Greece’s catastrophic 1930s-style depression is a salutary tale August 12, 2013 SORRY, but the fact that Greece collapsed at an annual rate of 4.6 per cent in the second quarter, rather than a little bit faster, isn’t good news. It’s terrible, awful, horrible news. Greek output is down by 23 per cent since 2008 and unemployment is at around 28 per cent; no wonder, given the [...]
How to sweet talk your way onto the shelves at Harrods August 11, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks trade fairs and sherbet lemons with the founders of premium confectionary company Jealous LUXURY confectionary brand Jealous has been in a year-long hiatus following a modern-day tale of David versus Goliath. Like many startups before it, the company has been tied up in a trademark tangle with a market leader, and [...]
Where to eat it August 11, 2013 THE WILD GAME CO. Whitecross Street Market, EC1 The Wild Game Co has been going three years since beginning life on the Glorious 12th in 2010 and has led the charge of the game revolution. Andy Wauch founded the company with the aim of selling reasonably priced, restaurant quality meat across London’s food markets. All [...]
Review: Ametsa with Arzak Instruction August 6, 2013 The Halkin Hotel, Belgravia, SW1X 7DJ Tel: 020 7333 1234 FOOD Four stars VALUE Three stars ATMOSPHERE One star Cost per person for tasting menu and matched wine: £145 Ametsa With Arzak Instruction; there’s a restaurant that’s just begging to be hated. It’s the first fine-dining export from the Arzak family (the current iteration being [...]
Restaurant review: Baiwei July 30, 2013 8 Little Newport Street, WC2H 7JJ Tel: 020 7494 3605 FOOD Two stars VALUE Three stars ATMOSPHERE One star Cost per person without wine: £25 I find Chinatown incomprehensible. It’s an ever-shifting tangle of restaurants and takeaways and bars and brothels. It morphs and skews before your eyes. You can sit down in one restaurant, [...]
Making money in Tinseltown is easy: Just pick the right people July 28, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks Twilight with Nicola Horlick, the former City Superwoman who is trying her hand at Hollywood FORMER fund manager Nicola Horlick is in Santa Monica, California. The fabled City Superwoman – a moniker she despises – is working on her newest venture: Derby Street Films. It’s a film development business, currently made up [...]
Inside Track: Just-eat.com just might serve up a London flotation July 25, 2013 LONDON’S reputation as a host city for start-up technology groups would be enhanced if some of the larger businesses would only decide to list here. While there’s no doubt the plan to set up a hub for tech companies around Old Street roundabout is making strong progress, there are still concerns that some of the [...]
McDonald’s revenues miss expectations as European sales remain suppressed July 22, 2013 McDonald’s has reported second quarter revenues of $7.08bn, or $1.38 per share, missing analyst expectations of $1.41 per share (release). Year-on-year, second quarter revenues were up 2.4 per cent, and earnings per share rose by seven per cent. Net profits were up five per cent to $1.40bn. In the US, comparable sales were up one [...]
Battle of the cabs: Hailing competition in London’s transport June 22, 2013 WHEN I lived in Monaco, I had Ferraris. Now, living in London, I have a basic car but barely use it. The hassle of parking and traffic have made me a cab and minicab user, and I’ve recently noticed interesting things going on in their business world. Cabs have had two unique selling points. Unlike [...]
Brothers who took a punt on a new market June 13, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks tobacco with Taz and Umer Sheikh: salesmen, business partners, and self-professed pioneers of the growing electronic cigarette industry SIX years ago, the smoking ban came into force in England, making it illegal to smoke in enclosed workplaces. So when I meet Umer Sheikh – the younger of the two Sheikh brothers behind [...]