Shaftesbury shops provide profit jump November 30, 2010 WEST END property company Shaftesbury posted double-digit growth in its asset value for the full-year yesterday, and said it expected strong demand for its shops, pubs and restaurants to continue. Shaftesbury also said it was hunting for a new chief executive, after current boss Jonathan Lane announced his intention to retire in 2011 after 24 [...]
All cosied up? Time to drink yourself warmer November 29, 2010 THE next best thing to snuggling up in a woolly jumper or – if you’re a City A.M. reader, perhaps a Burberry snood – is a warming tipple. We’ve carefully combed the options to find the best ones near you. CITY Five hot cocktails are on offer at the Folly and the Anthologist near Bank, [...]
Hooray: Hakkasan comes to Mayfair November 29, 2010 Hakkasan (Mayfair) 17 Bruton Street, W1J 6QB Tel: 020 7907 1888, www.hakkasan.com FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £55 LAST week I gained half a stone. It all started (relatively) modestly with a couple of (gastro) pub meals. And it ended modestly: eating a cheeseburger and chips while standing up at the crowded, [...]
Moving in on Britain’s top state schools November 25, 2010 WITH the standards of living rising and employment ever more insecure, committing your child to private education has become a risky business. Parents who have children edging towards that crucial eleventh year will no doubt be trying to unpick the admissions policies to the best state schools. They are also likely to have entertained the [...]
Morocco is attracting the luxury investor November 25, 2010 IT’s hot, it’s exotic and beautiful. No wonder Morocco, long on the traveller’s radar, is rapidly becoming the place that the beautiful people are going to buy their second homes. Says Alistair Emery, CEO of developer Ajensa, which is nearing completion of the Baglioni resort near Marrakech: “In the last few years as people have [...]
Vegging with M. Ducasse November 24, 2010 THE legendary chef settles into his plush chair in the Dorchester’s tea salon with his iPad tucked under his arm and some tissanes before him. He looks the picture of scary Gallic grandeur in his chef whites, his little round glasses perched on his nose, his mouth pursed. A pleasant feeling, then, knowing that we [...]
M&B boosts its profits but holds dividend November 23, 2010 PUB and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers boosted full-year pre-tax profits by 26 per cent to £169m, but a £300m property write-off pushed it to a pre-tax loss, it reported yesterday. The owner of bar brands such as All Bar One, O’Neill’s, and Harvester saw 1.1 per cent revenue growth to £1.98bn over the year, [...]
SKI NOTES November 21, 2010 Courchevel’s new retreat Courchevel addicts (with extra cash) rejoice: a fabulous new opening in 1850 is setting tongues aflutter. Le Strato has just 25 bedrooms, an 800sq m spa by Nuxe, a gastro restaurant with a famous French starred chef – and, wait for it, a a champagne bar in the ski room. Open from [...]
FOCUS ON: HERTFORD November 18, 2010 VILLIERS STREET Price: £599,995 This four-bedroom townhouse is close to the town centre and it has been refurbished. Period features such as sash windows and fireplaces have been kept. There is a back garden. Contact: Hetheringtons on 01992 440000, hetheringtons.co.uk REVELLS HALL Price: £2.75m This Grade II-listed 16th century house has panoramic views across Ware [...]
Glamour is going west for the winter November 17, 2010 FOLLOWING the slew of recent East London launches, attention is shifting to the West where things are hotting up. After the summer additions of the Brompton Club and Beaufort House, the most exciting new club for some time is heading to Chelsea in the shape of Guy Pelly’s new offering, Public on the King’s Road. [...]