FTSE 250 Results Round-up – 27/02 February 27, 2013 Barratt Developments, the residential property development company, released results for the six months to December (results) with profits increased by 113.4 per cent to £46.1m. Chief executive Mark Clare said that: Although we remain cautious as to whether the thaw in lending conditions will be sustained, improvements in mortgage lending and the success of the [...]
Innovation Diary: Why food innovators have broken out of the development kitchen October 13, 2013 THINK of food innovation and the cronut (a croissant/doughnut) or the duffin (its doughnut/muffin cousin) may come to mind. Such foody portmanteaus – while reflecting the vibrancy of an industry that has weathered the last five years well – can have unpredictable results. Frappuccinos and banoffee pie now barely raise an eyebrow. The pluot (a [...]
Little Chef gobbled up by Kuwaiti restaurant giant August 4, 2013 LITTLE Chef, the iconic UK restaurant chain famed for fuelling hungry motorists, has been sold to the Kuwaiti owners of high street bakery Maison Blanc. The classic roadside diner, a fixture of Britain’s A-roads for more than half a century, has been taken over by Kuwaiti-listed Kout Food Group (KFG) following a three month sale [...]
Where to eat it August 11, 2013 THE WILD GAME CO. Whitecross Street Market, EC1 The Wild Game Co has been going three years since beginning life on the Glorious 12th in 2010 and has led the charge of the game revolution. Andy Wauch founded the company with the aim of selling reasonably priced, restaurant quality meat across London’s food markets. All [...]
Symphony strikes the right note August 20, 2013 Symphony International, the FTSE listed owner of Asian consumer brands, yesterday reported a 11 per cent increase in the value of its investment portfolio. The company, which owns a variety of assets including hospitals, hotels, and restaurants brands, said its net asset value increased despite more volatility in Asian markets. Pre-tax profits at Symphony increased [...]
Why sometimes the idea can matter less than the execution August 4, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks home cooking with Deepinder Goyal, founder of online restaurant and nightlife guide Zomato THE key to creating a successful startup often lies with having the idea before anyone else gets there. Countless wannabe entrepreneurs have claimed “I had the idea for Facebook long before Zuckerberg,” yet didn’t deem it worth pursuing. But [...]
Government helped get my business going – now it’s boosting startups again November 19, 2013 TWENTY odd years ago, I stepped into a print shop on Albert Square in Manchester. It was an industrious place – full of whirring machines and the smell of printing ink. I knew then and there that I wanted to open my own printing business. But at 21 years of age, the bank manager wasn’t [...]
Western retail business looks to Russian capital for new markets September 3, 2013 EUROPEAN retailers are increasingly shifting their focus eastwards, as Moscow becomes a top destination for shoppers and consumer spending. Mark Faithfull, the editor of Retail Property Analyst, said: “Moscow is the obvious starting point for international retailers looking to expand”. He added that while luxury products were the first to find the market, familiar brands [...]
Join in our City Fit Challenge and diet your way to health November 4, 2013 THERE isn’t a worker in the City who doesn’t sometimes struggle to balance work, a social life and their health. Late nights in the office make trips to the gym harder. Regularly eating out makes controlling your calorie count difficult and, on the flip side, making a commitment to an intense exercise regime can impact [...]
Stonegate buys The Living Room August 13, 2013 Stonegate, Britain’s largest private managed pub group, swallowed up the Living Room brand from Premium Bars & Restaurants on Monday for around £10m. Stonegate was created in 2010 when its private equity owner TDR Capital bought 330 managed pubs from Mitchells & Butlers. In 2011 it merged with Town & City Pub Company and now [...]