Merlin gets set for stock market rollercoaster October 20, 2013 ALTON Towers owner Merlin Entertainments is closing in on plans to launch its long-awaited stock market debut after the roaring success of the Royal Mail float and temporary fixing of the US debt ceiling cleared its path to a listing. Merlin, which is co-owned by private equity titans Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners, is due [...]
I know what you’ll like next summer: How trend forecasting keeps the biggest brands on top September 23, 2014 Will you be gripped by a desire to own a pair of Birkenstocks at some point over the next 12 months? Need a mindfulness holiday retreat in 2016? What about a fridge that connects to the internet, maybe some time in the 2020s? Who knows, right? Well, someone probably does. An entire industry has grown [...]
Biotechnology entrepreneur Sir Chris Evans talks overworn t-shirts, sceptical VCs and pub deals September 14, 2014 They say if you don’t ask, you don’t get – and no one could accuse professor Sir Chris Evans of being shy about coming forward. Today, the medical sciences entrepreneur and government adviser has built companies worth over £3bn, floated 20, employed over 4,000 people and raised over £1.2bn from investors and governments across 30 [...]
Fitness challenge: the results after 10 weeks June 16, 2014 Everything I thought I knew about getting fit was wrong. Go running, avoid fat. Wrong, wrong, according to my trainer. And after my 10 week programme (eleven and a half factoring in holidays), I’m not inclined to argue. The results of my “total body transformation” were more impressive than I’d thought possible three months ago. [...]
How to get fit quick: Results after ten weeks doing a total body transformation with Harry Thomas| City A.M. June 16, 2014 Everything I thought I knew about getting fit was wrong. Go running, avoid fat. Wrong, wrong, according to my trainer. And after my 10 week programme (eleven and a half factoring in holidays), I’m not inclined to argue. The results of my “total body transformation” were more impressive than I’d thought possible three months ago. [...]
Fatal attachment: Dotmailer’s Tink Taylor talks automation, dinner parties and kitesurfing August 3, 2014 How long could you survive without email? Estimates of how many are sent globally every year range from 100bn to 200bn. And every year, dotmailer’s founder Tink Taylor gets asked the same thing: is the death of email just around the corner? It’s a question he finds laughable. Recent research by Gigaom found that 86 [...]
City’s old guard gets together over gulls’ eggs May 13, 2014 “PINSTRIPE is dead, long live pinstripe,” Matthew Wright, partner at NewSmith told The Capitalist, as we surveyed the crowd at Macmillan’s annual Gulls’ Egg Luncheon yesterday. “Seventy five per cent used to be pin stripe, now it’s deemed too brash,” he lamented. Taking place at Merchant Taylor’s Hall on Threadneedle Street, the luncheon sees the [...]
Sun’s out buns out: Where to eat al fresco in London – restaurants with outdoor dining April 14, 2015 Angler, South Place Hotel, Moorgate anglerrestaurant.com / 020 3215 1260 This Michelin-starred seafood restaurant in South Place Hotel has a beautiful terrace overlooking the City. It has an a la carte menu offering three courses for £35. Must try: Roasted monkfish tail with braised octopus, aubergine caponata and golden raisins Typical cost for [...]
Latis Homes founders Robert Luck and Krishan Pattni talk dream designs and planning nightmares August 10, 2014 Without the regulatory constraints imposed on our housing market, between 1974 and 2008, average house prices would have risen from £79,000 to £147,000, rather than to £226,000. That’s according to a new report by Christian Hilber of the LSE and Wouter Vermeulen of UV University that looks at the impact of supply constraints on house [...]
New issues make a strong comeback in the London market December 18, 2013 As the year comes to an end there’s definitely cause for celebration in London’s new issues or Initial Public Offering (IPO) market. According to figures out today from EY, the advisory firm, there were 14 main market share listings this year, raising £5.2bn. That’s not exactly an avalanche of deals but the total represents a [...]