Lastminute.com sold for £76m to Swiss travel firm December 16, 2014 TRAVEL site Lastminute.com, founded at the height of the dot.com boom in 1998, has been sold to Bravofly Rumbo Group in a £76m deal. The sale will see current owner, US-based Sabre, swallow a big loss, having bought the holiday site for £577m in 2005. Swiss company Bravofly made the winning bid yesterday, following a [...]
England chiefs back exceptional Trott for international comeback October 28, 2014 REJUVENATED batsman Jonathan Trott will have the opportunity to take a significant step towards resuming his international Test career in the new year after being summoned for England Lions duty yesterday. The 33-year-old has not featured for England since an abrupt departure from last winter’s Ashes debacle with a stress-related illness but has been named [...]
Mackay poised to succeed Pulis and take the Crystal Palace reins August 19, 2014 CRYSTAL PALACE were last night poised to resolve their managerial situation by appointing former Cardiff City boss Malky Mackay as the successor to Tony Pulis. Mackay looks set to beat off competition from Tim Sherwood, who was dismissed by Tottenham at the end of last season, and ex-England chief Glenn Hoddle, who emerged as a [...]
The EU-US free trade deal is in danger of failing – and it’s SMEs who’d lose out December 18, 2014 THE CRUCIAL free trade agreement currently being negotiated between the US and the EU (colloquially known as “TTIP”) has become the focus of much public scrutiny – even hostility – in recent months. So David Cameron is absolutely right to push TTIP higher up the EU’s agenda at the European summit this week. The talented [...]
Theatre review: East is East, Trafalgar Studios October 20, 2014 ★★★★☆ Trafalgar Studios Most people will remember East is East from the 1999 film, part of the cultural fabric of the New Labour years alongside the likes of Notting Hill and Human Traffic. Ayub Khan Din’s play came two years prior, capturing his feelings of alienation and confusion over his cultural identity as a [...]
Palace disarray deepens as Mackay talks stall August 20, 2014 CARETAKER manager Keith Millen looks increasingly likely to take charge of Crystal Palace’s Premier League match with West Ham on Saturday after negotiations with leading candidate Malky Mackay stalled yesterday. The former Cardiff City boss had seemed in pole position to succeed Tony Pulis in the Selhurst Park hotseat but doubts have emerged about whether [...]
Sponsors ready to ditch Blades over Evans row November 12, 2014 SHEFFIELD United last night came under renewed pressure to cut ties with convicted rapist Ched Evans after two major sponsors warned they would consider withdrawing their support if the club signed the forward. Evans this week moved a step closer to rejoining the League One side, who he played for before being jailed in 2012, [...]
Middle Eastern buyers seize half of £10m-plus homes in Mayfair August 18, 2014 Middle Eastern buyers have been ramping up their presence in the capital and now account for half of all purchases of £10m-plus homes in Mayfair each year, new figures released yesterday show. According to findings from Mayfair and West End property specialist Wetherell, buyers from the Middle East made up 10 per cent of all [...]
Christmas countdown: The best shopping destinations in London, from Tiffany’s on Old Bond St to the Hyper Japan market at Olympia November 11, 2014 London is renowned as one of the great shopping centres of the world, a constantly evolving playground for anyone with money to spend and time to spend it. Whether you’re looking for hip new openings – like those from Bally, Richard James and Hackett – or stalwarts that are guaranteed to come up with [...]
Crossrail will send London property prices soaring by 60 per cent October 1, 2014 Crossrail’s high-speed rail service will not only provide millions with increased connectivity into the capital, but it will send house-prices along its route skyrocketing, new figures show. The £15.8bn Crossrail project has already had a profound effect on properties in London, with the prices of those near the large-scale Tottenham Court Road development rising [...]