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 [...]
Buy-to-let is back as rents stabilise and low prices attract landlords December 3, 2009 BUY-TO-LET is starting to look like an attractive proposition once again, as lower house prices and a stabilising rental market result in more enticing yields. Data from LSL Property Services – the company that owns Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agencies – shows that annual returns on landlords’ investments have turned positive for the [...]
Because you’re worth it: the best bachelor pads in town December 3, 2009 ATROPHY apartment is the ultimate reward for spending your 20s chained to a desk. And in case you hadn’t noticed, tastes for this type of flat, and the facilities found within it, are changing. Overt ostentation, 1980s-style, is out – so swimming pools with your monogrammed initials at the bottom are a no-no – to [...]
Shaftesbury keen to buy after slump December 1, 2009 THE LONDON landlord Shaftesbury reported a fall in the value of its property last year, but forecast improving demand and more acquisitions. Shaftesbury, which owns more than 450 properties focused in the West End, said its portfolio was worth £1.21bn at the end of September, down 3.8 per cent against a year ago after falls [...]
THE TIPSTER November 30, 2009 PUB company Mitchells & Butlers posted a solid set of full-year results last week, which has been followed by potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity as a group of major shareholders attempt to wrest control of the board. It is still early days, but with last week’s results underpinning the share price, it is clear [...]
SLOVAKIA November 29, 2009 SLOVAKIA is perhaps the most up-and-coming location for European skiing. The past decade has seen considerable investment in the area’s tourism, which means an increasing number of top-quality lifts and facilities, and some plush new hotels. The especially good news is that it’s cheaper than skiing in the Alps – a six day lift pass [...]