Hollywood Bowl strikes for £280m London IPO June 15, 2016 Hollywood Bowl Group, the UK's largest 10-pin bowling operator, will float on the London Stock Exchange next month in a deal valuing it at around £280m. The group, which runs 54 bowling centres around the country, has been striving to modernise the popular pastime with Americana-themed diners, licensed bars and interactive scoring systems that "customers didn't even know they wanted". Steve [...]
Trevor Bayliss confirms selectors will ponder Nick Compton’s Test future as weather ruins England’s chances of series whitewash June 13, 2016 England head coach Trevor Bayliss has hinted that batsman Nick Compton faces an uncertain Test future after the third and final Investec Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s ended in a tame draw. Only 74 balls were possible as Sri Lanka progressed their overnight score from 32-0 to 78-1 in pursuit of their 362 victory [...]
Horse racing betting: Jennies looks Jewel of a bet in Ascot slog June 13, 2016 Many of the 20 runners in Tuesday afternoon’s Ascot Stakes (5.00pm) are tackling two and a half miles on the flat for the first time, with the recent rain putting even more emphasis on stamina. National Hunt trainers have dominated this prize in recent years, having won eight of the last 10 renewals, and are again [...]
Bairstow exorcises ghost of previous Lord’s stumble to reach three figures and lead England’s revival against Sri Lanka June 9, 2016 In-form England batsman Jonny Bairstow revelled in laying to rest the ghost of falling agonisingly short of a century at Lord’s four years ago after reaching three figures to spearhead his side’s comeback against Sri Lanka. England slipped to 84-4 shortly after lunch following another top-order collapse, only for Bairstow to lead the revival with his [...]
Last chance saloon for Nick Compton and why the third Investec Test at Lord’s is not a dead rubber June 8, 2016 If England’s No3 batsman Nick Compton doesn’t chalk up a sizeable score in the third and final Investec Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, his home ground, then he’s really going to be up against it. I was pleased that the selectors stuck with him after he was recalled for the tour of South Africa [...]
England urged to be ruthless and whitewash Sri Lanka by winning final Test at Lord’s June 7, 2016 England batting coach Mark Ramprakash has urged Alastair Cook’s side to relocate their ruthless streak and whitewash Sri Lanka by claiming victory in the third and final Investec Test at Lord’s, which starts on Thursday. The hosts hold an unassailable lead in the Test segment of the tour having racked up commanding victories at Chester-le-Street [...]
Bond yields in the developed world hit a record low – even the EU referendum won’t stop them falling June 6, 2016 Bond yields across the advanced world have touched a record low. The fall comes as the US looks set to delay its next interest rate hike, the effects of quantitative easing and negative interest rates continue to take hold and political uncertainty mounts. The yield on Bloomberg's global developed sovereign bond index dropped to 0.62 per cent – [...]
Sterling slips again after latest opinion polls show strong support for Brexit June 6, 2016 The pound has yet again borne the brunt of the twists and turns of the EU referendum campaign, with another big drop in the value of the currency today after more opinion polls showed the Leave side on top. Sterling has lost 0.7 per cent against the US dollar today, falling to a three-week low of $1.4406, [...]
South Africa squashes the England side at City A.M.’s Polo in the Park match June 5, 2016 While many well-heeled workers fled the City in favour of the Investec Derby at Epsom this weekend, those who stayed in the capital didn't miss out on equestrian sport. Thousands of horsey sorts flocked to Fulham on Friday to catch a spot of polo at Hurlingham Park. International Friday at Chestertons Polo in the Park saw three [...]
Minding proves she’s a class above in the Investec Oaks June 3, 2016 After a far from ideal preparation, and a far from ideal passage around the home bend, Minding scorched clear of her rivals to win the Investec Oaks for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore. The daughter of Galileo became the first 1000 Guineas winner to follow-up in the Oaks since Kazzia in 2002, marking herself down [...]