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 [...]
Greene King in new debt deal April 4, 2011 PUB group Greene King has secured a new five year £400m revolving credit facility with its banking partners to bankroll expansion. This replaces the existing £400m facility, which was due to expire in April 2012. The company said in a statement: “This new facility gives Greene King continued financial flexibility and helps underpin the ongoing [...]
Travel worries undone by dead-eyed technology April 4, 2011 GEEK SPEAK @steve_dinneen AS I write this I’m three days through a trip to Prague, a city incomparably beautiful when viewed on a glass screen. And perhaps otherwise. I wouldn’t know. From the flight onwards, the need for independent thought has been almost entirely eradicated, cheerful, blinking LEDs obligingly making every decision for me. The [...]