How European is the UK? Five charts that show how we differ from the EU in alcohol consumption, living costs and working hours August 18, 2015 It's a potent question at the moment: what does it really mean to be “European”? It turns out our living costs, alcohol consumption and general life satisfaction make the UK the sixth most European country in the EU, according to analytics firm Qlik. In a study pulling together statistics about how we live, work and [...]
Powder White’s co-founder Fraser Ewart-White on ski lifts, Khazakstan and the credit crunch October 4, 2015 When do the best business ideas come to you? For Fraser Ewart-White, it was while swinging on a chair-lift 1500m above sea level. Ewart-White had recently left his job as head of buying at the entertainment company Blockbuster, turning his back on his career to study for an MBA and, among other great ambitions, to [...]
Apple and Shell’s Eurozone bond bonanza: Corporate giants set to cash in on cheaper rates and a lower euro September 11, 2015 Two mammoths of the corporate world, Apple and Shell, stepped on to a crowded bandwagon yesterday when they decided to tap the Eurozone’s bond market to raise billions of euros. More than €53bn (£39bn) have been raised using bonds – interest-paying IOUs – by US companies so far this year, according to figures from [...]
Sexy Fish restaurant review: Richard Caring’s seafood menu is all about that bass November 10, 2015 Berkeley Square House, W1J 6BR FOOD ★★★★☆ VALUE ★★★☆☆ ATMOSPHERE ★★☆☆☆ Cost for two with booze: £180 Sexy Fish. Sexy Fish. Sexy Fish. Wherever you put the emphasis on Richard Caring’s new Mayfair restaurant it sounds terrible. I suspect this might be the point: it’s wilfully crass, intentionally boorish, purposefully provocative. It’s flippant but [...]
Keeping obesity at bay: Why diet is more important than exercise when you’re trying to lose weight April 23, 2015 The world has a growing obesity problem, but this doesn't mean you need to get a gym membership and start running everywhere – being more active just won't make a difference, according to a group of medical experts in the UK. To keep the weight off, it's going to involve limiting the amount of sweet [...]
Yawn: Another concept cafe launches in Shoreditch – but this time it serves breakfast in bed May 18, 2015 Another day, another Shoreditch-based concept pop up cafe. It's enough to make you yawn and yearn for your bed. And as luck would have it, this cafe the brainchild of Swedish furniture leviathan Ikea, and the eating takes place in bed. The retailer argues it is leading a “breakfast in bed revolution” with [...]
Cricket Comment: England must clinch Ashes this week as Oval will favour Aussies August 5, 2015 THIS Ashes is almost impossible to predict but I think England need to try and wrap it up at Trent Bridge this week. A drawn series would see Australia retain the urn and England don’t want to wait until the Oval, where I think conditions will favour the tourists. The ball swung around in the [...]
Aena IPO: Spanish market set for takeoff with Luton airport owner’s float February 10, 2015 Luton airport's Spanish owner Aena priced its looming stock market blockbuster at the top of the range yesterday – underscoring a burgeoning confidence among investors and dealmakers about Spain’s rejuvenated capital markets and economy. Aena, which will sell shares for €58 a piece to value the group at €8.7bn, has covered its books five times [...]
On safari in Zimbabwe and Botswana November 27, 2015 It took me a long time to feel like I was in Zimbabwe. I had braced myself for a very different experience than the one I was having. If I’m honest, I was expecting to have to deal with nasty officials, hawkers, and dodgy taxi drivers. But instead I was standing next to Victoria Falls [...]
Elvis & Kresse’s Kresse Wesling on belts, brands and acid rain September 13, 2015 "Love at first sight”. That’s how Kresse Wesling, one half of Elvis & Kresse, describes the first time she saw old fire hoses – the product that underpins her company. The MBE recipient was on a “very dull” environment management course back in 2005. Two fellow course participants were from the London Fire Brigade. [...]