Kelly Hoppen interview: The interior design entrepreneur tells us why she’s gone all retro February 18, 2017 Kelly Hoppen tells me that she’s gone all retro: basketry chairs, bold fabrics, colour, leaf. Does this mean that the queen of taupe, corkscrew– curled Hoppen is turning hippie? “Homes are becoming much more loose,” she says, citing the OTT banana–leaf wallpaper, as seen in the Beverly Hills Hotel, that she says is coming back. [...]
Moonlight film review: If La La Land wasn’t released this year, this is the film everyone would have been talking about February 17, 2017 Dir. Barry Jenkins Had La La Land waited until next year to charm the world, there’s every chance Moonlight would be the film everyone is talking about at next Sunday’s Oscars. Spanning several years, we look at three phases in the life of quiet Miami kid Chiron as his home life, sexuality and surroundings threaten [...]
Wolfgang Tillmans 2017 at Tate Modern review: a celebration of banality with little to give February 17, 2017 This collection of 14 years’ worth of work by Turner Prize-winning photographer Wolfgang Tillmans is a globetrotting celebration of banality, the output of an artist who long ago started believing his own hype. Pictures are scattered throughout the space, some metres high and framed, others postcard-sized and sellotaped to the wall, each one designed to [...]
The Lloyd’s of London lunchtime drinking ban will backfire: As a recovering alcoholic, I should know February 17, 2017 The announcement this week that Lloyd’s of London has banned booze during office hours adds to the slightly Orwellian atmosphere currently infiltrating 2017. It smacks of a nanny-state approach, using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and as a recovering alcoholic myself, I don’t think it’ll work. Why not? Because you don’t change behaviour, let [...]
Editor’s Notes: Lloyd’s has bigger things to worry about than staff nipping out for a drink February 16, 2017 When I started working at a Westminster PR firm eight years ago, I had to learn how to drink at lunch. It wasn’t exactly a hardship. We were a small office (just three people when I joined) and every day we would decamp to the Italian next-door and see off a few bottles of red. [...]
Schoolboy snooker sensation banks £3,500 despite reaching finally losing at Welsh Open February 16, 2017 Schoolboy snooker star Jackson Page hopes to join the professional ranks as soon as possible despite reaching the end of his fairytale run at the Welsh Open. The 15-year-old, who made headlines by beating two more experienced players after being granted a wildcard for the Cardiff event, lost 4-0 to world No4 Judd Trump on [...]
Under Armour boss backtracks after calling Donald Trump an “asset to this country” as analyst downgrades stock February 16, 2017 Kevin Plank hasn't had the best week. The Under Armour chief executive came under fire for his comments on Donald Trump, after giving an interview to CNBC last week saying: "To have such a pro-business President is something that is a real asset to this country." It caused a backlash, including from some of Under [...]
Millennials: The unlikely group supporting Britain’s SMEs February 16, 2017 The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is growing with spectacular speed. Since its inception, £14.2bn has been invested through the scheme according to HMRC statistics, providing much needed capital to Britain’s entrepreneurial businesses. As well as providing opportunities for companies to gain early stage funding, EIS also provides many benefits for investors, and our research shows that [...]
Vital for Joe Root to take a leaf out of Andrew Strauss’s book on captaincy February 15, 2017 When then England captain Andrew Strauss used to come up to me during Test matches around 2010, he would be decisive. In turn, I would be absolutely clear about my role in the team and what was expected. It makes everyone’s job a lot easier when a skipper establishes that level of clarity and in [...]
How do you raise funding if your tech startup is not based in London? February 15, 2017 London, fintech and money. They're three amigos aren't they? A winning combo of location, sector and investment, affording the best exposure to startup capital and markets. Right? Not quite. Last year, more was invested in UK tech and fintech outside of London than anywhere else in Europe. And thousands of tech firms are finding competitive funding and startup costs outside the [...]