Fresh finance deal for Caffe Nero revealed January 7, 2014 COFFEE chain Caffe Nero announced that a £275m deal to refinance its debts had been completed yesterday. The deal is split between £100m of senior debt instruments, £150m in mezzanine debt and £25m in capital expenditure. The firm say that they will expand abroad and in the UK, as well as releasing a new “at home” [...]
Gatwick says sorry for chaos after biblical Christmas floods January 7, 2014 GATWICK has made a fresh apology to passengers left stranded on Christmas Eve, after it emerged that the airport’s chief executive was on holiday in Newcastle as staff struggled to find enough bus drivers to move passengers. Chief executive Stewart Wingate said the airport had just half an hour’s warning of the “biblical” flooding that [...]
Politicians concerned that spending cuts could jeopardise Environment Agency’s flood work January 7, 2014 POLITICIANS warned yesterday that budget cuts at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs could endanger the country’s efforts to deal with flooding and other extreme weather. Defra’s budget will be cut from £3bn in 2010-11 to £2.2bn by 2015-16, meaning it faces some of the most stark spending reductions of any government [...]
Meltdown Mike is not alone in his public pickle January 7, 2014 POOR Michael Bay – the Transformers director had a very public meltdown earlier this week when he introduced Samsung’s new 150-inch TV at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show. The director lost his place on the teleprompter, fluffed his lines and walked off stage in a huff. But Bay can console himself with the fact [...]
Has the City got its sea legs? The London Boat Show certainly does January 7, 2014 FOR THOSE City folk with a spare million or five burning a hole in their pocket, the London Boat Show has floated into town, mooring up at the ExCel centre. From disco-ready top decks to casinos and underwater lights – extravagant whims aren’t going unanswered. Business & Energy minister Michael Fallon hotfooted it down there [...]
White Company founder and top bosses awarded bumper bonus January 7, 2014 CHRISSIE Rucker, founder of the White Company, took home £4.5m last year after the home furnishings and fashion retailer reported a rise in sales and profits. Accounts filed this week at Companies House also show that £2.9m was set aside to pay out a long-term incentive scheme for the group’s top managers. The nightwear and [...]
Topps Tiles gets boost from UK housing market January 7, 2014 TILING specialist Topps Tiles posted upbeat figures yesterday in a further sign that a rising housing market is having a positive effect on spending. Topps Tiles, which has 328 stores across the country, said like-for-like sales jumped by 9.3 per cent in its first quarter to 28 December, boosting shares by 2.9 per cent yesterday. [...]
Bottom Line: Developers vie to see how high they can go January 7, 2014 UNTIL World War II, St Paul’s – which stands just 111m high – was the tallest building in London. Despite height restrictions in the capital being lifted in 1956 it wasn’t until the late seventies that London got its first true skyscraper, when Tower 42 sprung up – looming a full 183m above Old Broad [...]
Physical retailers see no boon from seasonal card spending January 7, 2014 CARD spending in brick-and-mortar shops over the last year dropped, despite the onset of an early economy recovery. Data from credit and debit cards released by Visa Europe yesterday suggest that while spending at physical retail stores dropped by 1.9 per cent between December 2012 and last month, despite a 6.8 per cent bump in [...]
The Original Bowling Company scores perfect Christmas game January 7, 2014 BRITONS celebrated over the Christmas holidays by putting on their bowling shoes, according to the Original Bowling Company, which posted strong results over the festive period. The company, which runs 44 bowling centres known as AMF and Hollywood Bowl, said like-for-like sales in the five weeks to 5 January were up 8.4 per cent on [...]
