The ascent of prime London’s new hotspot July 15, 2010 FITZROVIA, the area around the BT Tower, bordered by Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road, Great Portland Street and Euston Road, should be Londoners’ idea of property heaven. The West End is on your doorstep, as is Regent’s Park. The ever-more exciting restaurant and bar scene of Goodge and Charlotte Streets, and the more established prettiness [...]
Don’t let your prime real estate abroad stand idle while you slave away at work July 15, 2010 WITH global growth likely to be sluggish in the coming years, it might seem like a poor time to invest in a holiday home. But with a clear strategy for renting out the place when you’re not in residence, it is easily possible to make back the cost of maintenance and to generate a little [...]
FOCUS ON: RENTING OUT YOUR HOLIDAY HOME July 15, 2010 SUNSET VILLA, MYKONOS, GREECE Price: €2.2m This clean, white villa in the town of Mykonos has five bedrooms, six bathrooms and a wide terrace overlooking its large swimming pool. It is available fully-furnished and boasts a beautiful sunset view over the Aegean sea. The popular town of Mykonos is easily accessible with its active nightlife. [...]
The rising stars of London’s wine scene July 14, 2010 REMEMBER the old days, when you’d sit down in a posh restaurant and a scary-looking French man with a handlebar moustache would sidle over to you with a book the size of the bible? Well, times have changed, and a gaggle of young studs and studettes have taken over London’s best wine lists. Well under [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS July 12, 2010 LARDER OF LONDON REOPENS For a foodie city, one thing London is shamefully short of is quality food markets. Anyone who’s had enough of fighting their way through the Borough Market hoards can now instead fight their way through the West End hoards each Saturday at the newly-launched Foodlovers Market in Soho, once reputed as [...]
Cafe Rouge owner to buy Paramount July 4, 2010 BLACKSTONE-BACKED restaurant owner Tragus is eyeing a takeover bid for industry rival Paramount Restaurants. The Cafe Rouge, Bella Italia and Strada owner is in discussions over a bid for Paramount that could value the firm at £50m. Paramount, which owns restaurant chains including Cafe Uno and Bertorelli, was taken over by its lenders last year [...]
Tequila’s birthplace gives the drink a whole new spin… July 4, 2010 I’M drinking Tequila for the first time in years, as fingers of blazing Mexican sun poke down between the swaying branches of a shady tree. I can’t quite believe that I’m sipping firewater on the lawn outside a picture postcard 150 year-old hacienda – a Mexican manor house – as I eat a splendid lunch [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 1, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES GENERAL ELECTRIC CHIEF VENTS FRUSTRATION OVER CHINA The GE chief executive Jeff Immelt told Italian industrialists at a dinner on Wednesday that he was worried about the way Beijing was treating foreign companies. “I am not sure that in the end they want any of us to win or any of us to [...]
Greene King toasts profit July 1, 2010 PUB company Greene King reported a 3.8 per cent increase in full-year pre-tax profit yesterday and said it had made an encouraging start to its current fiscal year. The pub, which operates 2,472 pubs and restaurants across Britain, reported a pre-tax profit of £123m in the year to 2 May. Greene King said sales at [...]
Surrey is still the homeliest home county July 1, 2010 IF you are looking for a family home, Surrey is a good place to start. Unlike some of the suburbs closer to London, Surrey has villages with character and history, fine pubs and some wonderful schools. Many of Surrey’s best spots also have a direct connection to Waterloo, an easy hop from the City. The [...]