BILL OF THE WEEK December 13, 2009 IT SEEMS there’s a new trick on the canny corporate’s radar – the Christmas client breakfast, which is easy to book, cheap as chips (well, in comparison to an evening blowout, anyway) and doesn’t leave you with a sore head for the next three days. Take this group, for example, who turned up to swanky [...]
London’s best sales growth for 3 years December 13, 2009 LONDON enjoyed its best sales growth since October 2006, with central London retail sales for November 13.3 per cent higher on a like-for-like basis than a year ago, according to the latest survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) out today. “These are great figures,” said Stephen Robertson, BRC’s director general. “These figures show that [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 13, 2009 THE SUNDAYS The Sundays Telegraph DEBENHAMS DIRECTORS GET BUMPER PAYOUTS Directors of Debenhams have received bumper payouts, despite the retailer cutting its dividend payment to shareholders last year. Rob Templeman, chief executive, saw his package increase by a third to £1.24m after he was granted a bonus of £428,073. Michael Sharp, deputy chief executive, saw [...]
THE TIPSTER December 7, 2009 GOLD bugs will have been disappointed with the sharp correction in the precious metal as it was unable to sustain its record highs above $1,200 an ounce. But for now gold seems to have found some support around the 23.60 per cent retracement when drawn from the April low so this could present a good [...]
OUT OF OFFICE December 7, 2009 WAITING FOR GODOT RETURNSActing heavyweights Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart made the revival of Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece one of the year’s stand-out theatrical events. The show is going to be back at the Theatre Royal Haymarket for 11 weeks early next year. Stewart won’t be returning, but John Rees will be stepping ably into his [...]
Galvins open a temple to fine food December 7, 2009 Galvin La Chapelle35 Spital Square, E1 6DY, tel: 020 7299 0400FOODSERVICEATMOSPHERECost per person without wine: £50 THE Galvin brothers first struck gold with their close-to-perfect Bistrot De Luxe in Baker Street, which fused rusticity with the fineness of serious French cuisine. Then they took over Windows at the Park Lane Hilton, turning it into a [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS December 7, 2009 LE BOUCHON’S FESTIVE CHEESEBOARDIf you’re short of ideas of what to put alongside the stilton on the Christmas cheeseboard, help is at hand from Spitalifields’ Le Bouchon Breton. The French restaurant’s in-house cheese expert – or, um, “frommelier” – will be running a festive cheese masterclass on 23 December. Priced at £100 per head, it’ll [...]
BRC: solid start to Christmas despite weaker sales growth December 7, 2009 BRITISH retailers saw weaker growth in sales values last month after experiencing their best October since 2002, the latest survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) will show today. Retail sales rose 1.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis in November compared to the same period last year when sales volumes fell 2.6 per cent [...]
FTSEdrops as windfall tax worries offset mining gains December 7, 2009 Britain’s top shares ended 0.2 per cent lower yesterday, with banks weak on concerns over a possible windfall tax, offsetting modest gains in miners and energy stocks which rebounded from earlier losses. The FTSE 100 closed 11.70 points lower at 5,310.66 points, paring some losses from earlier in the session when the index dropped to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 7, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES APAX PAYS £975M IN MARKEN BUY-OUTApax Partners will today announce the £975m buy-out of Marken, the provider of distribution services to the pharmaceutical industry, generating big profits for its management and Intermediate Capital Group, which acquired the company in 2007. The acquisition of Marken is the biggest private equity deal in the UK [...]