Focus on Hammersmith: The town where prices have grown by half February 26, 2015 When it comes to neighbours, Hammersmith has struck lucky. There can’t be another location in London that’s surrounded by such a cluster of affluent residential neighbourhoods. With Kensington to the east, Chiswick to the west, Fulham to the south and Shepherd’s Bush to the north, it’s a wonder this area is still known primarily as [...]
Cheers! VAT protest drops prices… for a day September 24, 2014 Thousands of pubs, bars and restaurants yesterday cut their prices by 7.5 per cent as part of a campaign to cut VAT. Tax Equality Day saw 15,000 businesses reduce prices of food and drink. Jacques Borel, the man behind the campaign, has managed to secure VAT cuts in several European countries.
Spectre of beer barred as Bond reorders Martini December 15, 2014 AFTER Wetherspoon’s called final orders on serving Heineken in any of its pubs last week, it looks like the Dutch brewers will not be featuring in next year’s Bond film either. Vodka has been revealed as Bond’s drink-of-choice for Spectre, due for global release in November 2015, after Beldevere Vodka was announced as the franchise’s [...]
Wetherspoons slams pub taxes as sales improve January 22, 2014 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has used its pre-close statement to strongly criticise what it regards as an unfair tax regime: The pub industry continues to pay far higher taxes than supermarkets do, mainly as a result of an unequal and unfair VAT and business rates burden. This tax inequality has greatly widened the pricing differential [...]
The world’s brightest will shun the UK if isolationist rhetoric doesn’t stop now January 8, 2015 We all have our own image of UK entrepreneurship. Sir Richard Branson is a common first choice, and Sir James Dyson is another. For me, it is the Indian Restaurateur. When I first founded Cobra Beer 25 years ago, it was these tireless, unsung heroes of UK entrepreneurship who placed their trust and belief in [...]
FTSE 100 falls again as price slump hits oil sector – London Report October 20, 2014 Britain’s top equity index resumed its fall yesterday, giving back half the gains made in the previous session, as investors reckoned with reduced earnings expectations for oil companies after a slump in oil prices. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down 43.22 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 6,267.07 points, after rising 114 points on [...]
How to nap at work: The Nutshell sleep pod, Ostrich Pillow and MetroNap November 17, 2014 It’s the unicorn of working life. Something that allows you to get a quick bit of shut-eye at your desk so you can be even more productive at your job (and definitely not so you can sleep off the effects of a late one at the pub). We’ve managed to land a spacecraft on a [...]
William and Kate meet Jay-Z and Beyonce: How Brand Royal has finally entered the 21st century December 14, 2014 This week New Yorkers went mad for Will and Kate as they took a trip to the Big Apple for the first time. Crowds were out in force, media coverage blanketed the channels, hoards of people desperate to catch a glimpse. It was almost as if The Beatles had arrived once again. It’s incredible [...]
Punch gets approval for debt restructuring September 17, 2014 PUNCH Taverns yesterday announced that noteholders as well as its shareholders had approved its £2.3bn debt restructuring proposals, subject to the consent of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank. It has been selling off hundreds of pubs to help bring down debt and shore up its balance sheet. Shares closed up 3.9 per [...]
Poundland boosts board with new execs October 15, 2014 POUNDLAND has bolstered its board after hiring the chief executive of packaging group DS Smith and the finance director of pub group Mitchells & Butlers as non-executive directors. The bargain retailer, which made its market debut in March, said Miles Roberts and Tim Jones would join the company on 30 October. “Both Miles and Tim [...]