Bargains bring home the bacon but bite into profits December 9, 2012 AS DECENT numbers for Nando’s reveal the chain moved into profit last year after three in the red, the cheaper end of the restaurant sector may be turning a corner. The latest figures from BDO indicate that operators including the Restaurant Group and JD Wetherspoon have seen an upturn in trade in September and October. [...]
Nando’s buying spree pays off as the chain returns to profit December 9, 2012 NANDO’S swung back into profit last year after the restaurant chain, famous for its flame-grilled peri-peri spiced chicken, lured more customers through its doors. The company posted £14.7m in profits before tax in the year to 26 February compared with a £7.1m loss the previous year, accounts filed at Companies House show. Nando’s acquired Clapham [...]
Burgers to fuel appetite for M&A activity December 9, 2012 A RESURGENCE in posh burger joints and quality fast food is set to fuel M&A activity in the restaurant sector this year, according to new research published today by accountants BDO. The firm’s annual restaurant and bars report says that while deal volumes remain low compared with the halcyon days of the early 2000s, it [...]
Land Securities to take to the slopes in deal to buy X-Leisure December 4, 2012 LAND Securities yesterday revealed it is to buy a controlling stake in X-Leisure, the owner of venues including the Xscape indoor ski slopes and Brighton Marina, for £110.6m. The property giant has agreed a deal with Capital and Regional and Area Property Partners to buy a further 42 per cent stake in X-Leisure Unit Trust [...]
The men who would be kings of the club scene December 4, 2012 During its short life, Public, Guy Pelly’s London nightspot, met with both triumph and disaster. Soon after it opened in December 2010 it had garnered a reputation as a firm favourite of his pals, Princes William and Harry. And, as one might have expected, it wasn’t long before the youthful, moneyed denizens of the Royal [...]
Rowland and Lewis set to see Icelandic float December 3, 2012 ICELAND’S MP Bank, which is part owned by Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis and Tory donor David Rowland, yesterday confirmed it was exploring plans to float on the Icelandic stock market in 2014. The Icelandic investment bank, which operates in asset management and M&A advisory, is gearing up for a float on the Nasdaq OMX, [...]
1776 is old-fashioned City and it’s all the better for it December 3, 2012 RESTAURANT 1776 1 Lombard Street, EC3V 9AA Tel: 020 7929 6611 FOOD **** VALUE *** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £55 ONE LOMBARD Street is one of those archetypal City restaurants – like the Mercer – that you go because you work in the City and, you know, that’s just what you do. [...]
Marrakech does luxury — if you know where to look December 2, 2012 MARRAKECH HAS always proved popular with holiday goers: the vibrancy of the markets, its rich cultural heritage, the array of traditional food on offer and its general mystique continues to draw people in. During the 1930s it became a hub for writers and creative folk and by the Seventies, everyone from Yves Saint Laurent to [...]
Popular West End lifts profits at Shaftesbury November 29, 2012 SHAFTESBURY’s fortress of West End properties helped the landlord post a glowing set of full year results yesterday, in what it called an “exceptionally” busy year for London. The FTSE 250 company’s net asset value rose by 7.6 per cent to 498p a share in the year to 30 September, driven by a boost in [...]
Great Scot! It’s Aberdeen Asset’s Caledonian awards November 28, 2012 TO Ranald MacDonald’s Boisdale restaurant for the Aberdeen Asset Management Great Scot Awards 2012. Bagpipes were blaring to welcome tartan–clad guests to the patriotic dinner, held in association with City A.M. and Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Winners included Lord Steel of Aikwood, fashion designer Pam Hogg, actor Jamie Sives and Olympic gold medallist Tim Baillie [...]