Rejuvenation and wine in Lombardy April 25, 2010 PLINY the Younger wrote his Tragedia and Comedia in a villa on Lake Como and the lake has continued to attract the best and the richest of society, from Madonna and George Clooney to Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho and Sylvester Stallone. Indeed, the lakes of the northern Italian region of Lombardy – the most famous being [...]
Expansion curtailed as profits slump at restaurant group Clapham House December 17, 2009 THE company behind restaurants Gourmet Burger Kitchen and The Real Greek has suffered a 13 per cent slump in profits – scuppering any major expansion plans next year. Clapham House Group – whose Tootsies chain closed in October – said trading conditions remained “pretty challenging”. However, the firm claimed there were signs that things were [...]
BANK OF ENGLAND BOFFIN KNOCKS THE SPOTS OFF THE COMPETITION March 31, 2010 WHEN it comes to pepping up weighty speeches with witty references to popular culture, the boffins from the Bank of England aren’t exactly known for being trailblazers. But Andrew Haldane, the Bank’s executive director for financial stability, tore his peers’ stuffy image to shreds in a speech in Hong Kong this week by managing to [...]
BANKERS STAY QUIET ON UNITED BOND DEAL January 11, 2010 CITY bankers are not usually backwards in coming forwards when it comes to getting publicity for their transactions, so why the reticence yesterday when it came to taking the credit for Manchester United’s £500m bond issue. United’s initial press release was as brief as could possibly be, with no mention even of the banks involved [...]
YO! Sushi owner raises its turnover December 17, 2009 Quilvest, the private equity firm behind the buyout of Japanese restaurant company YO! Sushi, more than doubled its turnover last year. The UK arm of Quilvest, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, generated revenues of £1.2m – up from £503,000 in 2007. However, accounts filed at Companies House show Quilvest UK turned a profit of just [...]
She’s far more than just a (legal) blonde: a star is born February 16, 2010 MEETING Sheridan Smith, the 28-year old star of the smash hit Legally Blonde: The Musical, is rather like a game of hide and seek. Or, as it turns out, a treasure hunt. For the former star of such television gems as Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of?Crisps and Gavin and?Stacey, has gone awol. [...]
2010 is the year of the big move to the country March 25, 2010 MANY who earn their crust in London dream of living in the country, and there are good reasons to make 2010 the year to make the move. While the property markets in the desirable parts of London have now fully recovered, with prices similar to those achieved in the 2007 peak, the same isn’t true [...]
Camden: an urban hotspot with leafy streets December 17, 2009 THOSE who consider Camden a gritty choice may want to think again. “Prices dipped in the credit crunch,” says Ed Robinson, of the year-old Camden office of Foxtons. “But they’re already higher than they were before it, and they’re going to rise next year. There’s limited stock and a lot of demand.” The spring opening [...]
BACK TO THE GREEN HOUSE FOR DE BLONAY February 3, 2010 THE City’s resident “Swiss funds fox”, Guy de Blonay, has barely warmed up his seat after his high-profile return to fund management group Jupiter, but already things are settling comfortably back into their old ways. De Blonay officially took up his new position at the group a week ago, after leaving his first job at [...]
Cold weather helps to boost Domino’s January 6, 2010 DOMINO’S PIZZA said yesterday people staying in because of the cold weather helped its sales beat City forecasts. The fast food delivery chain, which has 608 stores in the UK and Ireland, said in a fourth quarter trading update like-for-like sales rose 8.6 per cent in the 13 weeks to 27 December, despite the downturn [...]