These amazing images show the designs for the Great Tower of London that never was February 24, 2015 Back in 1890, London authorities launched a competition to design a new tower for the capital. Inspired by the brand new Eiffel Tower in rival capital Paris, a global competition was launched, receiving 68 entries varying from the wacky to the just plain copycat. The Metropolitan Tower Company, incorporated to build the Great [...]
Tycoon Desmond Bloom makes property market return with £12.5m haul February 17, 2015 A listed cash shell set up four years ago to make acquisitions in the music and media industry has been resurrected, this time with the aim of spending £100m on UK property. Imperial Music and Media, which is run by property tycoon and one-time boxer Desmond Bloom, said yesterday it had bought a portfolio of [...]
Mezcal: Has the time finally come for tequila’s cousin? February 17, 2015 Alcohol aficionados have been talking up mezcal for years. For as long as I’ve been writing about drinks, it’s teetered on the edge of being the next big thing. Although it has crept onto the pages of the odd drinks list, it isn’t even out of the starting blocks in competing with tequila, its more [...]
Boutiques bound for borough market February 16, 2015 VINOPOLIS, the wine restaurant and venue by London Bridge and Borough Market, will be replaced by a collection of boutique shops when it closes in spring 2016. The property fund that bought the two acre site will build a retail development in a £300m plan, due by 2018.
New style Pizza Hut causes stir on Strand February 16, 2015 PIZZA Hut, that bastion of teenage dining, has unveiled plans to win back the hipster generation – by serving cocktails. Yep, from now on you can sip a Southern Punch as you chow down on your Texas Meat Meltdown, or a hard milkshake for dessert, after the chain announced plans to spend £1.67m on a [...]
Pizza Hut serves cocktails in an effort to win back the hipster generation February 16, 2015 Pizza Hut, that bastion of teenage dining, has unveiled plans to win back the hipster generation – by serving cocktails. Yep, from now on you can sip a Southern Punch as you chow down on your Texas Meat Meltdown, after the chain announced plans to spend £1.67m on a major revamp. Pizza Hut on The [...]
Focus on Earlsfield: The hidden wonder near Nappy Valley February 12, 2015 A few years ago, I’d say where I lived and no one would have a clue where it was,” says Rupert Grieg, sales manager at Foxtons’ Earlsfield branch. “But then you said, it’s between Wimbledon and Balham, and suddenly it made sense.” For most people, this is probably still true. Swamped by popular neighbours – [...]
Meyer Bergman in “advanced talks” to turn Borough Market’s Vinopolis into £300m retail hub February 12, 2015 Investment group Meyer Bergman is in “advanced talks” to buy the Vinopolis leasehold with plans to develop a £300m retail hub on the doorstep of Borough Market. The real estate investor is in talks about aquiring the long leasehold, comprising the wine bar and restaurant, mixed-use building Thames House and surrounding land, in an [...]
Oxo Tower Restaurant has great food but the lighting left us a little blue February 10, 2015 The Oxo Tower Restaurant has been chugging along forever, minding its own business. Harvey Nicks has run the eighth-floor dining room for 19 years. Its head chef Jeremy Bloor has been there for 12, while the restaurant manager is a relative rookie, with only nine years under his belt. Located on the South Bank, in [...]
Developers confirm a start date for £440m Westgate Oxford shopping area February 9, 2015 Developers have confirmed that construction on a £440m Westgate Oxford retail and leisure scheme will start in spring, after four years of planning. The Westgate Oxford Alliance, a joint venture between Land Securities and The Crown Estate, said the new 800,000 square foot development will expand the existing Westgate in Oxford city centre by adding [...]