The Long Weekend: take a trip to Jersey for beautiful beaches, quaint villages, amazing seafood November 18, 2016 Take a long weekend at the Grand Hotel, Jersey The weekend: The Bailiwick of Jersey (Bailiwick being the term for British Crown dependencies of the Channel Islands, administration fans) has been a summer holiday staple for decades, boasting beautiful beaches, quaint villages, amazing seafood and a genuinely relaxed, welcoming vibe. The small island boasts a [...]
Struggling pubs will lose a lifeline under new venture capital rules that ban angel investors from rescuing flailing businesses January 19, 2016 Struggling pubs have lost a lifeline under new rules which ban venture capital from investing in existing business. Rules preventing venture capital trusts and enterprise investment schemes from buying out the management of failing businesses or undertaking acquisitions came into effect before Christmas, as part of the Finance Act 2015. They came from the European Union, [...]
MPs to leave Parliament for six years while it gets a face-lift August 6, 2016 MPs are set to clear out of Parliament while it gets refurbished over a six-year period. According the The Times, politicians will be leaving their historic headquarters and moving into the Department of Health at Richmond House, where MPs will not be able to buy booze. The building is owned by financiers from the Middle East [...]
It takes a village: How Simon Rogan transformed a Cumbrian town into an international culinary destination July 6, 2017 The village of Cartmel lies just beyond the boundaries of the Lake District. It’s quietly beautiful, with squat stone buildings, rows of shops selling postcards and tourist knick-knacks, and a 12th century priory that dominates the town square. You can find lazy, bucolic idylls like this dotted across this part of the world; it’s the [...]
New generation of artisan brewers emerging in Edinburgh September 2, 2016 Edinburgh's heritage has a long association with breweries. Throughout the history of the city, brewing takes its place as one of the oldest and most important industries. At the turn of the 20th century the city was home to no fewer than 35 breweries. More than a hundred years later, the city’s rich traditions are giving rise [...]
Focus On Rotherhithe: A £34m investment has brought a new town square, library and cultural centre to the Docks November 11, 2016 Rotherhithe, a conservation area in the Docklands in south east London, is one of the prettiest and most rapidly gentrifying places in the capital. With a long and proud history as a major trade port, it was a working dock right up until the 1970s. It was also home to the first under-river tunnel in [...]
West Country pubco St Austell Brewery toasts Bath Ales acquisition July 3, 2016 West Country brewer and pub owner St Austell Brewery has acquired Bath Ales for a non-disclosed sum. Cornwall-based St Austell, which owns 167 pubs and inns in the South West, will acquire both Bath Ales' portfolio of beer brands including Gem and Barnsey, as well as its 11-strong pub estate in Bristol, Bath, Cirencester and [...]
End of an era for British journalism as “sanitised” Fleet Street loses its last newspaper journalists August 5, 2016 Today marks the end of an era for British journalism, with the last two Fleet Street-based reporters working their last day in what was once the home of the industry. Gavin Sherriff and Darryl Smith are to leave Fleet Street today as the Dundee-based Sunday Post closes its London bureau. This is the building the [...]
Don’t be boring this Valentine’s day: Here are six things to do instead of going out for dinner February 10, 2017 There are heart stickers plastered on every shop window, and you can’t seem get away from all the his’n’hers gift guides. It can only mean one thing – Valentine's day is on its way. By now the most romantic (and poshest) restaurants are booked up – but dinner is boring anyway, right? For a creative way [...]
Jamie Oliver to buy back his Jamie’s Italian restaurants in Australia November 3, 2016 Jamie Oliver's on a mission Down Under. The celebrity chef is set to buy back his Jamie's Italian restaurants business in Australia, after Keystone Group (which ran the operation) collapsed and put the franchise up for sale. Receiver Morgan Kelly from Ferrier Hodgson confirmed Jamie Oliver Group was the preferred bidder for the six restaurants, [...]