CITY SET FOR HERON’S ROOM WITH A VIEW February 18, 2010 BUSINESS hotshots out to impress in the City’s culture of superlatives, take note: plans are finally afoot to find a restaurateur to take on what will soon become the venue with some of the best views over the Square Mile. Heron Tower, the 46-storey Bishopsgate glass and stainless steel giant due for completion just over [...]
The good times are rolling again February 17, 2010 IT’S been a rough couple of years for restaurants, many of whom – beginning life bright-eyed and bushy-tailed – were stopped in their tracks by the credit crunch. High-gloss French restaurant Ambassade de L’ile and swanky Japanese restaurant Aaya were two casualties, along with Nobu’s sister restaurant Ubon in Canary Wharf. But it’s a far cheerier [...]
DIAMOND TAKES HARD LINE ON BONUS ROW February 16, 2010 AS AN investment banking doyen continually under the cosh these days with regard to bonus payments, it must be tough to keep a calm and unruffled façade at all times. Bob Diamond, the president of Barclays and head of its money-spinning investment bank Barclays Capital – yesterday kept mostly schtum at the group’s annual results [...]
She’s far more than just a (legal) blonde: a star is born February 16, 2010 MEETING Sheridan Smith, the 28-year old star of the smash hit Legally Blonde: The Musical, is rather like a game of hide and seek. Or, as it turns out, a treasure hunt. For the former star of such television gems as Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of?Crisps and Gavin and?Stacey, has gone awol. [...]
Missing the mark in museum land February 15, 2010 AUBREY, the restaurant of The Kensington Hotel, is named after Aubrey de Vere, who I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you was a middle-ranking medieval baron and chum of William the Conqueror. He netted himself the estate of Kensington after the Norman Conquest, according to the Domesday book. Back then, the estate was [...]
Domino’s delivers profit uplift February 15, 2010 Domino’s Pizza, the takeaway company, is forecast to produce a 55 per cent rise in pre-tax profits tomorrow after benefitting from consumers cutting back on restaurant meals and eating at home. Analysts expect group turnover to increase 15 per cent to £157m, with internet sales tipped to account for around a quarter of orders. Domino’s [...]
HEDGE FUND FASHION GURU HAS A SALES BOOM February 11, 2010 WE ALWAYS knew women were good at multi-tasking, but Britt Lintner really does take the concept to a new extreme. Regular readers may remember Lintner, who heads up her own flourishing womenswear label while managing to hold down a tough job in hedge fund sales at GLG Partners. And now I hear that not only [...]
Get into the foreign property game at a fraction of the cost February 11, 2010 FOR many people, owning a foreign property would be the ultimate luxury. However, dealing with local authorities, maintaining the place, or renting it out can turn a luxury into a time-consuming, costly hassle. And that assumes you can really afford the place of your dreams, rather than a flat in a high-rise overlooking a crowded [...]
Tchenguiz’s former tapas chain part of £100m sale February 8, 2010 THE group behind La Tasca and the Ha Ha Bar and Grill chain could raise £100m when it is put up for sale. The Bay Restaurant Group – which was once part of property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz’s empire – is understood to be being eyed by private equity-backed investors. Interest is set to increase after [...]
For a late winter ski trip, north-east France is a red hot option February 8, 2010 YOU will hear many British voices on the slopes of the French ski resort of Morzine, but despite the fact that “the Brits are here” the region still retains a Gallic shrug. Unlike Meribel, which has long since been colonised by Brits, and where the main town is full of raucous British pubs like Dick’s [...]