Brexit, Isis and attracting entrepreneurs: Just some of the challenges faced by mid-market private equity firm Livingbridge March 6, 2017 Private equity firm Livingbridge will likely be tied to its former name, Isis Equity Partners, for some time to come. In 2014, shortly before turning 20 years old, Isis chose to change its name in light of the rising prominence of its namesake terrorist organisation. “It was kind of fine [prior to 2014],” says Wol [...]
The world-famous ski resorts of Vail and Breckenridge are enjoying huge investment. We head up into the Rockies to investigate March 3, 2017 So famous are the Back Bowls of Vail in the skiing world that, this being America, you would expect them to be trademarked. To anyone who loves the rush of downhill skiing, these giant geological saucers 3.5 kilometres up the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, are the Holy Grail of winter sports. In size and scale [...]
Focus On Queen’s Park: Good schools, shops and value lure families to north west London March 3, 2017 Garden towns and villages have made a surprising comeback of late, largely as a by-product of our desperate search for a solution to the housing crisis. The government announced at the start of the year that it intended to build three new towns of 10,000 houses each, in a bid to reach a target of [...]
New homes: Properties going on sale this weekend in a regenerated part of Greenwich, in Hackney and in Croydon March 3, 2017 Kidbrooke Village, Blackheath From £450,000 Live at the centre of a new neighbourhood with one of these new apartments going on sale tomorrow. Birch House is in the Village Centre of Kidbrooke Village, a £1bn regeneration project by Berkeley Homes that will create 4,800 new homes and new parks across 136 acres south of the river. [...]
Monica Galetti interview: The MasterChef judge talks about her imminent restaurant launch, the pressures of television and why she hates being interviewed March 2, 2017 Monica Galetti speaks quickly and without hesitation, racing towards the next full stop like she’s in the conversation equivalent of a relay race. The sooner she finishes speaking, the sooner I can move on to my next question, and the sooner she can get back to doing absolutely anything that isn’t talking to me. To [...]
Sexy Fish review: An intensely glamorous tribute to pan-Asian dining February 28, 2017 Richard Caring’s curiously named fish restaurant opened last year to much fuss and fanfare, a knowingly ostentatious, very shiny and intensely glamorous tribute to pan-Asian dining that feels out of place in London, even at its Berkeley Square address by the Bentley showroom. But while Sexy Fish still feels like it belongs on the [...]
Six of the best pies: We scoured London in search of the meatiest bakes ahead of British Pie Week, a celebration of all things pie from 6-12 March February 28, 2017 Battersea Pie Station 28 The Market Garden, WC2E, £15 for two Once you’ve got over the fact it’s actually in Covent Garden and the owners lied to you for a cheap pun, this place is pretty great. Wean your kids on the Baby Pies with a baby portion of mash, then work up to The [...]
Johnson Service Group says laundering success is good news for Britain February 28, 2017 Johnson Service Group, the UK's largest rental workwear and laundry firm, today revealed bumper annual results. A 45 per cent growth in the firm's profits was good news for the UK, according to boss Chris Sander, who labelled the company a "barometer of Britain's financial health". Read more: In a spin: CMA suggests laundry services broke competition law The Aim-quoted outfit [...]
We revisit the brilliant BMW M3 CSL, the lightweight 2003 classic that’s rocketing in value February 27, 2017 Imagine for a moment you’re in an upmarket restaurant and the conversation is flowing as readily as the red wine. You finish your starter and main, then summon the willpower to skip dessert. But you’re presented with a bill for the full three courses, plus a hefty service charge. That was BMW’s sales pitch for [...]
Terra Firma boss Guy Hands on buying Agent Provocateur, dyslexia and moving on from multi-million EMI loss February 27, 2017 In June last year, Terra Firma dropped a £1.5bn lawsuit against Citi over the acquisition of EMI. It is reported that Guy took a €200m (£168m) hit to his personal fortune as a result of the deal. The Terra Firma boss alleged that Citi misled him into overpaying for the music publisher in 2007. How’s [...]