Calzedonia swoops on undie store September 2, 2009 ITALIAN fashion company Calzedonia yesterday bought its flagship London underwear store Tezenis from landlords Great Capital Partnership for £22.9m. The Spirella House store, on the busy shopping corner of Regents Street and Oxford street, was sold at a price 12.5 per cent above its March 2009 book value. It comprises a retail unit over three [...]
Alibaba eyes European expansion from London September 1, 2009 CHINESE e-commerce firm Alibaba has opened a new European headquarters in London in an attempt to accelerate its expansion outside of China. The world’s largest business-to-business online marketplace, which has based its new home in the West End, has also announced the launch of a multi-million dollar global advertising campaign to aid its overseas growth. [...]
Terry nails colours to Chelsea mast with new five-year deal August 31, 2009 CAPTAIN John Terry has demonstrated his long-term commitment to Chelsea by putting pen-to-paper on a new lucrative five-year deal. The deal, reported to be worth £150,000 per week, will keep Terry at Stamford Bridge until 2014 and Blues chiefs are hopeful the 28-year-old will now finish his career in west London. Crowd favourite Terry has [...]
FULL CIRCLE IN SPORT RETAILERS’ WILY WORLD August 19, 2009 IS THERE no end to the incestuous intricacies to the colourful sports retail sector? The current hot potato in the industry is the tide of bad feeling towards JJB chairman Sir David Jones, whose past emails criticising the firm’s directors were recently leaked by former chief executive Chris Ronnie, the man widely blamed for bringing [...]
Shaftesbury enjoys West End shoppers August 17, 2009 LANDLORD Shaftesbury said yesterday a record influx of overseas and domestic tourists has boosted tenants in its core West End market. The property firm which owns more than 450 properties in Theatreland, Chinatown and Carnaby Street, said it continued to see healthy demand for its shops, restaurants and residential accommodation. The group said that the [...]
FORGET CANNES: CANARY WHARF’S FILM FESTIVAL IS COMING TO TOWN August 12, 2009 CANARY Wharfers should dust off their finery: there’s a film festival coming to town. OK, so it’s not quite Cannes – there’ll be no red carpet, much to the disappointment of preen-happy financiers, and designer dresses and tuxes are far from obligatory. But the Canary Wharf Film Festival, taking place between 3 and 7 September, [...]
Opulence, ostrich and eggs benedict as West End landmark goes weird August 10, 2009 The Criterion224 Piccadilly W1J 9HP Tel: 020 7930 0488 Cost per person without wine: £43 OUTSIDE the Criterion’s grand entrance it’s like Piccadilly Circus – a grim, heaving mass of tourists and traffic that swarms in every direction. Okay, it is Piccadilly Circus, and as you arrive it’s hard not to feel a bit sorry [...]
BARCLAYS HIRES CLINTON SPINNER PENN FOR POST-CRUNCH COUNSEL August 5, 2009 BARCLAYS has brought in the big guns. Actually, it’s just the one gun, but they don’t come much bigger – Mark Penn, the American political pollster-cum-public relations guru who numbers both the Clintons, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Microsoft boss Bill Gates among his powerful clients. Penn is the worldwide chief executive of [...]
SUMMER SALES FOOTBALL UPDATE August 5, 2009 Drogba signs to Blues until 2012 CHELSEA striker Didier Drogba last night committed his future to the club by signing a new three-year contract. The Ivory Coast international, who joined the Blues from Marseille in 2004, is thought to have agreed a deal worth £100,000 per week. “I love the club, I feel good here [...]
FOCUS ON: CROYDON, GREATER LONDON July 23, 2009 39 RADCLIFFE ROAD, CROYDON, CR0 5QJPrice: £765,000If you’re a cricket lover glued to the television at the moment, then this smart four-bedroom period house backing on to the exclusive Whitgift Foundation’s cricket grounds is exactly what you are looking for. It comes with four bedrooms and has been refurbished to the highest standard by the [...]