Serenity and decadence at Dubai’s hottest new hotel June 12, 2011 DUBAI seems an unlikely place for a relaxing holiday at first. Even 2,700 feet up, at the top of the Burj Khalifa tower, the whirr of cranes and speeding Jeeps in every direction makes the sea view throb with activity. My guide points past the hollow half-built skyscrapers jutting across the city skyline to the [...]
Cars, horses, glamour: a glorious summer awaits at Goodwood June 12, 2011 IN his famous song the Stately Homes of England, Noel Coward noted of the nation’s country piles that “the fact that they have to be rebuilt / And frequently mortgaged to the hilt… certainly damps the fun / Of the eldest son…” Try telling that to Charles Gordon-Lennox, eldest son of the 10th Duke of [...]
Betfred sets out Tote’s future June 5, 2011 SENIOR executives from Betfred will meet with management from the Tote this week to set out the future direction of the company. The bookmaker has assured Tote staff that no more than 150 redundancies will be made when the two firms merge, with jobs instead being cut from head office over the next 12 months. [...]
On the road: It-buggies put through paces June 5, 2011 Forget the gleaming red sports cars – the four-wheeled mean machines creating the most envy on the high street right now are… prams. These aren’t just any prams though: they’re double prams – de rigeur for London parents forced to nanny share to reduce extortionate childcare costs; or, having left it later to start a [...]
Government confirms Tote sale to Betfred for £265m June 3, 2011 The government has confirmed it has agreed to sell its betting operation the Tote to private bookmaker Betfred in a deal valued at £265m. The highly-anticipated decision sees Betfred’s rival Sports Investment Partners, the investment vehicle set up by Sir Martin Broughton, lose out on the prize. The decision is also likely to stoke tensions [...]
WHISKY AT MIDDAY FOR ABERDEEN’S POLAR FEAT June 2, 2011 THE WHISKY came out at noon at Aberdeen Asset Management yesterday to christen the boat the fund managers are sponsoring on its voyage into the Arctic unknown. The Old Pulteney has been designed to withstand some of the harshest conditions on earth, and her six-man crew – led by Scottish explorer Jock Wishart – will [...]
Blatter stands firm and denies Fifa are in crisis May 30, 2011 UNDER-FIRE Fifa president Sepp Blatter insists talk of the world governing body being in crisis is far fetched and vowed that only “the Fifa family” could prevent him being re-elected unopposed tomorrow. On another extraordinary day of accusations and counter claims involving some of Fifa’s most influential figures Blatter, seeking a fourth consecutive term in [...]
Banks bolster FTSE at the close May 25, 2011 London stocks struggled to gain ground today as poor economic data on both sides of the Atlantic dismayed investors. A rally led by banking stocks late in the afternoon helped push the FTSE back into the black, with the FTSE 100 just 0.2 per cent higher at 5,870.14 at the close. Miners made muted gains [...]
JJB recovery plan hit by £181m loss May 25, 2011 JJB Sports, the struggling retailer rescued by a deal with landlords in March, said annual losses ballooned to £181m and it could take five years to fix the business. The company said on Wednesday trading in the first quarter of its new financial year had met its expectations and it planned to revamp 150 stores [...]
Betfred scrambles to woo racing execs May 22, 2011 HIGH street bookmaker Betfred has launched a last-minute scramble to win racing industry support for its bid to buy the Tote, the state-backed bookmaker. The gaming firm has stepped up its bid by offering to create an advisory board for the Tote, with seats for racing industry executives. Betfred is seen as the straggler in [...]