Entertainment One soars on bid interest September 14, 2011 SHARES in Entertainment One leapt by up to 25 per cent yesterday after the Peppa Pig owner confirmed it was mulling a sale, adding almost £75m to the company’s market capitalisation. Entertainment One said yesterday it was “considering its strategic options… in response to interest it has received from various parties”. Though a spokesperson for [...]
WESTFIELD AT STRATFORD: OUR PICK OF THE SHOPS September 13, 2011 CLOTHES & ACCESSORIES ASPINAL OF LONDON The second standalone shop for this affordable heritage brand, Aspinal has a plum position at the start of the Street, and is a wonderfully windowy space, glinting with cufflinks, jewels and charms and full of its signature bright croc skin bags and wallets. FOREVER 21 There were nearly 400 [...]
Dukes: it’s no longer just for martinis September 12, 2011 Thirty Six Dukes Hotel, St James’s Place, SW1A 1NY 020 7491 4840 www.dukeshotel.com FOOD **** SERVICE ***** ATMOSPHERE ** Cost per person without wine: £60 DUKES Hotel, which lies in one of those impossibly cute courtyards off St James’s street, has for aeons been famous for one thing: martinis. Its bar, a cosy nest of [...]
THREE OTHER ST JAMES’S RESTAURANTS September 12, 2011 AVENUE A huge, bright place with tables as far as the eye can see – you can tell this used to be a Conran gaff. The Finnish chef does pretty decent things with classic, ultra-fresh British ingredients. 7-9 St James’s St, SW1A 1EE. www.avenue-restaurant.co.uk WHEELER’S OF ST JAMES’S A darkly sumptuous place with some rather [...]
Upbeat Prezzo plans to open 20 new restaurants September 7, 2011 BRITISH pizza restaurant chain Prezzo reported a 17 per cent higher first-half profit yesterday as it continued to open new restaurants and said it expected positive results for the year. The company currently has 168 restaurants, compared with 145 last year. Earlier this year it launched a new range of pizza, designed by Italian chef [...]
Hangover dulls caffeine high September 6, 2011 WHITBREAD’s upbeat statement yesterday was a breath of fresh air to the markets, propping up the FTSE with a seven per cent jump as it promised yet more growth from its core Costa Coffee and Premier Inn brands. But there’s one albatross still hanging around the company neck – its underperforming pub restaurant business, where [...]
China’s answer to Vegas is Eastern gambling paradise September 4, 2011 OF all the improbable consequences of China’s headlong rush into beating capitalism at its own game, Macau is the weirdest.In common with nearby Hong Kong, the former Portuguese colony returned to Chinese ownership in 1999, but remains largely self-determining. As a result, gambling is legal. And not just legal: Macau is known as the Vegas [...]
YO! Sushi tastes success despite big debt costs September 1, 2011 RESTAURANT chain YO! Sushi has increased sales by a fifth after opening more UK stores and increasing its income from foreign franchises. The firm’s parent company, Sushi Holdings 1, hit sales of £50.31m, up from £41.7m, for the year to 28 November, after increasing its number of branches in the UK by 10 to 54 [...]
Restaurant Group piles on an 8pc profit September 1, 2011 RESTAURANT Group has shrugged off concerns related to rising input costs and lower consumer morale by posting an eight per cent rise in its first-half adjusted pre-tax profit, and said it expected to make further progress this year. The company, which owns the Garfunkel’s and Frankie & Benny’s chains, said yesterday year-to-date total turnover was [...]
The only way is Essex for hidden gems September 1, 2011 ROLLING countryside, boutique shops and country pubs – but most importantly not a vajazzle in sight. Essex has a whole lot more to offer than the controversial The Only Way is Essex TV series would like to portray. The area has all the charms and convenience of the most-desired Home Counties of Surrey and Kent. [...]