Celebrating all things pretty, pricey and rare June 17, 2010 Fancy getting your hands on a 1932 Bugatti Grand Prix car? How about a magnificently ornate Victorian billiards table? Alternatively, you could furnish your living room with a pair of stunning globes from the 17th century. Of course, you’ll need to stump up over a million quid to own any of these – £3.2m in [...]
Claridge’s owner in talks with Deutsche Bank to refinance £610m of borrowings June 14, 2010 THE owner of some of London’s most luxurious hotels is in talks to refinance £610m of debt, it was confirmed yesterday. Maybourne Hotel Group, owner of the Claridge’s, Connaught and Berkeley hotels in London, is in talks with Deutsche Bank about a refinancing that needs to take place by the end of the year. The [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 13, 2010 MICHELIN Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) initiates a “buy” rating for Michelin and says that despite rising material prices, it sees room for Michelin to profit from early implementation of price increases, stronger replacement business momentum, and better underlying earnings due to the cost cuts in 2009. GREENE KING Seymour Pierce has given Greene King [...]
Jungles, sea and history in old Malaysia June 13, 2010 A 100-mile ferry-ride across the South China Sea is Langkawi, one of the world’s most idyllic spots for sunbathing, swimming in crystal green waters framed by lush jungle, and the total luxury of a world-class beach resort. It’s gorgeous – but probably quite similar to retreats in Thailand, Indonesia, the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Mauritius…you get [...]
Sun, sea, safari, wine… Welcome to paradise on earth June 10, 2010 IN 2005, South Africa’s property market was the fastest growing in the world. Although its rate of growth has slowed, property in Africa’s most developed economy is increasingly in hot demand. This appetite has been fuelled in part by the World Cup, but more sustainably by the fact that at last, foreigners are catching on [...]
Honeypot homes are luring buyers up to Stanmore June 10, 2010 STEPPING off the end of a Tube line seems like entering a vacuum to most Londoners. One imagines a tangle of motorways, perhaps. Some cows. A few car parks. Visitors to Stanmore might be surprised. Stanmore is a place whose name anyone who regularly rides the Jubilee line will have heard, but the town is [...]
See the World Cup in world-class style June 8, 2010 FEVER PITCH, FULHAM You won’t miss a second of build-up if it’s up to World Cup pop-up bar Fever Pitch in Fulham. Open since May and closed after the final, this is the place to enjoy the action on nine screens spanning 360 degrees while sipping a pretty decent selection of beer. The 400-capacity venue [...]
BP TOP DOGS SPOTTED OUT ON A TOP-SECRET MAYFAIR MISSION June 7, 2010 A STERLING spot by one of The Capitalist’s army of spies yesterday, on the way to a meeting at an office building on Old Burlington Street. Stepping out of the lift in the building were none other than beleaguered BP chief executive Tony Hayward and his finance director Byron Grote – taking some time out [...]
Bubbly and with plenty of fizz June 3, 2010 CITY boys and girls can be a hard bunch to please, but Neleen Strauss seems to have found the formula that keeps them coming back to High Timber, the restaurant she co-owns that is located on the north bank of the River Thames. High Timber has arguably one of the best views in the City: [...]
Opening up the Garden of England June 3, 2010 WITH the recent fresh spates of sunshine over the City, workers commuting from office to apartment might be thinking longingly uprooting from London for somewhere more rural. With expanding rail links connecting more and more towns to London, property prices are on the up and it’s easier than ever to enjoy the pleasures of the [...]