ROUX BUSY EXPANDING WHITEHALL WAISTLINES October 26, 2010 IT’S been a busy few months for master chef Michel Roux Jr, splitting his time between fostering his burgeoning TV career and appointing a new chef for his latest venture, Roux at Parliament Square. In addition to his ongoing judge’s spot on Masterchef, Roux has also been busy filming a series set to hit our [...]
Broadcasting offers traders the chance for a big challenge October 25, 2010 UK BROADCAST media has seen its earnings growth increase by 50 per cent this year. This outperforms other areas of the sector that have experienced steady, if unspectacular, growth. With the sector rated as undervalued by Numis and the industry experiencing rapid changes, taking a punt on the prospects for one of the big players [...]
All change for Square Mile shopaholics October 24, 2010 SHOPPING centre One New Change opens its doors to customers on Thursday, though up to 30 per cent of the shops will not be ready for the launch. Several people close to the development have said between 70 and 90 per cent of retailers will open on Thursday, with the rest aiming to complete their [...]
The Malay paradise where the world’s A-list comes to relax October 24, 2010 THERE’s a moment, when I step in to the glistening emerald Malaysian waters of my own secluded cove, next to my private “Estate”, when I can see just why this place is so popular with celebrities. The sun is shining. Hornbills are squawking in the air. There’s no-one to take in my pasty white bikini-clad [...]
When unusual dinners turn into business ideas October 21, 2010 WHO on earth is born with Mexican restaurant chain abilities in their DNA?” asks Eric Partaker. He and Dan Houghton decided to make it part of theirs when they launched the Mexican restaurant chain Chilango. Neither are Mexican or had run a restaurant before. But they found they made a good team when working at [...]
PLAYBOY CLUB SET TO REOPEN IN LONDON October 19, 2010 EXCITING news for fans of the good life – Playboy, the iconic brand set up by Hugh Hefner, is reopening its private members club in London, over two decades after the original closed its doors at 45 Park Lane back in the Eighties. This time around Hef’s relocating to swanky new premises at Mayfair, and [...]
Whitbread’s profit boosted by discounts October 19, 2010 WHITBREAD profit jumped by 28 per cent to £151m in the six months to September, as its Premier Inn and Costa Coffee businesses boomed. Revenue rose 14.5 per cent to £805m as the company expanded its operations across the UK. Whitbread raised its interim dividend by 17 per cent to 11.25p to reflect the results. [...]
Blacks fields potential buyers October 19, 2010 CAMPING and hiking retailer Blacks Leisure yesterday confirmed it has received several approaches to take over all or parts of its business. Shares in the company rose 25 per cent to 42.50p following the news that Blacks has taken on financial advisers McQueen to help field potential offers. The share price gives the company a [...]
Spanish favourite hits mark again October 18, 2010 Camino 28 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, E14 8RR. www.camino.uk.com/canarywharf Tel: 020 7239 9077 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £35 IT must be tricky designing a Spanish restaurant. One route is to go rustic, with wine barrels, crates, bull-fighting memorabilia and castanets everywhere, and instructions to staff to wipe their hands on their [...]
The past lives on as Agatha Christie’s top hotel reopens October 17, 2010 ONCE you’ve been to Istanbul, Paris, Berlin and even London seem somehow paltry, a bit small-scale and even a touch banal. The enormity and seductiveness of the Bosphorous, especially at sunset, and the mesmeric mixture of ancient history, Ottoman splendour and Islamic architecture beguile every traveller. Its appeal was just as strong for the most [...]