers, their experience of property management has been wondering why repairs take so long and why calls for help go unanswered. Part of the problem lies in the fact developers have little long term interest in management once they have sold all the apartments in a scheme, so, all [...]