Mix it up: In praise of SushiSamba’s Kobe Cocktail and the inimitable Tom Yam March 31, 2015 For years I’ve been hearing the general buzz about Heron Tower’s bars and restaurants, but until recently I hadn’t taken the memorable ride in its near supersonic elevator to find out more. Prior to my elevation, I had conflated the building’s Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian SushiSamba with its modern European Duck & Waffle into a mush of quacking [...]
Fulham Shore gobbles up a slice of cult pizza chain Franco Manca for £27.5m March 30, 2015 FRANCO Manca, the pizza chain famed for its slow-rise sourdough base, has been gobbled up by an Aim-listed leisure group run by former Pizza Express boss David Page. The Fulham Shore, which also owns the Real Greek chain, is paying £27.5m to Franco Manca’s owner Rocca, taking control of all 10 sites including its original [...]
The earl who feels the need for speed at Goodwood March 29, 2015 Lord March tells Kasmira Jefford how he plans to keep business at the family’s Sussex estate up to speed There is something magical about Goodwood,” says Lord March, otherwise known as Charles Gordon-Lennox and heir to the 12,000-acre Chichester estate in west Sussex. He has drifted back to his childhood years when Goodwood’s famous racing [...]
The Shanghai’s the limit in this city that never stops March 29, 2015 Londoners are obsessed with christening skyscrapers. From the Walkie Talkie to the Cheesegrater, new buildings are barely granted planning permission before they are slapped with a nickname, reducing years of meticulous planning to a childish slogan. If the residents of Shanghai had a similar habit, they’d have little time to do anything else. The skyline [...]
These priceless Henry Moore sculptures are all free to view in and around London March 26, 2015 When Henry Moore’s eight-foot bronze Reclining Figure: Festival sold at a New York auction house for £19.1m in 2012, it made him the second most expensive British artist of the 20th century, ahead of Lucian Freud and Damien Hirst. With this fact in mind, it’s amazing that so many of his sculptures are still freely [...]
Focus On Highgate: Why this north west suburb has been the garden of London for 300 years March 26, 2015 Most areas in London have been through good times and bad times. But the gentrification cycle seems to have completely passed Highgate by. The extraordinarily green suburb of north west London has remained a constant spot of affluence in the capital and it remains for many the epitome of the desirable London village. How has [...]
Accounts with benefits: The perks of premium bank accounts March 26, 2015 Nothing says “badge of success” quite like a private bank account. Historically, offering them to customers has been the preserve of the private bank, but in recent years, growing numbers of high street institutions have begun to offer packaged – or premium – accounts to customers with substantial savings and (more often than not) six-figure [...]
Ladies who don’t lunch: Sue Round talks fund management, sentimentality and being broke March 26, 2015 Buongiorno signora!” bellows the exuberant waiter at Bolton’s, an Italian tucked away in an unassuming corner near Leadenhall Market. “Hello, hellooo” comes the response. I know Sue Round has arrived, even before I see her. She greets me warmly, as if we’ve known each other for years. In fact, I’ve met Sue only once before [...]
Ivy auction catalogue: Seven iconic mementoes up for grabs March 24, 2015 There's no turning back now: fixtures and fittings from celebrity hotspot The Ivy go up for auction tomorrow night, with the money raised going to Child Bereavement UK – and City A.M. has had a sneak peek inside the catalogue. Sotheby's has set up the auction room to look like the restaurant. Prospective bidders for the auction, [...]
French Connection, Conde Nast and Champneys named and shamed for failing to pay minimum wage March 24, 2015 French Connection, Conde Nast and Champneys have been named and shamed by the government for failing to pay their workers the minimum wage. In total, 48 companies spanning fashion, publishing, hospitality, health, car, care and retail have been identified today by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. They owed workers £162,000 in arrears between [...]