London food festival goes cold on Square Mile’s haute cuisine October 22, 2015 City restaurateurs are feeling the chill this autumn after getting a noticeable snub on the London Food Festival’s Londoner’s choice awards shortlist. This year’s finalists for the award are all independent or neighbourhood restaurants, beating the likes of Jamie’s Italian, Sketch and Heddon Street Kitchen in favour of eateries further out. Putney’s Bibo, Stoke Newington’s [...]
Costa Coffee adds shot to Whitbread despite Living Wage costs October 20, 2015 The figures Pre-tax profits at Whitbread jumped 13 per cent to £291.3m in the six months to the end of August, beating expectations. Underlying profit at Costa Coffee steamed ahead 28.4 per cent to £67.3m while Whitbread's hotel and restaurant business ticked up 10.8 per cent to £249.4 per cent. Meanwhile, total revenues came in at £1.4bn, a [...]
Vauxhall property prices: One of the last affordable places to buy a house in Zone One? October 15, 2015 Once, people would come from all over London for an afternoon out at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. It was one of the leading spots for public entertainment. But after it closed in 1840 – the owners went bankrupt – the area has never seemed to regain its former glamour. Now, that stretch of land is just [...]
Night Tube series: Top seven places to buy a house in London along the Victoria Line October 15, 2015 If there’s one thing that unites the areas that appear along the Victoria Line, it’s rejuvenation. So here are the top seven places to invest in along the blue line, according to Paul Williams, head of Savills Islington, based on average sales price data within 500m of underground stations in the 12 months leading up [...]
New dystopian app Peeple lets you rate anyone – and anyone rate you October 15, 2015 It was only a matter of time: You can already rate your hotels, restaurants, doctors, teachers and who knows what else online. The new app Peeple has taken this quantifying trend to its dystopian logical conclusion, by building a platform where you can rate and review anyone you like – and anyone can rate you. [...]
Cain Hoy and Sager secure loan for £400m luxury Islington scheme October 14, 2015 Cain Hoy, the US private equity firm that fleetingly considered buying Tottenham Hotspur last year, is pushing ahead with the £400m luxury development of a landmark Islington site after securing a £190m loan. Cain Hoy and its joint venture partner Sager Group are turning the Edwardian former Royal Mail sorting office on Upper Street into a residential, [...]
Lessons in wine: Tis the (Harvest) season for truffle and wine enthusiasts in Italy October 13, 2015 October is the most awaited month of the year in wine country. Harvest is a most decisive moment in the winemaking process as it determines the acidity, sweetness, characteristics and, in general, the style of the wine we will be drinking. The precise date varies, but the majority of wineries in Europe harvest during this [...]
Jamaican restaurant Rudie’s doesn’t fail: Dalston’s Caribbean food rivals the best of West London October 13, 2015 RUDIE'S 50 Stoke Newington Road, N16 7XB FOOD ★★★★☆ VALUE ★★★★☆ ATMOSPHERE ★★★★☆ Cost for two with wine: £100 Is Dalston over? Have the new-media types migrated to farther-flung locales to write their articles for Vice about taking ketamine at Center Parcs? I have no idea. I’m well into my 30s and no longer hip enough to gauge [...]
Lessons in wine: Tis the (Harvest) season for truffle and wine enthusiasts in Italy October 13, 2015 October is the most awaited month of the year in wine country. Harvest is a most decisive moment in the winemaking process as it determines the acidity, sweetness, characteristics and, in general, the style of the wine we will be drinking. The precise date varies, but the majority of wineries in Europe harvest during this [...]
UK buyers snap up first 100 homes inside BBC Television Centre October 12, 2015 More than 100 homes inside the former BBC Television Centre in London’s White City have been snapped up after going on sale at a preview launch to UK buyers last month. The 14-acre BBC campus is being redeveloped into a new £1.5bn neighbourhood district to rival the West End with 350,000 sq ft of offices, a [...]