Costa coffee rolls in the beans for parent company Whitbread April 26, 2012 A SHARP rise in sales at the Costa cafe chain helped take its parent group Whitbread to an 11 per cent profits rise. The high street coffeehouse grew revenue by 27.5 per cent to £541.9m and upped its profits by 38 per cent to £69.7m in the year to 1 March. The strong performance boosted [...]
Graphite Capital in restaurant focus April 26, 2012 ■ Private equity house Graphite Capital is putting £21m behind two of London’s best-known restaurateurs. It has invested in Rex Restaurant Associates, owned by Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, whose venues include The Wolseley, on Piccadilly, and The Delaunay, on the corner of Aldwych and Drury Lane. Corbin and King previously owned Le Caprice and [...]
Ex-HBOS boss in battle with FSA over fine April 22, 2012 PETER Cummings, the man behind some of the most high profile loans made by Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), has been handed a seven-figure fine by the City regulator. The former corporate boss is believed to have been handed a “warning notice” by the Financial Services Authority, which has been investigating the bank’s buying spree [...]
Miami Nice: there’s lots more to Florida than Disney World April 15, 2012 FOR most of the 1.5m Brits who travel to Florida each year, it’s the allure of the Mouse that does it. But there’s much more to the state than Disney. While Orlando promises wholesome family entertainment (especially for those who don’t mind queuing), the rest of Florida offers some serious fun for grown ups. Miami [...]
Brasserie Bar wins £6m injection April 9, 2012 Brasserie Bar Co, the restaurant group fronted by celebrity chef Raymond Blanc has secured a £6m facility from Barclays to fund its expansion. The company, which recently acquired eight former Chez Gerard sites, plans to grow its French eatery chain Brasserie Blanc from 11 to 19 restaurants by the end of the year and a [...]
Burger King set to rejoin the US stock market April 4, 2012 BURGER King will flip back to the public markets less than two years after it was snapped up by a US private equity house. The world’s third-largest hamburger chain, currently owned by 3G Capital Management, has agreed to sell a 29 per cent stake to London-listed investment firm Justice Holdings for $1.4bn (£882m). Shares in [...]
Prezzo steps up expansion plan as profits surge April 4, 2012 RESTAURANT group Prezzo unveiled plans yesterday to open 20 new restaurants this year as part of its ambitious expansion programme, as it reported a surge in full year profits. The pizza and pasta chain, which runs 189 restaurants, said adjusted pre-tax profits rose 14 per cent to £16.4m in the year to 1 January, boosted [...]
Burger King plans to go public again April 4, 2012 Hamburger chain Burger King said it plans go public through a deal with a London-listed investment firm, less than two years after it agreed to be taken private by private equity group 3G Capital Management. The quick sale highlights a profit improvement at Burger King’ Worldwide Holdings Inc, which operates more than 12,000 mainly franchise [...]
Whitbread appoints Rogers to lead Costa expansion April 3, 2012 Whitbread said that Chris Rogers, currently group finance director, would take over as chief executive of its rapidly expanding coffee shop chain Costa Coffee in August, with a remit to drive international growth. Whitbread, which also owns budget hotel chain Premier Inn, said Rogers will head up Costa’s global business to drive forward a five [...]
Luxury hotel in the City given the go-ahead April 2, 2012 SINGAPORE’S KOP Group yesterday won approval to convert 10 Trinity Square, a listed landmark overlooking London’s Tower Hill, into a luxury boutique hotel. KOP said in a statement yesterday that City of London had approved plans to turn the building – which was originally home to the Port of London Authority’s headquarters – into a [...]