MEDIA EXEC BRINGS £1M PERUVIAN BID TO SOHO February 20, 2012 MARTIN MORALES was headhunted by Apple as one of the four founders of iTunes Europe and sat on the board of The Walt Disney Company. But Ceviche, the Peruvian restaurant behind a plain black door at 17 Frith Street in Soho, is his life’s work. Since leaving Disney in July 2011, the half-Peruvian Morales has [...]
Bridgepoint on brink of Quilter deal January 23, 2012 PRIVATE equity house Bridgepoint is set to buy Quilter, an arm of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management unit which the US bank is offloading for a second time. The buyout group, whose investments range from Pret a Manger to a series of continental financial and business services groups, is expected to pay around £180m for the [...]
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED AS MARK HIX MOVES INTO BELGRAVES HOTEL December 12, 2011 THE RUMOURS have been swirling around the leisure industry for months, and Thompson Hotels yesterday confirmed that chef Mark Hix will run the restaurant and bar at its new hotel launch Belgraves, due to open in January. The 80-seat Hix Belgravia, the chef’s fourth restaurant, will offer a menu inspired by his travels around the [...]
L&G to battle buyout group for Cofunds November 13, 2011 LEGAL & General and private equity house Bridgepoint are set to battle it out for control of investor supermarket Cofunds. The insurer, which is the largest shareholder with a 25 per cent stake, has expressed its interest to Cofunds and Mark Gregory, the executive director of savings at L&G, recently approached Cofunds chairman Charlie Eppinger [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 27, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES ANADARKO SOUNDS OUT BRAZILIAN BUYERS Anadarko Petroleum has asked advisers to sound out potential buyers for a collection of its Brazilian oil assets in a deal that could be worth up to $5bn, in the latest attempt by oil and gas explorers in the region to attract investment. The US independent oil and [...]
Google set to launch mobile payments May 25, 2011 GOOGLE will today unveil its first “mobile wallet” technology that turns your phone into a touch-payment system. Google’s VP of commerce and payments Stephanie Tilenius said: “We’re making a big bet on it as a company. There is a lot of potential there.” It is understood the service, known as Near Field Communication (NFC), will [...]
Porridge boost for Pret sales March 29, 2011 Coffee and sandwich chain Pret a Manger said sales of hot food such as porridge were helping it to thrive in a tough consumer environment as it posted a 37 per cent rise in 2010 core earnings. The chain, majority owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint, said yesterday it planned to open more than 30 [...]
Porridge helps Pret a Manger stay hot March 29, 2011 Sandwich chain Pret a Manger has said sales of hot food such as porridge were helping it to thrive in tough consumer environment as it posted a 37 per cent rise in its 2010 core earnings. The chain, majority owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint , said it planned to open more than 30 shops [...]
Stuart Rose joins board of MMN March 28, 2011 FORMER M&S boss Stuart Rose has joined the board of mobile payments firm Mobile Money Network (MMN) as non-executive chairman. MMN is a joint venture between mobile payments company Monitise and Carphone Warehouse owner Best Buy Europe. The firm also announced former Standard Chartered boss Lord Davies of Abersoch will join Carphone Warehouse founder Charles [...]
TALENT FOR BUSINESS IS INSTINCTIVE December 16, 2010 PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT, LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL We ALL remember the kid who sold sweets to his friends in the school playground (though my sons tell me it’s now more likely to be mobile phones). Although it’s difficult to generalise, entrepreneurs do seem to share some traits. Harvard Business School professor W. A. Sahlman defined entrepreneurship [...]