Byron Hamburgers under the hammer for upwards of £100m February 10, 2013 BYRON, the upmarket hamburger chain dotted around London’s square mile, is being touted to would-be buyers with a price tag of between £100m and £120m, after the chain boomed to healthy adjusted profits over the last six months. The outfit, which is part of a stable of restaurants including PizzaExpress, Ask Italian and Soho institution [...]
STK does a belter of a rib eye – if you can stand the club atmosphere February 6, 2013 Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie once said: “All vowels are fascist, man, everyone knows that”. It’s a sentiment that obviously chimed with the owners of US steakhouse chain STK, which has just arrived at the ME London hotel. This isn’t just any old steakhouse, though. Oh no, this is a “female friendly” steakhouse. Female friendly. [...]
Developer of BBC Television Centre sets out masterplan February 5, 2013 THE BBC Television Centre in White City is to be opened up to the public for the first time, under its new guise as a site for hotels, flats and offices. Developers unveiled plans yesterday to turn the landmark building into a mixed-use scheme including 1,000 new homes, a hotel and offices as well as [...]
Fishmongers’ company buys Tower Vaults February 4, 2013 THE FISHMONGERS’ Company, one of the City of London’s ancient livery companies, has bought the long leasehold interest in Tower Vaults for just over £12.5m. The 46,500 square foot site next to the Tower of London, has 12 shops and restaurants including Costa Coffee and McDonalds. Cluttons acted on the sale to the 700-year-old guild.
No Waitrose for Sir Terry’s wife February 3, 2013 FORMER Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy was in charge of the playlist yesterday, getting listeners dancing in the aisles by mixing folk with Handel’s Messiah on Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs. Sir Terry began his Tesco career as a shelf-stacker in Wandsworth and rose to become chief executive of the grocer from 1997 to 2011. [...]
It’s Davos, but not as you know it February 3, 2013 DESPITE being a 30-something supposed grown-up, I must confess to still suffering from the occasional nightmare. While on duty as a night editor of this newspaper, for example, my sleep can be disturbed by a recurring dream in which I’m culpable for printing over 130,000 front page headlines of “UK ECOMONY DIPS AGAIN” (yes, reread [...]
Gordon Ramsay back on form as his empire returns to profit January 27, 2013 GORDON RAMSAY has turned his restaurant empire around after a turbulent few years, including a costly feud with his father-in-law, to report a return to profitability. Kavalake — which includes restaurants such as the Savoy Grill and Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s – delivered pre-tax profits of £2m in the year to August 2012 after suffering [...]
Focus On: Blackheath January 24, 2013 NEED TO KNOW | AREA INSIGHT Named after the grassland that separates it from Greenwich and Lewisham, Blackheath is often described as one of the few remaining villages in the heart of London. Many refer to it as south east London’s answer to Hampstead because of its charming, green surroundings and bustling village. While it [...]
McDonald’s to create 2,500 UK jobs as it reveals rise in sales January 23, 2013 MCDONALD’S announced plans yesterday to create 2,500 jobs at its restaurants this year, taking its UK workforce to 93,500. The world’s biggest restaurant group said the move builds on the 3,500 jobs created in 2012, of which 70 per cent were taken by young people under the age of 21. Business secretary Vince Cable, who [...]
Record revenues for Channel Tunnel as freight delivers gains January 23, 2013 EUROTUNNEL hopes that Britons will continue to use the Channel Tunnel while the UK reassesses its relationship with the Continent, after the firm posted record revenues for 2012. “I would recommend that Great Britain remains in Europe,” said chief executive Jacques Gounon, who thinks the vast majority of his customers support Britain’s place in the [...]