Lidl eyes Mayfair and Chelsea stores amid £500m expansion April 28, 2025 You could soon shop at a Lidl store in the swanky London districts of Mayfair and Chelsea as the low-cost supermarket plans dozens more store openings as part of a £500m expansion plan. The German-owned business, which controls 7.8 per cent of the UK grocery market according to latest Kantar figures, has published a list [...]
Eat, drink, sleep repeat: From martinis to ceviche – the best London spots past and present April 24, 2025 Studying successful luxury brands is a personal passion of mine; At their best, they inspire the people working within them to achieve what they didn’t think possible, whilst creating a huge following of passionate advocates spreading their brand love and purchasing power. If you have success in both of these areas, the profits will follow; [...]
McCain: Chips favourite doubles profit to £100m in three years April 7, 2025 Profit at the UK arm of potatoes giant McCain Foods surged to almost £100m during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The North Yorkshire-headquartered UK arm of the Canadian giant has reported a pre-tax profit of £98.7m for the 12 months to 30 June, 2024. The figure, revealed in new accounts filed with [...]
Explainer: What could a UK-US trade deal look like? April 1, 2025 US President Donald Trump is expected to impose new tariffs on imports from countries around the world this week, with the UK set to be affected by the global tax changes. No10 has confirmed the government is “actively preparing for all eventualities” ahead of Trump’s announcement on April 2, and that we “expect the UK [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: London’s best dog-friendly restaurants March 26, 2025 Last week Franco Manca announced that they have become ‘dog friendly’. This a welcome turnaround for the restaurant group that turned away a guide dog from one of their venues in 2018. Fortunately, this shameful incident led to my meeting with Dave Kent, the blind gentleman who required his trusty friend Chad to lead him [...]
Gordon Ramsay rakes in £60m as TV company takes off March 21, 2025 The production company run by Gordon Ramsay has seen a dramatic surge in its turnover as its profit continued to climb during its latest financial year. Humble Pie Productions, which trades as Studio Ramsay, has posted a turnover of £60.6m for the 12 months to 30 June, 2024, while it reported a pre-tax profit of [...]
Deliveroo: Will Shu lined up for massive pay day March 20, 2025 The founder and chief executive of Deliveroo could be in line for massive pay day in the wake of the FTSE 250 delivery giant making its first annual profit. The company could hand Will Shu a pay packet of more than £5.6m after adding the CEO to its long-term incentive plan and if Deliveroo’s shares [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: The best restaurants in Florence March 20, 2025 Last week began with a wonderfully long lunch in Bluebird Chelsea with Mirabeau founder Stephen Cronk and his chief exec Richard Larkin. Everyone in the drinks business loves these guys, but I take credit for introducing the Batman and Robin of Provencal rose to each other back in 2017. In Bluebird, the restaurant atmosphere was [...]
The Debate: Should we stop eating avocados? March 12, 2025 Alan Titchmarsh has waged war on the avocado, but do we really need to stop eating them? Two writers hash in out in this week's debate.
Hellofresh: Profit hike expected as cost-cutting drive extended March 11, 2025 Hellofresh has warned that its sales are set to fall this year but that its profit is expected to rise as it extended its cost-cutting drive. The recipe box delivery company, which is headquartered in Germany, said its cost-cutting programme, which was announced in the second half of 2024, would be extended until 2026. Hellofresh [...]