Stuck in London for Christmas? Hole up in a luxury hotel December 20, 2009 OH dear. A bit of snow, as we had on Thursday, and London goes into panic mode. Flights are delayed, cancelled and rearranged, and with the threat of a BA strike only tenuously averted, getting out of London over the Christmas period seems anything but a sure bet. But look on the bright side. It’s [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 14, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES COUNCILS THREATEN ICELAND BANK ACTION Council leaders have threatened to launch legal proceedings against a failed Icelandic bank which they fear will not repay £150m in deposits made by local authorities before the credit crunch. British councils had £900m of deposits in Iceland when a trio of its banks collapsed. So far barely [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 7, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES APAX PAYS £975M IN MARKEN BUY-OUTApax Partners will today announce the £975m buy-out of Marken, the provider of distribution services to the pharmaceutical industry, generating big profits for its management and Intermediate Capital Group, which acquired the company in 2007. The acquisition of Marken is the biggest private equity deal in the UK [...]
PRE-PARTY PAMPERING December 7, 2009 24 Karat Gold Mask FacialThe ultimate luxury from master therapist JohnTsagaris, who fuses Eastern medicine with modern science to bring you a face mask made from pure gold, a substance with skin-boosting effects that was favoured by Cleopatra. An LED light mask follows to make sure your face will truly glow. £350, www.energybodies.co.uk Diamond Polish [...]
TRAVEL NOTES December 6, 2009 Spa retreat in TaiwanSituated in Taipei’s scenic hot springs district of Beitou, Villa 32 is one of Taiwan’s most stylish and modern spa retreats. Offering five deluxe Japanese and European-style suites and open-air public baths overlooking mist-covered hills, Villa 32 is a haven of tranquillity. The resort offers packages including one night’s stay in a [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS November 30, 2009 FOOD AND MUSIC IN CAMDENA taste of Sicily is coming to Camden Town, in the shape of new restaurant Caponata, which opens tomorrow night. And Camden being the centre of London’s live music scene, it’s got its own music and arts space, called The Forge. Signature dishes in the main restaurant will include the, um, [...]
Tesco is serious about building a profitable telco November 26, 2009 It’s hard to think of two brands more different than Apple and Tesco. One is famed for its sleek gadgets, while the other piles high and sells cheap the kind of electronic goods that wouldn’t look out of place in a Latvian discount store. A Lodus television and a Technika DVD player might be cheap, [...]
Vodafone to close final salary scheme November 25, 2009 VODAFONE is set to shut its £755m final salary pension scheme to 4,000 staff, in a fresh round of cost-cutting by chief executive Vittorio Colao. Colao is aiming to offset plummeting revenue at the mobile phone operator. The firm is following the lead of Barclays, Whitbread and Fujitsu, who are also blocking current workers from [...]
Supermarkets and food staples have a family feel November 24, 2009 BrandIndex asks general questions about brands, but sometimes it’s useful to look at more specific qualities. YouGov recently conducted research on the associations between brands and family values. The recent Family Brands report, conducted for advertising agency Isobel, suggests that association with family values is a useful differential by which we can measure different types [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK November 22, 2009 THE show-stopping lunch is back with a bang, if this short-but-sweet receipt from the restaurant at The Capital hotel in Knightsbridge is anything to go by. Our pair of well-heeled diners chose the £33 three-course lunch menu – including such gems as a tiger prawn and coconut risotto, seared scallops with calf feet and braised [...]