Live in style in one of the great Victorian buildings but hurry October 15, 2009 IT’S not that often that you get a chance to live in one of London’s great Victorian buildings. Those who fancy a spot of Grade 1-listed Gothic should get their skates on, because there are now just two apartments remaining in the revamped St Pancras Chambers Apartments. With bonuses back, if you fancy living in [...]
BLUE-BLOODED CAZENOVE AND THE MYSTERY OF A TRUE ANCIENT RELIC November 19, 2009 BLUE-blooded City stockbroker Cazenove might have officially agreed to surrender the rest of itself to US investment bank JP Morgan, but something tells The Capitalist the die-hards won’t be ready to forget the firm’s noble heritage in a hurry. Lunch yesterday was with a City chum who remembers Caz’s days at its old headquarters in [...]
Social networking turns profitable September 21, 2009 FACEBOOK, now with 300m users, announced last week that it has broken even. Its revenues cover operating costs. In internet language, one’s “burnrate” is how much money you are losing monthly until you do just that – break even. What is the business model of Facebook? Well, there is traditional and self-service advertising, virtual property [...]
Sales jump at M&B as deals cheer punters September 24, 2009 Pubs and restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers yesterday said that it expected its full year earnings to beat current forecasts, after a return to bargain dining and cheap boozing boosted sales. The owner of All Bar One and O’Neill’s pubs chains reported a like-for-like sales growth of 2.6 per cent in the 10 weeks to [...]
OUT OF OFFICE September 8, 2009 STARS AT TOWER FESTIVALThe Tower Festival is upon us yet again: hurry to get tickets for Nigel Kennedy on Thursday – on Friday there’s a Sadler’s Wells extravaganza not to be missed and on Saturday it just gets better with the divine Lesley Garrett and the Fron Male Voice Choir. Let’s hope the weather holds [...]
OUT OF OFFICE September 8, 2009 STARS AT TOWER FESTIVALThe Tower Festival is upon us yet again: hurry to get tickets for Nigel Kennedy on Thursday – on Friday there’s a Sadler’s Wells extravaganza not to be missed and on Saturday it just gets better with the divine Lesley Garrett and the Fron Male Voice Choir. Let’s hope the weather holds [...]
LENDERS WIN CONTROL OF CHEZ GERARD July 20, 2009 THE CHEZ Gerard and Bertorelli restaurant chains fell under the control of bankers yesterday. Silverfleet Capital, the private equity company, sold the chains’ owner Paramount Restaurants to its bankers, RBS, HSBC, Barclays and Sankaty for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to cut Paramount’s debts by around half to £65m.
LENDERS WIN CONTROL OF CHEZ GERARD July 20, 2009 THE CHEZ Gerard and Bertorelli restaurant chains fell under the control of bankers yesterday. Silverfleet Capital, the private equity company, sold the chains’ owner Paramount Restaurants to its bankers, RBS, HSBC, Barclays and Sankaty for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to cut Paramount’s debts by around half to £65m.
RYANAIR’S CHIEF O’LEARY PROVES HIMSELF A SUCKER FOR PUBLICITY October 13, 2009 RYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary isn’t exactly renowned for taking criticism lying down, so the BBC’s Panorama programme will probably have seen yesterday’s tirade coming. After Monday evening’s programme on the airline, Ryanair unleashed a campaign to maximise publicity from the episode – offering 1.1m free flights, labelling the show a “hatchet job” and slamming 11 [...]
Hunker down in a cosy bar this autumn October 19, 2009 WHEN temperatures drop – as they did rather suddenly at the weekend – it’s time for a change of tack when it comes to drinking venues. Those breezy summer cocktails in light-filled bars don’t seem quite the thing when it’s dark and blowing a freezing gale outside. What we need is intimacy and comfort – [...]