MADE IN CHELSEA LINK IRKS TOPSHOP TYCOON
A NIGHT in is inked in the diary for Sir Philip Green next Monday, when the first episode of the new season of Made In Chelsea airs, starring his 20-year-old daughter Chloe. “I will be watching it on Monday night, of course,” he told The Capitalist.
The conversation took a turn for the worse, however, when the Topshop boss (pictured far right) was pressed on the rumours he and his wife Tina are none too happy about their daughter’s role in the show that documents the lives of a group of privileged West Londoners, including the McVitie’s heir Jamie Laing.
As one friend of the family told The Capitalist, Lady Green feels Chloe is “really letting them down” in the “embarrassing” project. “I’m not getting involved,” said Sir Philip gruffly, before cutting the conversation dead. “Nice to talk to you. Goodbye.”
FAMILY FORTUNES
CHARLIE Mullins, Britain’s richest plumber, always thought the only way he would see inside Number 10 would be on a call-out to unblock the Prime Minister’s drains.
Not so – the Pimlico Plumbers managing director was this week invited as a guest of David Cameron and George Osborne at a reception for business leaders where, to his surprise, he found himself seeing eye to eye with the policy makers. “For once I would say that I was drinking out of the same teapot [as the PM],” he told The Capitalist.
Mullins, famously “vocal” on government policy on unemployment, was encouraged by Cameron’s message that private sector businesses must continue to recruit to take up the slack from the public sector. “Before the reception, I had thought I had 20 job vacancies,” Mullins said. “But if this is the way to tackle the deficit and turn the economy around, I could take on 50 people.”
Elbowing aside ex-M&S chairman Sir Stuart Rose and Hyder Consulting chairman Sir Alan Thomas, Mullins (below) also cornered chancellor George Osborne, where he outlined his “best proposal” for halving the nation’s 2.51m unemployed.
“I believe that youth unemployment could be cut by 50 per cent if the government gave employers incentives to take on young people,” he told Osborne. “Like replacing job benefits with job allowances for the employer that they can put towards paying the minimum wage.”
“It isn’t as simple as you are making out,” replied the chancellor, blaming the yards and yards of red tape – although he is, apparently, “giving the proposal some serious thought”…
LIQUID LUNCH
COULD The Brasserie Bar Co become the next takeover target by a major leisure group?
Core Capital, the private equity firm that built up Loch Fyne before selling it on to Greene King, must have some reason for investing £20m in the group, which last month announced its plans to expand into pubs venture The White Brasserie Company alongside the Brasserie Blanc restaurants, quadrupling its number of UK outlets.
First things first, however: choosing a new head office, which is conveniently situated opposite The King’s Head in Teddington, one of the first secured sites for the pubs venture. “The work canteen now has a whole new meaning,” said a brewing mole.