The Square Mile’s retail revolution September 27, 2010 IN the thrust and frenzy of City life, it’s crucial to have somewhere you can take yourself for a bit of quiet repose, if only while you wolf down a sandwich at lunchtime. Problem is, such spaces are rather thin on the ground in the Square Mile – but in a month’s time, one of [...]
Marylebone gets Euro-chic September 27, 2010 Café Luc 50 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5HN FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £36 YOU might assume – I think I did – that Marylebone High Street is hardly in need of another place mixing dining and café culture. But the crowd packed into the recently opened, Belgian-owned Café Luc last Tuesday [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS September 27, 2010 WINE MATCHING AT CINNAMON CLUB Love fine Indian food but not sure how to pair it with wine? Fear not: one of London’s finest Asian restaurants is putting on a five course banquet with wines matched – somewhat unusually – from the Australia’s oldest family- owned winery Yalumba. Exciting pairings will include tandoori king prawn [...]
IMF backs coalition’s cost-cutting plans September 27, 2010 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has endorsed the coalition government’s plans to cut spending. The IMF said the cuts, set out by chancellor George Osborne, were “essential” in supporting the UK’s debt position and said they “supported a balanced recovery”. It also said companies were starting to increase investment as “the demand outlook strengthens”. The [...]
Moody’s slashes Anglo Irish ratings September 27, 2010 Credit agency Moody’s slashed its ratings on Anglo Irish Bank’s lower-grade debt, rattling investors as Dublin tots up the final cost of rescuing a lender whose soured loans have crippled the country’s economy. Moody’s cut the nationalised bank’s senior unsecured debt by three notches to Baa3 – just one notch above junk status – citing [...]
Moody’s downgrades AIB debt September 27, 2010 Credit agency Moody’s slashed its ratings on Anglo Irish Bank’s lower-grade debt, rattling investors as Dublin tots up the final cost of rescuing a lender whose soured loans have crippled the country’s economy. Moody’s cut the nationalised bank’s senior unsecured debt by three notches to Baa3 – just one notch above junk status – citing [...]
AIA kicks off IPO pre-marketing September 27, 2010 American International Group Inc will hold at least a 30 per cent stake in its Asian life insurance business, AIA Group Ltd, for a year after AIA’s listing next month, the IPO term sheet showed. AIA began pre-marketing for the IPO to gauge demand and is expected to set a price range in coming weeks. [...]
Cinven to take over Spice in £250m deal September 27, 2010 Spice, the biggest installer of water meters, has agreed to a £251.1m takeover offer from Cinven after rebuffing two earlier offers, Spice said in a statement. Spice shareholders will receive 70 pence per share from Cinven’s Cilantro Acquisitions, it said in a regulatory disclosure. Spice had agreed to a period of exclusivity with Cinven until [...]
PZ Cussons buys St Tropez for £62.5m September 27, 2010 Soap and shampoo maker PZ Cussons has bought tanning-products firm St Tropez from its private-equity owner LDC for £62.5m in cash. The maker of Imperial Leather soaps and Carex handwash said St Tropez was a good fit with its portfolio of premium brands, which includes The Sanctuary and Charles Worthington hair-care products. St Tropez sold [...]
Unilever in £2.3bn deal for US hair care group September 27, 2010 Consumer goods giant Unilever has agreed to buy United States based hair care group Alberto Culver Co for $3.7bn (£2.3bn) in cash. The Anglo Dutch group’s acquisition will add brands such as V05, TRESemme and Nexxus, and make Unilever the world’s leading company in hair conditioning, the second largest in shampoo, and the third largest [...]
