Restaurant review: Tredwell’s – Marcus Wareing’s new venture in St Martin’s Lane October 29, 2014 Upper St Martin’s Lane, which neatly bisects the tourist wastelands of Leicester Square and Covent Garden, seems like the last place Marcus Wareing would pick for his third UK restaurant. His flagship venture “Marcus” – formerly Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley – is a two Michelin-starred love-letter to formal dining (and home to one of [...]
The Australian food revolution: Heston Blumenthal and Jamie Oliver are joining a new wave of top antipodean chefs October 28, 2014 A grizzled miner in grubby, cement-splattered overalls clutches the stem of a wine glass with blackened fingertips, sipping chardonnay while recounting a recent dining experience at one of the city’s top tables. “It was the worst pizza I’ve ever tasted. The base was too limp and the feta too salty; it totally overpowered the [...]
Gilles Peterson interview coming up in City A.M. Bespoke October 23, 2014 Legendary DJ Gilles Peterson caught up with City A.M. Bespoke magazine last week to talk about how the shifting face of the music industry has changed the way he works, how he fancies opening a restaurant and what it’s like to record a radio station for Grand Theft Auto. Peterson was promoting the launch of [...]
What businesses will Tesco sell after ruling out a rights issue to raise cash? October 23, 2014 Tesco may be in dire straits, but a rights issue was ruled out by chief executive Dave Lewis this afternoon. Rather, the team will look “to extract value” from the business, most likely by selling off some of its non-core business assets. The supermarket sells much more than just groceries after embarking upon a rapid [...]
Luke Johnson steps down from Metro Bank board October 23, 2014 Serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson has resigned his position as a non-executive of Metro Bank. Johnson told Sky News that the time commitments now required for the role were becoming too great for him to maintain his position at Britain's first new high street bank for over 100 years. He joined Metro Bank in 2011. Johnson made [...]
Three things to look out for from Tesco’s results tomorrow – other than the numbers October 22, 2014 When Tesco publishes its first-half results tomorrow, including an update on its investigation into an expected £250m profit black hole, all eyes will be on the numbers. Initially, investors will look for the specifics of exactly how much profits were "overestimated" by, and what effect it has on the supermarket's previously reported profits and future [...]
Premier Inn to open German hotel by 2015 October 21, 2014 THE UK hotel and restaurant group Whitbread, owner of Costa and Premier Inn, announced yesterday that it was expanding into Germany after a successful first half of 2014. Its share price dipped slightly, by 0.66 per cent, after the firm revealed that it had purchased a 200-room hotel in Frankfurt to trial Premier Inns in [...]
Carpetright chairman Lord Harris to take his leave after 26 years October 21, 2014 CARPETRIGHT founder and chairman Lord Harris announced yesterday he would be stepping down – and this time for good – after naming Mitchells & Butlers boss Bob Ivell as his successor. Harris first announced his retirement in May only to reveal weeks later that he planned to stay on as non-executive chairman until a replacement [...]
Greene King’s £723m gets it into the Spirit October 20, 2014 BREWING giant Greene King has raised its bid for pub chain Spirit Pubs after its previous offer was rebuffed. Spirit said its board is likely to recommend Greene King’s higher £723.3m bid, which values Spirit at 109.5p per share – a 20 per cent premium to the stock’s closing price on Friday. “The board of Spirit [...]
Pitcher and Piano founder in smokin’ hot deal to fund Hickory’s expansion across UK October 19, 2014 Piper Private Equity, the buyout shop behind the Pitcher and Piano bar chain, has ploughed £6m into restaurant Hickory’s Smokehouse in a bid to guide its expansion. The firm, which owns stakes in Be At One and Turtle Bay, has backed the chain in the hope of establishing 100 Hickory’s restaurants across Britain. This forms [...]