There is hope amidst the despair in hospitality if pragmatism wins out April 28, 2020 One is forgiven for being a little bleak about the prospects of the hospitality industry at the moment. There is a general view amongst restaurant operators that the rest of 2020 will essentially be a write off in terms of trading. Reopening of food and beverage (F&B) businesses this year will be slow, gradual and [...]
Can Oman double its tourism in just six years? Jenny Southan visits the nation’s top luxury retreats to find out… July 6, 2018 Just metres beyond the hotel’s infinity pool is the edge of a cliff that gives way to an enormous canyon that stretches towards the horizon. This is one of the highest points in the Middle East – 2,000 metres above sea level – and if you dare to venture over this precipice you can make [...]
Discount retailer B&M posts high-end results after a record year of expansion May 26, 2016 Discount retailer B&M boasted strong preliminary results for the year today, after a year of record store openings. Group revenues were up 23.6 per cent, up to £2.04bn from £1.65bn. Pre-tax profits jumped to £154.5m, a rise of 150 per cent. The numbers come after a year of expansion for the retailer. The company opened 79 new stores across [...]
Consumer goods group Ultimate Products heads for a £100m-plus IPO in the next few days March 1, 2017 Ultimate Products, the innovative consumer goods group, is set for a £100m-plus IPO in London within days. It will list on the main market under the name of UP Global Sourcing Holdings. The IPO’s pricing could take place as early as today. The placing is understood to be substantially oversubscribed with investors taking part believed [...]
The Spa at South Lodge review: How a £15m spa transformed this traditional country-house into a cutting-edge hotel August 9, 2019 When you arrive at South Lodge, on the edge of the South Downs, it is exactly what you’d expect from a country house hotel: pretty grounds, a honey-coloured stone exterior and a crunchy gravel drive give you a warm welcome. While you can certainly decamp here for an enjoyable weekend away, with some stellar food [...]
The most famous houses in Jamaica and how to visit them February 22, 2018 When the plane comes into land in Montego Bay, the view isn’t quite the Caribbean I imagined during all those hours flying over the Atlantic. A line of mid-rise holiday resorts, uniform in their whiteness, bear down on the sea like a single gleaming fortress. At the end of the runway at Sangster International Airport [...]
What’s ticking? News from the bleeding edge of haute horologie, from Tom Hardy at Bremont to the new Panerai boutique May 1, 2018 Breitling drops its wings The professional pilot’s favourite watchmaker is undergoing a sky-to-ground shake-up right now, at the experienced hands of ex-IWC CEO, Georges Kern. For a start, he’s shifting the venerable chronograph brand’s main focus away from the air, controversially dropping the wings logo from all dials and ranking ‘land’ and ‘sea’ sectors equally. [...]
UK mattress startup Simba Sleep raises £40m and is heading for profit in some markets December 17, 2017 Simba Sleep, one of several startups hoping to disrupt the world of sleep, has bedded fresh cash to fuel global expansion as it nears profitability in some markets. The £40m series B round of investment comes from previous backers Nigel Wray, a City heavywight and chairman of Saracens rugby club, Wharton Asset Management and Swiss [...]
UK mattress startup Simba Sleep raises £40m and is heading for profit in some markets December 17, 2017 Simba Sleep, one of several startups hoping to disrupt the world of sleep, has bedded fresh cash to fuel global expansion as it nears profitability in some markets. The £40m series B round of investment comes from previous backers Nigel Wray, a City heavywight and chairman of Saracens rugby club, Wharton Asset Management and Swiss [...]
London’s new US embassy in Nine Elms will open in January 2018 December 13, 2017 The new, billion-dollar US embassy at Nine Elms in Wandsworth is set to open next month. US ambassador Woody Johnson made the announcement today on Twitter, saying: “We look forward to moving to our new embassy on Nine Elms… On the 16th of January our new embassy is open for business.” Big news – today [...]