Discovering the entrepreneurial spirit behind Argentine wine November 24, 2013 Laura Ivill travels to Mendoza in Argentina to experience the wine-making journey from humble grape to fine-dining staple DRAW a line on the map from the bustling streets of Buenos Aires west across Argentina’s interior and you reach the soaring 6,000-metre peaks of the Andes. In the foothills, the low-rise sprawling city of Mendoza lends [...]
Good fortune comes with great design November 21, 2013 Positive energy guru Kerry Ann Smith tells City A.M. why feng shui interior design is just common sense THE OLD proverb says that an Englishman’s home is his castle. But with the rise of tablets and home-working, the castle is looking increasingly like, well, an office. Kerry Ann Smith, an interior design consultant, thinks she’s [...]
Government helped get my business going – now it’s boosting startups again November 19, 2013 TWENTY odd years ago, I stepped into a print shop on Albert Square in Manchester. It was an industrious place – full of whirring machines and the smell of printing ink. I knew then and there that I wanted to open my own printing business. But at 21 years of age, the bank manager wasn’t [...]
Chile: the most varied country in the world November 17, 2013 From mountains to desert, Ashwin Bhardwaj is enchanted by the diverse delights of Chile AT UNIVERSITY, we teased our Geographer housemate for doing a degree in “colouring in.” But we secretly envied his trips to exotic corners of the globe, digging ice cores and monitoring volcanoes. Visualising geography is difficult in England as this green [...]
McDonald’s plans $3bn facelift November 14, 2013 McDonald’s said last night that it plans to spend $2.9bn to $3bn next year to open 1,500 to 1,600 new restaurants and remodel about 1,000 others – roughly in line with this year’s reduced spending forecast. The world’s biggest hamburger chain, which recently has struggled to meaningfully expand sales at established restaurants, last month trimmed [...]
Caravan park operator sold by private equity owners for £170m November 12, 2013 THE SOUTH east’s largest operator of caravan parks, Park Holidays, was sold by its private equity backers yesterday to London-listed fund Caledonia Investments. Graphite Capital, which owns London’s Hawksmoor restaurant chain, sold the company for £172m, after overseeing it for seven years following a purchase in 2006. The deal is notable because Caledonia’s buy is [...]
City landmark Royal Exchange close to being sold for £80m November 11, 2013 THE OWNERS of the Royal Exchange are understood to be close to signing a deal to sell the historic landmark next to Bank station for £80m. The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formed in 2011 by the merger of troubled Anglo and Irish Nationwide, hired property advisers CBRE last month to market the long leasehold in [...]
Cote Restaurant owner snaps up bottle maker November 10, 2013 THE PRIVATE equity owner of high street dining chain Cote Restaurants has added a British gin and whisky bottle maker to its growing list of companies. CBPE Capital, which also owns ten pin bowling company Hollywood Bowl, has snapped up Yorkshire based Allied Glass for between £120m and £130m. Allied Glass makes the glass bottles [...]
Culture and shopping in Shanghai and Hong Kong November 10, 2013 When Michelle Filmer went to China, she split her time between its two most vibrant cities. From luxury to history, she selects the top ten highlights of her visit 1. THE BUND The waterfront area in central Shanghai that runs along the west bank of the Huangpu river is known as The Bund. The west [...]
Great Portland joins forces with Hong Kong Monetary Authority November 7, 2013 GREAT Portland has joined forces with Hong Kong’s central bank to develop a scheme that will sit next to Crossrail’s new Bond Street Station. The West End developer said yesterday it will sell properties that form part of Hanover Square in Mayfair to the joint venture fund, GHS Limited Partnership, for £202m. The Hong Kong [...]