PROPERTY BARONS PAY TRIBUTE TO THEIR SAGE April 13, 2010 IT WAS a hop, a skip and a jump over to the Dorchester yesterday lunchtime for the slap-up annual lunch hosted by Gerald Ronson, the seasoned chief of property group Heron International. Ronson’s list of invitees reads like a who’s who of the upper echelons of property and high finance, including ex-Lloyds chair Sir Victor [...]
Lions and luxury in SA’s top resort March 14, 2010 IF the job of a hotel is to make guests feel at home, then you can’t really beat the Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa. When the French football team arrive there this summer they will be greeted with a barrage of “bonjours” from the staff, who are all taking French lessons, just to ensure that [...]
Be inspired by these luscious Oscar dresses March 8, 2010 THE problem with the Oscars is that the razzle dazzle of the red carpet fizzles all too quickly once everyone is indoors and the awards actually start up. The speeches often go on too long and say too little, there are all those unglamorous, more minor awards (I don’t know about you, but I struggle [...]
EX-BANKING HOTSHOTS DON’T HOLD A GRUDGE January 21, 2010 ON the face of it, you’d have thought there would be a good deal of simmering resentment beneath the surface of the outward relationship between Sir James Sassoon – the investment banker-turned-Treasury finance guru-turned-Tory bank adviser – and Financial Service Authority (FSA) chief Hector Sants. Sassoon last year caused a storm when he authored that [...]
UK skies are crystal clear for light planes April 19, 2010 WHILE the cloud of Icelandic ash has kept most of Europe’s airliners firmly on the ground, anyone with an interest in flying smaller aircraft will have noticed the volcanic activity has not interrupted all sections of aviation. Many light aircraft even took advantage of the empty skies over the weekend to fly through controlled airspace [...]
LAWYERS MAKE A KILLING IN COURT SPAT March 18, 2010 YESTERDAY saw sighs of contentment all round at inter-dealer broker Tullett Prebon, as judge Justice Jack ruled in its favour after almost a year of wrangling with rival BGC about a staff poaching operation. Though of course, after seven months of advisory work and a trial lasting the best part of four months, it’s the [...]
Dragon Bird gets 16 months June 22, 2009 RUGBY LEAGUE: Catalans Dragons captain Greg Bird has been sentenced to 16 months in prison after being found guilty of hitting his girlfriend with a glass. The 25-year-old Australian was granted bail pending an appeal. Bird’s girlfriend had written him a character reference to persuade the court to give him a lenient sentence. The pair [...]
CITY BROKER ISN’T JUST HORSING AROUND WITH NEW POLO VENTURE March 3, 2010 IT’S SET to be a good year for Daniel Fox-Davies, the jovial boss of City stockbroker Fox-Davies Capital. Foxy, you see, is a bit of a dark horse when it comes to his extra-curricular hobbies – along with running his oil and gas-focused brokerage, he spends much of his free time flying jets and helicopters, [...]
CITY ON THE CUSP OF APPOINTING NICK ANSTEE AS NEXT LORD MAYOR September 23, 2009 UNDER a week to go until the appointment of the man who will replace Lord Mayor Ian Luder at the helm of the City of London. The new boss won’t officially take up residence in his swanky Mansion House digs until his official inauguration in November, though the election – if you can call it [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS November 25, 2009 PERFECT THOSE CARVING SKILLS Roast turkey may be a central part of the Christmas experience, but it can be ruined by bad carving. Just in time, Sloane Square’s historic department store, Peter Jones, is coming to the aid of inexperienced carvers with a couple of carving tutorial sessions next month. Head Chef Chris Mclean will [...]