London’s best restaurants explain how they design their dining spaces, from banquette to banqueting table June 29, 2017 Few things in the restaurant design world have been so hotly debated as the humble tablecloth. Since Noma stormed onto the international food scene in 2003, the rulebook for what a high-end restaurant should look like went out the window; gone were the plush carpets, extravagant chandeliers and, most importantly of all, the table cloths. [...]
Hollywood movie company Film Finances considers London IPO June 1, 2017 A Hollywood film financier is said to be plotting a float on the London Stock Exchange. Los Angeles-headquartered Film Finances Inc could be making its way for a UK initial public offering (IPO) during the summer. Sky News reported that the flotation is being overseen by Liberum Capital and could value the firm at several [...]
Pret A Manger sales jump as consumers go nuts for coconut porridge April 27, 2017 Pret A Manger sales hit another record in 2016 as its customers went berserk for coconut porridge – and were rewarded with 1.7m free coffees. The figures The cafe chain said sales rose 15 per cent to £776.2m in the year to the end of December, with like-for-like sales rising 4.8 per cent. It opened [...]
UK employers are spending less on training than other major EU economies, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) April 19, 2017 The UK is in the grips of a skills crisis with employers spending less on training than other major EU economies, according to a new report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The analysis found that “two decades of under-investment” has contributed to the country lagging behind its competitors in Europe and [...]
Revealed: Notes coffee shop nets £600,000 loan from challenger bank OakNorth to open two new London branches, despite Brexit uncertainty March 13, 2017 Notes has struck a deal for a £600,000 loan to open two further branches in London, including its largest site to date, City A.M. has learnt. The coffee shop and wine bar chain, which already has six sites dotted around the capital, hopes to push ahead with aggressive growth plans in the near future and the [...]
Sandwich skills shortage? Pret a Manger boss Andrea Wareham is worried about filling jobs after Brexit March 9, 2017 Brexit may be putting your avocado habit under threat, after the HR boss of Pret a Manger admitted she will struggle to fill jobs if she is only allowed to hire British applicants. At a House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee hearing yesterday, Andrea Wareham said just one in 50 people applying for jobs at the [...]
Storm Doris: Insurers reveal a spike in claims after the UK’s worst storm of 2017 makes landfall February 24, 2017 The insurance sector has started to count the cost of the 100mph plus gales that have lashed the British Isles over the last few days. Storm Doris has led to a spike in activity for insurers, primarily in relation to land and buildings cover, with one provider saying it had already seen a 300 per cent increase in [...]
Car smashes into City branch of Pret a Manger February 24, 2017 City workers in the Fenchurch Street area seeking their morning coffee and croissant fix will have a little further to go today. Police are investigating after a car smashed through the front of the Pret a Manger branch in Cullum Street last night, putting the store out of action. A Pret spokesperson said the company is helping the [...]
John Lewis, Pret and the 30 biggest private companies MPs want held more accountable February 12, 2017 Middle class favourite John Lewis and lunch time hotsport Pret a Manger are just two of Britain's most well-known businesses which could be subject to a stricter code of governance traditionally reserved for Britain's top public companies. Under new proposals suggested by a group of MPs, 30 of Britain's biggest privately owned companies would have to set [...]
As he rows back on free movement and flirts with wage cap proposals, will Jeremy Corbyn last the year? January 10, 2017 Rupert Myers, barrister and writer, says Yes. Within the Westminster bubble, the Jeremy Corbyn relaunch went about as well as the tragic lift off of the space shuttle Challenger. Corbyn’s muddle on free movement and the Single Market is likely to have infuriated even his die-hard fans. Is he for free movement? Is he for [...]