These cigarette brands might go up in smoke in France if health minister broadens the terms of the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive July 21, 2016 Smoking might still a be a key component of what we associate with Parisian chic, but smokers in France could be left fuming if the French health minister has his way. Yesterday, French newspaper Le Figaro reported the minister, Marisol Touraine, is considering a proposal to ban several tobacco brand names under part of the [...]
Horse racing betting: Desire can give punters wings in the King George July 21, 2016 Dual winners of the Qipco-sponsored King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (4.30pm) are a real rarity – and sadly we won't be witnessing another at Ascot on Saturday. That's because last year’s winner and this year's favourite, Postponed, was ruled out of his defence bid on Wednesday due to a respiratory infection. He was [...]
Here’s how much Euro 2016 boosted pub turnover in June, according to the Coffer Peach Business Tracker July 20, 2016 Televising the Euro 2016 championship gave pub groups something to celebrate in June, despite England dropping out before the last rounds of the tournament. Like-for-like sales at pubs grew two per cent year-on-year in June, ahead of the restaurant sector, where growth trailed slightly behind at 1.4 per cent, according to the latest monthly figures from [...]
Bronte restaurant on The Strand review: the Pacific Rim-inspired menu takes few risks and makes few mistakes July 19, 2016 "How do you find enough new restaurants to review a different one every week?” asked my father during our monthly chat. Bless the old fool: he lives in Derbyshire and can’t be expected to know any better. He’s oblivious to the fact you could bankrupt yourself visiting a new restaurant every night of the week [...]
Zeroing in on the competition: This is what Coca-Cola’s new ad campaign tells us about the drinks market July 19, 2016 Coca-Cola's announcement that it is pouring £10m into its newly-branded Zero Sugar variant is proof of two things. First, that the carbonated soft drinks market is alive and well. Second, that it is recognising changing consumer and industry attitudes towards health and sugar. But does this huge investment reveal the big brands are concerned about [...]
Cheers! Now Deliveroo’s delivering wine, beer and cocktails July 19, 2016 Drinkers rejoice: food delivery startup Deliveroo is expanding beyond the simple delivery of food and into into takeaway alcohol, including wine, craft beer and cocktails. The startup backed by top investors has inked new deals with Majestic Wines and Brewdog among others to bring the tipples straight to people's doors after testing out the drinks-only and [...]
Heading to the Olympics? This pop-up member’s club is a British haven amid Rio’s frantic last-minute preparations July 15, 2016 The London 2012 Olympics saw an influx of well-heeled socialites arriving in the capital looking for a place to party. It’s not just Usain Bolt and Jessica Ennis-Hill who soak up the Olympic limelight: the greatest show on earth is an excuse to see and be seen, to flash the cash and ogle the beautiful [...]
Glasgow’s Dakota Deluxe hotel review: a Hollister-hip new venture from the kingpin of Scottish hotels July 15, 2016 Steve Dinneen takes a break in his former hometown of Glasgow, where he finds a much improved hotel scene and restaurants that are as good as ever. The weekend: For many southerners, a weekend break to Scotland involves a trip to Edinburgh Castle or a few rounds at Gleneagles. And while these are both perfectly [...]
Irvine Sellar’s £1bn “Shard of West London” skyscraper just lost 51 storeys – it’s now the Cube of West London July 15, 2016 Remember the so-called "Shard of West London", the £1bn, 65-storey tower in Paddington planned by Shard developer Irvine Sellar? That's just received a bit of a downgrade, after the company behind it unveiled new plans for an office block – which is 51 storeys smaller. The newly-styled, 14-storey Paddington Cube, on the site of a former Royal Mail [...]
Franco Manca pizzas serve up profit rise for owner Fulham Shore July 14, 2016 Sourdough pizza chain Franco Manca’s expansion drove a profit rise at owner group Fulham Shore last year. Fulham Shore, which also owns The Real Greek and Bukowski Grill, reported operating profit of £3.2m and revenues of £29.5m for the 12 months to 27 March. Seven new Franco Manca pizzerias opened in the period and a [...]