A champion of British grub May 20, 2010 FOUNDING a restaurant would test the nerves of even the most hardened entrepreneur. Ensuring the food and décor are both delicious and attractive is one thing, but in London a new restaurant can sink or swim based on a review. Iqbal Wahhab, founder of Borough Market’s Roast, which opened in October 2005, swam, but not [...]
DSG cashes in on World Cup May 13, 2010 Currys and PC World owner DSG yesterday said TV sales ahead of the football World Cup had fuelled a six per cent rise in group sales in the 28 weeks to 1 May. Europe’s second-biggest electricals retailer faces stiff competition from Best Buy which opened its first UK store this month in Thurrock, Essex. DSG [...]
Comet sales fall but retailer keeps grip on market share May 12, 2010 COMET maintained its market share in the first four months of the year despite a fall in sales, its parent company Kesa said yesterday. The electrical goods company, which saw like-for-like sales fall four per cent, is facing increased competition from Currys – owned by DSG International – while American chain BestBuy has launched a new [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 5, 2010 Advent International The private equity firm has hired Kevin Beeston, the outgoing chairman of Serco Group, as an operating partner. Beeston will be tasked with helping Advent identify investment opportunities in the business services sector, and will also continue in his role as chairman of Advent’s portfolio company Domestic & General. He has worked for [...]
BIG CURRY FETCHES A FORTUNE FOR ARMY April 29, 2010 OFF to the Guildhall yesterday for the Lord Mayor’s annual “Big Curry”, a Bacchanalian feast in aid of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity. City types in attendance dug deep into their pockets for Britain’s brave soldiers – the event’s committee featured such business luminaries as Lloyd’s of London chairman Lord Levene, Bernard Cazenove, Sir Trevor Chinn [...]
OUT OF OFFICE April 28, 2010 SAMSONITE POP-UP AT HARRODS Call yourself a travel buff? Like a good suitcase as you swish through the business lounge at Heathrow? Then pop along to Harrods where this massive luggage brand is celebrating its centenary with a showcase of the brand’s evolution, from rare vintage cases, collectors’ items from the 20s and 30s through [...]
Solid first quarter boosts private equity hopes April 28, 2010 IT is not all doom and gloom for private equity. That’s how one senior private equity partner described the current outlook to me over breakfast earlier this week. Yet it is an argument that has seemed without foundation during the early part of 2010, which in terms of both the number and value of deals [...]
Curry king who spiced up UK April 22, 2010 ESCAPING the poverty net inspired Sir Gulam Noon to go into business. He lived with his five siblings in one room when he was growing up in Mumbai, India, but is now the UK’s unofficial curry king, after amassing his fortune by selling the food of his native country in the UK. After first travelling [...]
Former Matalan boss joins Hut April 15, 2010 Angus Monro, the former Matalan chief executive is to join the board of online retailer The Hut Group. Monro is already among a list who have invested in the company, including fund managers Artemis and William Currie, and technology venture capital group Balderton Capital. Hut Group has been earmarked as the UK’s fastest growing online [...]
BAILOUT CHIEFS FACE HOLLYWOOD PARADE April 8, 2010 HERE’S betting that the key players in the downfall and rescue of the US banking system never believed they’d have it so good. After countless sleepless nights and stress-soaked days, it’s probably fair to say that policymakers and bank bosses weren’t looking their best when they emerged, battered and bruised, on the other side of [...]