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 [...]
TRAVEL NOTES April 3, 2011 BYBLOS’S NEW SEASON PACKAGE To celebrate opening for the 2011 season, Saint Tropez’s most iconic hotel, Byblos, is offering a seductive package to entice early season weekenders. Enticements are indeed numerous, with an Alain Ducasse restaurant, Byni’z for tapas and cocktails by the pool, a luxurious Sisley spa, recently refurbished rooms and suites and the [...]
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW FOR CAPITA CASANOVA March 31, 2011 THEY say when you wed you should have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. But no-one could have imagined quite how literally Capita Financial Group’s Mark Millard would take the “old” commandment when he proposed to Morgan Stanley’s Kelly Janes in a dining room full of antiques worth more than £3m. Millard, [...]
CAMBRIDGE March 31, 2011 HIGH STREET, WEST WICKHAM Price: £460,000 This grade II listed thatched roof cottage is tucked away from main road and wrapped within beautiful gardens. There are three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Downstairs there is a lobby, sitting room, dining room, farmhouse kitchen and bathroom. Contact: Tucker Gardner on 01223 708269 or go to www.tuckergardner.com [...]
Stylish and discreet, but the food isn’t perfect yet March 29, 2011 5 Pollen Street 5 Pollen St, W1S 1ND Tel: 020 7629 1555 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £45-£50 WITH Jason Atherton’s much-hyped Pollen Street Social to open next month, this miniscule back-alley behind Hanover Square has been getting more attention than one might expect of such a street. And now – pipping [...]
THE TIPSTER March 28, 2011 HOTEL and restaurant operator Whitbread has been on the up since last week with high expectations for their annual figures to March. Annual profits are suggested to come in at £279m, which is up from £208m last year. With the dividend expected to be increased to 42p, the company appears to be moving in a [...]
Episode seven: telling Noel about the twins March 28, 2011 WE sit opposite Noel. I can see his skinny, bruised legs dangling, swinging beneath the table. He looks about, avoiding our eyes. The restaurant is empty. It’s barely midday. I realise Noel is anxious. He knows that something is afoot. I take a deep breath. We’ve done our reading, discussed our strategy and sketched out [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES HOLLYWOOD MAKEOVER FOR YOUTUBE Google is deepening its ties with Hollywood by enlisting top stars to supply original content for YouTube in a bid to boost profits and user engagement at the company’s online video site. Google has been making the rounds of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, outlining plans to create a network [...]