St Lucia’s most spectacular retreat is taking luxury to new levels August 2, 2009 ONE OF THE remaining signs of St Lucia’s colonial past (and Commonwealth present) is the fact that, by law, the first 40 feet inland of every stretch of coastline belongs to the Queen. That doesn’t mean sunbathing is restricted to Her Maj and Philip, should they deign to drop anchor in these parts, but it [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 27, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES COMPLEXITY IS KEY TO OVERCOMING RECESSIONLord Mandelson, the business secretary, will today announce the allocation of £150bn to fund companies’ advance manufacturing development projects in areas such as aerospace, nuclear engineering components, electronics and microchip designs. Most of it will come from the £750m cash pot set aside by ministers this year to [...]
Panamania SETS IN July 26, 2009 THINK of the Republic of Panama and the two words most likely to follow are “hats” and “canal”. The last thing you’d associate with this odd-shaped country at the very bottom of Central America is a Manhatten-esque skyline, sophisticated nightlife and luxury hotels and spas. But make the 14-hour journey to this isthmus and these [...]
WHERE TO DRINK CHAMPAGNE IN THE CITY July 22, 2009 VERTIGOTower 42, EC2NShowy and high glam, this is a devoted champagne bar with the best views in town – perched right at the top of Tower 42 (pictured right). There is a fantastic choice of bubbly, including Veuve Delaroy Brut (£46), Georges Vesselle Bouzy Grand Cru (£66), two Bollies, a Krug (£385) and several Laurent [...]
LENDERS WIN CONTROL OF CHEZ GERARD July 20, 2009 THE CHEZ Gerard and Bertorelli restaurant chains fell under the control of bankers yesterday. Silverfleet Capital, the private equity company, sold the chains’ owner Paramount Restaurants to its bankers, RBS, HSBC, Barclays and Sankaty for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to cut Paramount’s debts by around half to £65m.
Oh I do like to be beside the seaside (with billionaires) July 19, 2009 IT’S mid-morning, and having got a crack-of-dawn BA flight from London City Airport, I am now in a helicopter flying from Nice to Monte Carlo. Out of the window, the warm sunshine and blue sea provide a stunning backdrop to the hotels and villas carved out of the white rocks. As a helicopter virgin I [...]
McDonald’s to swap London for Geneva July 12, 2009 FAST food giant McDonald’s yesterday confirmed it was joining the growing list of multinational companies to have quit the UK and relocate their European headquarters. The US chain, which runs 1,200 restaurants in Britain, plans to move from its current headquarters in East Finchley, north London, to Geneva by the end of the year. McDonald’s [...]
Hedgie Degorce calls up old friends to set up a fund at Lansdowne’s offices July 12, 2009 PATRICK Degorce, a former fund manager at US banking giant Merrill Lynch, is launching a new fund based in the Mayfair offices of hedge fund powerhouse Lansdowne Partners. Degorce, 40, is being allowed to set up shop with a small team at the firm after contacting Stuart Roden and Peter Davies, former colleagues of his [...]
Individual Restaurant Co beats share sale targets July 9, 2009 INDIVIDUAL Restaurant Company, the group behind the Restaurant Bar and Grill and Piccolino chains, yesterday said it has beaten its target of raising £2.1m with a share sale. The firm took the opportunity to place a further 3,950,216 shares – the 10 per cent maximum amount it was granted at its recent annual meeting – [...]
SLICE OF OLD-BOY STYLE HITS CITY FINE WINING AND DINING CIRCUIT July 8, 2009 NOT so long ago, City types were busy bemoaning the lack of decent restaurants on their patch. But now, just weeks after the Galvin brothers announced they were opening a new pad near Spitalfields market, I hear there’s a new eatery coming to town, courtesy of Simon Parker Bowles, former brother-in-law to Camilla, Duchess of [...]