Premier Inn owner Whitbread hits out at ‘destructive’ activist investor Hospitality Premier Inn owner Whitbread has hit out at the activist investor seeking a seat on its board, claiming its proposals would be a “complete waste” of time and money. The FTSE 100 hospitality firm wrote to shareholders on Tuesday urging them to reject the plans put forward by Corvex Asset Management, one of the group’s [...]
Battersea Power Station nears completion with £280m new loan Property The developers behind Battersea Power Station have secured a new £280m refinancing as the £5bn regeneration project nears its final stage. The Battersea Power Station Development Company secured the new loan from the group of lenders which have backed the project since it began in 2012, including London-listed Standard Chartered, Malaysian bank CIMB, Singaporean financial [...]
I helped found Shazam, now I write crime novels: Job hopping is a joy Opinion Long gone are the days of life-long jobs and thank goodness – job-hopping is a joy, writes Shazam-investor-turned-play-director Ajay Chowdhury.
Former Whitbread bosses mastermind takeover of Beefeater restaurants October 7, 2026 Former senior managers at Whitbread have advised on a deal to buy back nearly 60 restaurants from the group, after it wound up its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains last month. Common Table Group, a British hospitality firm, has agreed to buy 57 restaurant sites and one Premier Inn hotel from the FTSE 100 hotels [...]
The Lakes Distillery: Profit slumps at Nyetimber’s whisky brand October 7, 2026 Nyetimber, the English sparkling wine producer, paid £71m to acquire The Lakes Distillery in 2024 as part of its goal to create a UK-based luxury drinks brand. But just two years on, and it’s starting to look as if Nyetimber, led by CEO Eric Heerema, may be suffering buyer’s remorse. Paul Carrie (who previously co-founded [...]
Austrian whisky makes its mark October 7, 2026 This month’s issue of Whisky Business, City AM’s monthly look at the world of whisky, takes a look at the whisky coming out of Austria. Austria’s spirits market is worth around €360m a year, with whisky exports accounting for about 10 per cent of that, according to figures published in 2024. That makes the company a minnow [...]
Robert De Niro on $1.3billion hospitality empire: ‘I’m very protective of Nobu’ October 6, 2026 Goodfellas and Taxi Driver legend Robert De Niro talks exclusively to City AM The Magazine about his hospitality empire, which quietly occupies the 83-year-old New York-born actor in-between his film-making. Over the last 40 years, De Niro has been launching Nobu restaurants around the world, a Japanese brand he is fiercely protective of. He speaks [...]
If black labradors are a far right fantasy, I guess I’m a fascist October 6, 2026 That labradors aren't a sign of fascism feels self-explanatory, yet Labour blathers on, writes James Ford's hand in today's Notebook.
New car smell: Taking the fragrant new Omoda 7 for a spin October 5, 2026 Can you bottle that new car smell? Adam Hay-Nicholls goes on a scent tour of the Cotswolds in the new Omoda 7 hybrid electric vehicle Could you bottle that ‘new car smell’, you’d be on to a winner. That’s the bracing odour of a bold financial decision. That odour is a cocktail of volatile organic [...]
Is Soho nightlife really dead? We went partying to find out October 3, 2026 “I’m trying to prove you can still have a great night out in Soho,” I say. “You can. But not a late one,” replies Lesley Lewis over a glass of white wine at her beloved pub the French House. “I’ve always loved Soho,” says the legendary proprietor, who has run the French House for 37 [...]