THE PARTY’S OVER FOR TCHENGUIZ BROTHERS March 9, 2011 THEY came, they saw, they conquered – and then the Tchenguiz brothers were arrested by the Serious Fraud Office yesterday morning in connection with the collapse of the Kaupthing Icelandic bank. The dramatic raid at the property developers’ Mayfair HQ has been the talk of the MIPIM property fair at Cannes, where the brothers were [...]
THE MAN BRINGING CHELTENHAM TO THE SQUARE MILE NEXT WEEK March 9, 2011 IN 18 months, Simon Parker Bowles’s Cornhill restaurant, Green’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar, has become a firm City favourite, mixing time-honoured qualities – simple but sumptuous food, clubby surroundings, a very well-stocked cellar – with a theme that reflects Parker Bowles’s own particular passion: horse racing. The Runner Bar takes its name from the sport, [...]
Japanese food chain Wagamama to be sold for more than £200m March 8, 2011 JAPANESE noodle chain Wagamama is expected to be sold to private equity firm Duke Street Capital within the next two weeks, in a deal worth over £200m. The chain’s current owner, Lion Capital, is currently in talks with the firm with a view to striking a deal. Lion had looked to sell Wagamama earlier last [...]
The main Events March 8, 2011 ATHLETICS 3–11 August OVERVIEW Not just one event of course but a multitude of disciplines taking in track, field, combined and road competitions, athletics is the cornerstone and focus of any Olympics. More than 2,000 athletes will taking part, including sprint superstar Usain Bolt [pictured, right] a number of Britons who have been working towards [...]
Jamie’s Italian considers float March 6, 2011 Jamie Oliver is looking at a £100m float of his Italian restaurant chain Jamie’s Italian, according to a weekend report. The restaurant chain is in the early stages of considering a stock market float, which could not happen before the turn of the year, according to the Sunday Telegraph. The company has reportedly talked to [...]
Shaftesbury raises cash to expand March 3, 2011 LONDON landlord Shaftesbury yesterday tapped investors for £102m in a share placement to help fund acquisitions as more assets come up for sale in its core West End market. The real estate investor, which owns more than 500 shops, restaurants and bars in the West End, said it had placed 22.7m new ordinary shares at [...]
Whitbread in sales setback from Premier March 2, 2011 WHITBREAD yesterday reported slowing sales growth at its Premier Inn chain and warned over tough times for consumers. The group, which also owns Britain’s biggest coffee shop chain Costa, reported sales growth of 5.1 per cent at Premier Inn hotels open for more than a year in the quarter to 17 February, a slowdown from [...]
Why Marrakech is now the fashionable place to relax February 27, 2011 WANDER into Marrakech’s famous souk and you can find all manner of unctions, ointments and powders intended to cure ills, sooth skin, clear airways and put a spring in your step. Among alley after alley of cloth and leather merchants, pottery shops, brass vendors, blacksmiths, and hawkers of every kind of tat, are spice stalls [...]
Travel Notes February 27, 2011 ROCK OUT AT ZERMATT Those after late-season Alpine adventures – with a twist – should make for Zermatt, where Zermatt Unplugged, the resort’s annual music festival, will be rocking out in the shadow of the mighty Matterhorn. Past performers include Suzanne Vega, Alanis Morissette and Lionel Ritchie and this year Seal, David Gray and One [...]
London’s hidden property gems February 24, 2011 ROTHERHITHE, SE16 The renaissance of this former dock has gone largely unnoticed, and house prices are generally cheaper than surrounding areas. Carl Davenport, of estate agents Chesterton Humberts, says Rotherhithe is the “overlooked neighbour” of Tower Bridge. “Prices are in many cases cheaper by up to 20 per cent on a like to like basis,” [...]