STOCK EXCHANGE VET TO STAGE WEST END MUSICAL COMEBACK April 14, 2011 THE Stock Exchange Veterans dinner last night had the largest turnout in its 15-year history, with 470 brokers out in force at The Brewery. The event’s organiser Bill Sharp, head of institutional sales at Alexander David, was delighted to “see so many old friends”, including Ron Martin, chairman of Southend United FC, Brian Winterflood of [...]
HENDON, LONDON April 14, 2011 DOWNAGE, NEAR PARSON STREET Price: £1.35m This five-bedroomed detached family home stretches across 3,030 sq ft and three floors. It has a landscaped garden, two separate garages and a long driveway with space for more than one car. Contact: Aston Chase on 020 8455 3538 or go to www.astonchase.com TENTERDEN GROVE Price: £699,950 This mews [...]
The Swiss town that’s emerging from the shadows April 14, 2011 ANDERMATT – a sleeping beauty of a village, nestled in the Urseren valley in central Switzerland – is set to be awoken from its slumber and transformed into one of the Alps’ major year-round holiday destinations. The prince in question here is the self-described “town-developer” Samir Sawiris. He plans to revolutionise the town’s tourism industry [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS April 11, 2011 BISTRO DU VIN OPENS… It’s all happening in Clerkenwell. Hot on the heels of last week’s Zetter Townhouse launch – a hotel which happens to include an apothecary-style cocktail bar from the 69 Colebroke Row crew – comes a slick new eatery on St John Street (surely London’s foodiest thoroughfare) in the space vacated by [...]
A spa for all seasons, particularly summer April 11, 2011 WHEN a Four Seasons opens, you can count on a bit of fanfare – some state-of-the-art design, some standard-setting opulence. When it reopens in London after a refurb costing £100m, your expectations can be even higher. Rooms, foyer, bar, restaurant and spa all have their own horns to toot. In the case of the Four [...]
In deep water: learning to dive off the coast of Malta April 10, 2011 AS I floated through the open hatchway into the ship’s galley, the scene appeared frozen in time. Seaweed waved gracefully about the cupboards and a spotted fish darted in and out of the abandoned cooker. A stream of bubbles poured from my dive buddy’s regulator as he laughingly grabbed the ship’s wheel and gave a [...]
M&S poaches top man from Wm Morrison April 7, 2011 MARKS & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland has poached one of his former Wm Morrison colleagues, Christopher Taylor, to take charge of his convenience stores . Taylor, who was leading Morrisons’ expansion into smaller convenience stores, is the first of Bolland’s former executives to be hired by M&S since Bolland was himself poached as chief [...]
BLACKHEATH, LONDON April 7, 2011 ST JOHNS PARK Price: £3,500,000 This restored Victorian double fronted house is close to Blackheath village and the Heath. It has seven bedrooms, a 20m heated swimming pool under the garden with a viewing gallery and a large back garden and terrace. The driveway is paved with york stone and there is a separate annex [...]
Prezzo tops expectations April 6, 2011 Pizza restaurant chain Prezzo yesterday posted a 37 per cent rise in full-year pre-tax profit that beat market estimates, driven by new restaurant openings, and said it expected to open at least 20 new restaurants this year. The company, which operates 160 restaurants, raised its final dividend by 12.5 per cent to 0.225p a share [...]
Profits fall at Restaurant Group April 4, 2011 Individual Restaurants has posted a 3.9 per cent drop in revenue to £51.3m in the year ending last December. Similarly restaurant earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell by £1.1m to £7.7m. Net debt however, was reduced by £0.7m to £4.3m at the company, which runs 33 casual dining restaurants under the Piccolino and [...]