Best British staycations May 23, 2014 In the space of just over twenty years, a remarkable resurgence in the quality and quantity of luxury British hotels has transformed the fortunes of our seaside resorts and rural destinations. Pioneers like millionaire industrialist Jim Ratcliffe, Robin Hutson (of Hotel du Vin and The Pig fame) and Olga Polizzi have given the industry a [...]
Quintain returns to profitability with strong focus on London May 23, 2014 Quintain Estates has returned to profitability, supported by the opening of the London Designer Outlet and sales of new homes at Wembley Park. The first release of 73 apartments have been sold for an average price of £570 per square foot. Today's results mark the first time the company has been back in the black [...]
Joining the dots from east to west May 22, 2014 High speed rail network Crossrail will arrive in 2018. Here are the new homes cropping up along the route ACTON MAIN LINE NAPIER SQUARE from £975,000 A luxury development of 23 new three, four and five-bedroom town houses in a gated community. 020 8811 2336 / napiermews.co.uk FARRINGDON GAZZANO from £920,000 This new development seven [...]
Charles Dickens’ penny savings bank up for sale May 22, 2014 Grand financial institution sure to be a hit in trendy Clerkenwell BUILDINGS that do business usually stay that way. It used to be rare for people to live in old offices and factories, but now many more are coming onto the market as agents take advantage of the residential boom. “I certainly have never come [...]
Focus on… Ladbroke Grove: Feeling the love for Ladbroke Grove May 22, 2014 IT MAY be a small area, but Ladbroke Grove in west London is making a big impact on the property market. The area just north of Kensington and south of Paddington is a bustling collection of tree-lined streets packed with boutique shops, independent restaurants and Portobello Road Market. “It’s set itself apart from nearby areas [...]
Carlson sells TGI Fridays to a pair of US private equity companies May 20, 2014 TGI FRIDAYS is being sold to a pair of buyout companies after 39 years as part of leisure chain Carlson, the firm announced yesterday. The restaurant chain, with more than 900 outlets around the world, will be taken over by Sentinel Capital Partners and TriArtisan Capital Partners. The terms of the purchase were not disclosed, [...]
Review: Ting at the Shangri-La Hotel May 20, 2014 @steve_dinneen RESTAURANT TING 31 St Thomas Street, SE1 9QU Tel: 0207 7234 8000 FOOD Four Stars VALUE Three Stars ATMOSPHERE Five Stars Cost for three with wine: £270 Ah, the Shard, that icy middle finger to the London skyline. No guile hides behind those panes of glass, no hidden architectural easter eggs lie waiting to [...]
Shaftesbury reaps the benefits of a buoyant West End market May 19, 2014 WEST END landlord Shaftesbury enjoyed a 47 per cent jump in profits in the first half, buoyed by tourists and Londoners flocking to its restaurants and shops in the West End. The company, which owns 575 properties around Carnaby Street, Covent Garden, Chinatown, Soho and Charlotte Street, said pre-tax profits rose to £120.5m in the [...]
Learn to cook with a legend in the world of haute-cuisine May 18, 2014 French chef Michel Guérard has opened his very own school. Laura Ivill investigates. SUNDAY lunch in south west France: carpaccio of langoustines, followed by roasted milk-fed lamb and peach melba. It is as delicious as you would expect from the hands of venerated French chef Michel Guérard. But the clincher: three courses under 630 calories. [...]
What you need to know before the US open May 16, 2014 US stocks futures headed lower today, suggesting a less-than-impressive end to the week. Global shares have eased back for the third day in a row, and the dollar’s seen further losses against the yen. Better news on the data front, though – a shock jump in housing starts. In April, the speed of construction of [...]