CITY TYPES SHOW THEY’RE GAME AS SHOOTING MAKES A COMEBACK
WELL, well, well: how about this for a turn-up for the books? You know the good times are returning when the traditional City pastimes start making a comeback – eating and boozing at the swankiest of places, corporate jollies at the races, on the track or on the golf course, that kind of thing. So The Capitalist was intrigued to hear of a smart little earner set up by Alick Barnes, the owner of Devonshire rural retreat Loyton Lodge, which promises to give City folk a thorough grounding in all things game-related on a “shooting etiquette” weekend.
The weekend – which will set you back around £360 per person – covers all aspects of a traditional shooting trip, from lessons on safety and respect for the quarry, to tips on how to prepare and cook game and even how to dress for the occasion.
“Corporate hosts spend a lot of money on taking guests shooting, and City boys and girls need to be able to enjoy it,” Barnes tells me.
“My generation of old farts were all taught to carry a gun, but the younger people need to be taught that if they put a foot wrong, for example going over a fence and forgetting to unload the gun, it is all too easy to catch the trigger, hear a big bang and see their best mate lying there with their head blown off…”
Adrenaline junkies, form an orderly queue.
GLOBE TROTTING
City bigwigs with a bit of spare time on their hands need look no further for an extra-curricular pastime with a difference. Word reaches The Capitalist that the Shakespeare’s Globe Trust is looking for a new chief executive, after incumbent boss Peter Kyle announced he will retire in November.
The post is clearly one heaped with arty kudos, and trust chairman Roger Parry – who is also chairman of pollsters YouGov and marketing group Media Square – tells me a City heavyweight would be ideal for the role.
“We’re looking for someone who has the capability to run a big and complex business and combines that with a love of Shakespeare’s works,” Parry says. “The proximity with the City means that we can hopefully lure someone across the river – the Globe evidently does not pay as well as Goldman Sachs, but we’d welcome applications…”
IN THE DRINK
A tip for investors out there who are keen to look outside the box, courtesy of Premier Cru Fine Wine Investments.
Premier Cru informs me that the average market growth for investment-quality wines is expected to soar by over 20 per cent by next January – with the best-performing vintage expected to be the Mouton Rothschild 1982, currently valued at £13,000 and expected to jump to over £17,000 by early next year.
Apparently, it’s hefty levels of demand from Asia which is pushing up the prices – particularly as our Far Eastern connoisseurs are predominantly buying to drink rather than to invest for the long-term.
Bottoms up, I say.