Review: Apero at the Ampersand February 26, 2013 Apero has fish is to die for, if you don’t mind the charmingly chaotic atmosphere, says Steve Dinneen APERO @ AMPERSAND; 10 Harrington Road, SW7 3ER; tel: 020 7589 5895 FOOD **** SERVICE *** Value **** Cost per person with wine: £50 A few years ago I was wandering through Kreuzberg, before it was completely [...]
Nando’s buying spree pays off as the chain returns to profit December 9, 2012 NANDO’S swung back into profit last year after the restaurant chain, famous for its flame-grilled peri-peri spiced chicken, lured more customers through its doors. The company posted £14.7m in profits before tax in the year to 26 February compared with a £7.1m loss the previous year, accounts filed at Companies House show. Nando’s acquired Clapham [...]
Bargains bring home the bacon but bite into profits December 9, 2012 AS DECENT numbers for Nando’s reveal the chain moved into profit last year after three in the red, the cheaper end of the restaurant sector may be turning a corner. The latest figures from BDO indicate that operators including the Restaurant Group and JD Wetherspoon have seen an upturn in trade in September and October. [...]
Focus On: Blackheath January 24, 2013 NEED TO KNOW | AREA INSIGHT Named after the grassland that separates it from Greenwich and Lewisham, Blackheath is often described as one of the few remaining villages in the heart of London. Many refer to it as south east London’s answer to Hampstead because of its charming, green surroundings and bustling village. While it [...]
Hotel Chocolat reports record full-year profit January 20, 2013 HOTEL CHOCOLAT, the upmarket chocolatier, offered some hope to Britain’s beleaguered high streets this weekend after reporting record sales and profits. The retailer and cocoa grower posted a 84 per cent leap in pre-tax profits to £5.4m on sales up six per cent to £63.8m in the year to 30 June 2012. Angus Thirlwell, co-founder [...]
Lloyds in pole position to eat up D&D London December 9, 2012 TAXPAYER-backed Lloyds Banking Group has emerged as favourite in the race to take over the high end restaurant group D&D London, the firm behind City dining venues like Coq d’Argent, Le Pont de la Tour and The Grand Café at the Royal Exchange. The bank, through its private equity vehicle LDC, is understood to be [...]
No Waitrose for Sir Terry’s wife February 3, 2013 FORMER Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy was in charge of the playlist yesterday, getting listeners dancing in the aisles by mixing folk with Handel’s Messiah on Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs. Sir Terry began his Tesco career as a shelf-stacker in Wandsworth and rose to become chief executive of the grocer from 1997 to 2011. [...]
Christmas cheer raises spirits at Greene King January 14, 2013 RECORD numbers of people flocked to Greene King pubs over Christmas as the company ramped up efforts to bring in festive diners. The pub owner and brewer revealed yesterday that like-for-like trading in its establishments was up 2.8 per cent in the six weeks to 6 January, while pub sales were up 6.8 per cent [...]
Whitbread in £51m sale and leaseback of Premier Inns December 18, 2012 HOTEL and restaurant group Whitbread has agreed a £51m sale and leaseback deal on seven Premier Inn sites, as it frees up cash to spend on its expansion. The FTSE 100 firm, which also owns Costa, yesterday said it is to sell the buildings to NFU Mutual and Standard Life Assurance, which will lease them [...]
1776 is old-fashioned City and it’s all the better for it December 3, 2012 RESTAURANT 1776 1 Lombard Street, EC3V 9AA Tel: 020 7929 6611 FOOD **** VALUE *** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £55 ONE LOMBARD Street is one of those archetypal City restaurants – like the Mercer – that you go because you work in the City and, you know, that’s just what you do. [...]