Mix it up: Fire up afternoon tea with some gin in your teacup March 3, 2015 Ritual is one of life’s pleasures. Whether it’s the morning coffee or the whisky before bed, familiarity breeds contentedness. The best thing about rituals is that they’re easily appropriated. Even if you’ve never celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas or Holi, there’s nothing to stop you giving thanks or presents. Of course, some rituals are better than [...]
Sire De Grugy ready to star at the Festival once again March 3, 2015 BILL ESDAILE REPORTS FROM GARY MOORE’S YARD AHEAD OF THE CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL IF GARY Moore fancies karaoke – and I very much doubt it would be his style – then The Beatles’ classic ‘The Long and Winding Road’ would surely sum up the journey he has had this winter with stable star Sire De Grugy. [...]
Mobile World Congress 2015: Samsung UK exec Andy Griffiths sees confidence up March 2, 2015 Britain’s consumers poured cash into TVs, smartphones and household appliances over Christmas and into 2015, says Samsung’s UK and Ireland president, who said the spending was a barometer of the wider UK economy. “We’re really seeing the health of the UK economy coming through,” explained Andy Griffiths, speaking to City A.M. at Mobile World Congress [...]
Weak sales at Thorntons leave investors with a bitter aftertaste March 2, 2015 SHARES in Thorntons fell 5.5 per cent yesterday after the chocolate-maker warned that a reduction in orders over Christmas by two major buyers and problems at its UK warehouse had dented profits. The retailer, which already issued a profit warning in December, said commercial sales made through third party retailers fell by 12.4 per cent [...]
The licence fee is obsolete – but a new BBC poll tax would be just as bad March 2, 2015 BBC director-general Lord Hall must have thought all his Christmases had come at once. For years, the corporation has been on the defensive about the future of the TV licence fee. Campaigners had highlighted how it is being rendered obsolete by the increasing numbers watching TV via iPlayer catch-up services, on tablets, computers and on [...]
Thorntons share price slides as sales melted by supermarket woes March 2, 2015 The figures The latest figures from chocolate maker Thorntons were hard to digest for investors, sending shares down more than seven per cent in early trading. Like-for-like sales in the first half of the year to 10 January were £128m – a fall of eight per cent. Pre-tax profit fell 11 per cent to £6.5m, largely as a result woes [...]
How much are stamps? First and second-class postage will rise in March at inflation-busting rates February 27, 2015 Inflation may be at a record low, but that’s not holding back Royal Mail. First and second-class stamps are going up by a penny from the end of March, the postal company has revealed. It takes the price of a first class stamp to 63p and second class to 54p. That’s a rise of 1.6 [...]
London Barometer: What’s happening to the capital’s house prices? February 26, 2015 There is clearly now much more activity in emerging prime areas than prime central London, with ongoing political uncertainties and the recent Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) changes alluded to in our last Barometer now having a marked effect. More sellers coming to the market would seem to imply that high SDLT has been a [...]
And Baby makes three: Shard to get another building buddy to become “trilogy” by 2018 February 26, 2015 All the best things come in threes and skyscrapers are no different. A third building is being planned to join the Shard and Baby Shard to create a “trilogy” of towers designed by award-winning architect Renzo Piano. Sellar Property Group, which is responsible for the two existing buildilngs, is in talks with contractors over [...]
Former Tesco exec takes over as boss of Morrisons supermarkets February 25, 2015 MORRISONS has named former Tesco executive David Potts as its new chief executive, completing the recruitment of a triumvirate of ex-Tesco men to restore growth at the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket. Potts was Tesco’s longest serving director after beginning his career as a shelf stacker in 1973 and rising to become head of its Asian business. [...]