Summer in Chamonix: Celebrating 150 years of climbing in the Alps June 15, 2015 Birthplace of the Winter Olympics and home to some of the Alps’ most challenging pistes, the Chamonix valley in France is a magnet for snow-sporting types throughout the winter months. But as warmer weather arrives and the snow disappears, so do most of the tourists, and the thousands of skiers are replaced by a [...]
New designs unveiled for 22 Bishopsgate – the skyscraper formerly known as the Pinnacle June 15, 2015 The Building Formerly Known As The Pinnacle has become the butt of various jokes over the last three years, after the 63-storey tower was abandoned by its developers during the depths of the property crisis in 2012 with just seven storeys built. Not surprisingly, it's since been known as "The Stump". But now the site's [...]
Food sales lead May uplift for UK pubs and restaurants June 11, 2015 Britain’s pubs and restaurants enjoyed brisk trading in May, offsetting what had been a slow start to the year in the sector. Figures released yesterday by the Coffer Peach Business Tracker revealed like-for-like sales climbed 2.1 per cent compared to the same period last year. The strong growth comes after the tracker, which analyses sales [...]
Work hard? Live harder in the City’s Brutalist Barbican Estate masterpiece June 11, 2015 When the Barbican was first conceived in the 1960s, it was a utopian ideal for inner city-living. Well ahead of its time, its cutting-edge, controversial architecture interweaved with public gardens, restaurants, shops, cultural destinations and a school. Brutalist architects Chamberlain, Powell and Bon then built four large residential towers that would become the Barbican [...]
Focus on Balham: Once the butt of jokes, now the SW place to be June 11, 2015 When Peter Sellers said Balham was the “Gateway to the South” he was poking fun at the fact that nothing of note ever happened there. A semi-suburban no man’s land at the bottom of the Northern Line, it was the pinnacle of meh – the kind of place north Londoners probably think about when they [...]
Krispy Kreme June 10, 2015 The findings Why it's interesting What Krispy Klreme said In short In September last year – DOUGHNUT retailer Krispy Kreme yesterday reported that its quarterly earnings rose 22 per cent as it posted stronger revenue, driven by sales at locations open more than 18 months. [...]
Wimbledon set to serve up aces June 9, 2015 WASH your whites and let out your waistbands; Wimbledon 2015 is just over three weeks away. Fans are gearing up for the party of the year and to cheer dour Brit Andy Murray to victory. Wimbledon is the largest annual sporting catering operation in Europe. Whether you’re just coming for the finals or staying for [...]
Restaurant review: Can the cooking match the hype at Berber & Q? June 9, 2015 This review almost never was. I tried and failed twice to get into Berber & Q, the hippest Moroccan (ish) restaurant in town. The first attempt was on a Sunday evening when I happened to be drinking down the nearby Regent’s canal and thought I’d try my luck. You can hear Berber & Q before [...]
Apple Pay in the UK: These are the retailers and restaurants signed up for the July launch June 9, 2015 Some of the UK's biggest retailers are lining up to start accepting Apple Pay when it launches in the UK next month. As well as being able to use your iPhone or Apple Watch to seamlessly glide through ticket barriers on the Tube, the Silicon Valley giant has its finger hovering over the button [...]
Young, rich and foreign: Why Mayfair’s typical resident means it’s one of London’s trendiest neighbourhoods June 8, 2015 Gone are the days when London's exclusive Mayfair postcode was reserved for retirees – now the west London zone has turned into a “resort” for 20- and 30-somethings, many of whom hail from overseas. Nearly 60 per cent of people who live in Mayfair are aged under 44, with more than half of residences [...]