Pret a Manger-owner Bridgepoint to buy Zizzi and Ask for £250m December 1, 2014 Private equity giant Cinven has agreed to sell its portfolio of Ask Italian and Zizzi restaurants to Pret a Manger-owner Bridgepoint for £250m. The deal marks Cinven’s exit from the Gondola Group after it sold both its Pizza Express and Byron restaurant chains over the past 18 months for around £1bn combined. Cinven took the [...]
The best take-away Christmas lunch: From Benugo’s hot roast turkey sandwich to Itsu’s “aggressively disgusting” pot of chicken December 1, 2014 December is upon us and it’s now perfectly acceptable to buy a take-away Christmas lunch – our sandwich committee checked out some of the most popular. Fred’s at Tesco Thanksgiving Sandwich Turkey, vegetable crisps, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, brie ★★★☆☆ Full marks for presentation but zero for practicality; trying to fit this [...]
Playing sport boosts your chances in the City by improving your teamworking skills November 6, 2014 Playing rugby can help to improve your teamwork skills and demonstrate discipline. A huge opportunity is on its way. News that ITV is bumping some of its major shows in favour of rugby World Cup matches next year is an indication of the chance to create a real legacy for the sport. The potential [...]
Hot sauce: Tesco launches new sandwich store to fight Pret A Manger September 1, 2014 Another day, another sandwich bar opens. So what's new? Well this time, it's Tesco which is launching a brand new sandwich shop format – selling premium subs and hot breakfast to City workers. This morning the supermarket opened its first small format sandwich store, conveniently located a stone's throw away from City AM's [...]
London buses: Now you can pay fares by tapping in with a mobile August 4, 2014 In the march towards a future where you can do everything through your mobile phone, London buses are the latest to get on board. Contactless payment system Cash on Tap is being accepted by TFL on all London bus routes and works in the same way as an Oyster card or contactless card. Handy if [...]
Exclusive: Wealth manager ponders market listing in London July 17, 2014 THE OWNER of sandwich takeaway chain Pret a Manger is evaluating plans to list one of the UK’s biggest wealth managers on the London stock market, the latest in a string of potential new issues from mid-market buyout firms. UK-based private equity house Bridgepoint is evaluating a potential initial public offering (IPO) for Quilter Cheviot, the [...]
Bridgepoint cashes out of British tech company SPTS Technologies July 7, 2014 Private equity firm Bridgepoint has cashed out its stake in UK tech manufacturing firm SPTS Technologies for $370m (£216m). The group, which also owns Pret a Manger, sold the company to Nasdaq-listed Israeli firm Orbotech, making 2.6 times its original investment. SPTS was formed in 2009 through a merger of several companies [...]
Cycle shop Wiggle candidate for IPO after appointing advisers June 25, 2014 Cycle shop Wiggle’s private equity owner Bridgepoint is mulling plans to float the company on the London stock market. The private equity group, which owns Pret a Manger, has been working with Rothschild to explore options for the business, one of which may include a share sale. Nomura and Numis are also said [...]
The great Facebook crash of 2014: The internet reacts June 19, 2014 It may have lasted for around half an hour, but the 'Great Facebook Outage of 2014' certainly got the internet panicking. The social network site was down this morning, with users reporting that they were unable to access the Facebook website and mobile apps worldwide. While the opportunity to go outside and talk to other [...]
Suitors line up for Bonhams as outfit goes under the hammer June 5, 2014 A HANDFUL of private equity suitors have submitted first round bids for 220-year-old British auction house Bonhams, after the firm opted for a sale over a stock market float. Up to six firms are understood to have submitted bids for the company, including offers from the UK arm Mitt Romney-founded Bain Capital, as well as [...]