Music ban on the Tube, child-free restaurants and four-day working week: The 10 laws we most want to see introduced in 2016 December 29, 2015 Ban on being drunk in a pub, carrying a plank along a pavement or flying kites in the street. There are plenty of weird British laws that we suspect may not always be strictly enforced (not that we’ve ever seen anyone inebriated in a pub, of course). But what about laws that ought to exist, [...]
Would you make an evening meal of it at Starbucks or Pret? No? Then how about Greggs or Subway? December 1, 2015 Starbucks and Pret a Manger have started trialling late-night opening hours, offering their customers evening menus and even serving wine and beer. YouGov assessed the attitudes and opinions of more than 60,000 consumers to evaluate whether high street coffee outlets are really an attractive venue for dinner and drinks. The blunt answer is “not yet”. Almost [...]
How Tyrrells aims to be the big cheese (and onion) of the crisp world January 28, 2016 Six years ago, David Milner received a phone call from private equity firm Langholm Partners, the former owners of Tyrrells Crisps. They needed help. After an eight-year growth spurt, sales at the posh crisp brand had turned rather stale and Langholm wanted the former Mars and Campbell’s Soup executive on board. “The first thing I [...]
The 32 best barbecue restaurants in America: From Austin to North Carolina, we take a foodie tour of the American South’s top grills March 7, 2016 The best way to see America is by car, and the best way to taste America is on a driving tour of the country’s most celebrated BBQ pits. On a three week, six state and 2,500 mile journey from Texas to the Carolinas, I went in search of the best BBQ in the American South, [...]
Top tips for choosing a mortgage broker and how to get the best out of them February 23, 2016 Graham Lock, CEO of House Network Research rates and reputable brokers In the digital age, you can gain access to a variety of comparison websites such as moneysupermarket.com or comparethemarket.com, without the need for extensive credit checks, which would damage your hard-earned credit rating. If you come across specialist terminology, check out some of the [...]
It’s official: Dining at your desk or on the move makes you gain weight August 20, 2015 We all know we should get outside for some fresh air at lunchtime – but it turns out missing out on exercise isn't the only reason eating "al desko" makes you gain weight. A new study, by scientists at Surrey University, has found if you're focusing on something other than your meal – by, for [...]
British men take in far more calories than they realise, study shows October 5, 2015 The average man in the UK heavily underestimates the number of calories he takes in each day, new research shows. A study of 2,000 men suggested it's not unusual for them to put away double the number of calories they think they are eating. Most of those questioned underestimated the calories in a [...]
Will Ukip break up? These bookmakers think Ukip could disband and Nigel Farage could step down December 4, 2015 The UK Independence Party has been left reeling in the aftermath of the Oldham West and Royton by-election, in which it launched a mammoth campaign, but only garnered 23 per cent of the vote. And after mere hours of the result, one bookmaker has shifted their odds on the chance of Ukip disbanding altogether. Star [...]
London Technology Week: Tech City is an awesome success story combining the best of Silicon Valley, Wall Street, New York and DC June 16, 2015 I emigrated from Silicon Valley a little more than ten years ago to work at a very young startup at the time, Skype. It was so new then that I spent months correcting friends’ pronunciation of the company name from Skype-ee to Skype. At that time I was exasperated at the dearth of candidates for [...]
King Digital investor and Index Ventures partner Ben Holmes is hunting for tech unicorns February 8, 2015 Ben Holmes first heard about King Digital Entertainment, the company behind three of the global top-grossing iPhone apps, including Candy Crush Saga, over a decade ago. At that time in 2004 Holmes, a partner at the new London offices of Index Ventures, represented one of the few venture capital firms still investing in consumer-facing internet [...]