M&B appoints Joe Lewis man to board of directors January 4, 2010 MITCHELLS & Butlers (M&B), the pub and restaurant group, said yesterday it will appoint Ronald Robson, a representative of rebel shareholder Joe Lewis, to its board from 22 January. The appointment will need to be ratified by shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting on 28 January, it added. Lewis’s investment vehicle, Piedmont, which is [...]
The river views in Istanbul are fit for a Sultan January 3, 2010 IF you have never been to Istanbul, then this is the year to do it. the Turkish capital is one of the two European Capitals of Culture for 2010 it is sharing the privilege with Pecs, in Hungary. Istanbul is an interesting choice: it has long been considered the meeting place between east and west, [...]
London is the big smoke for cigar connoisseurs January 3, 2010 Those resolutions are going up in flames in the city’s new breed of smoking terraces, writes Timothy Barber SITTING back on a luxurious sofa with a glass of fine champagne in one hand and a cigar in the other, I’m among a group of around 25 men and a couple of women sending up a [...]
CORPORATE SCROOGES FAIL TO PUT DAMPENER ON XMAS PARTY SPIRIT December 21, 2009 ANOTHER year, another load of City types wistfully remembering the good old champagne-soaked extravagances of old? Well, not exactly. Company bosses are certainly trying to give the impression of having left behind those days for good, what with all those blanket bans on corporate decorations, measly £10-a-head allowances at the likes of Royal Bank of [...]
YO! Sushi owner raises its turnover December 17, 2009 Quilvest, the private equity firm behind the buyout of Japanese restaurant company YO! Sushi, more than doubled its turnover last year. The UK arm of Quilvest, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, generated revenues of £1.2m – up from £503,000 in 2007. However, accounts filed at Companies House show Quilvest UK turned a profit of just [...]
M&B opens door to rebel appointments December 17, 2009 PUB and restaurant operator Mitchells & Butlers has invited the four candidates put forward to join its board by rebel shareholder Joe Lewis to meet with headhunters and its nomination committee. The operator of All Bar One and Harvester yesterday said the meetings would enable it to formulate its recommendations as to how shareholders should [...]
Expansion curtailed as profits slump at restaurant group Clapham House December 17, 2009 THE company behind restaurants Gourmet Burger Kitchen and The Real Greek has suffered a 13 per cent slump in profits – scuppering any major expansion plans next year. Clapham House Group – whose Tootsies chain closed in October – said trading conditions remained “pretty challenging”. However, the firm claimed there were signs that things were [...]
FOCUS ON: NOTTING HILL December 17, 2009 SHREWSBURY MEWS, W2 Price: £695,000 Located near the junction of Westbourne Park Road and Chepstowe Road, this 900sq ft traditional mews house has a first floor reception, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms, one en suite. It is close to bars and restaurants, and Westbourne Grove Tube station. Contact: Hamptons Notting Hill, 020 7034 0404 KENSINGTON [...]
Camden: an urban hotspot with leafy streets December 17, 2009 THOSE who consider Camden a gritty choice may want to think again. “Prices dipped in the credit crunch,” says Ed Robinson, of the year-old Camden office of Foxtons. “But they’re already higher than they were before it, and they’re going to rise next year. There’s limited stock and a lot of demand.” The spring opening [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS December 14, 2009 DEAN STREET TOWNHOUSE OPENS There’s a new place to go to in Soho, from the people behind Soho House. Dean Street Townhouse is a chic little boutique hotel with a restaurant overseen by The Ivy’s former senior sous chef, Stephen Tonkin. There’s an old school British sensibility with oysters, fish and chips and mince with [...]