Heston Blumenthal serves up a double helping of profits February 17, 2014 PROFITS at Heston Blumenthal’s business empire, which includes the three Michelin-starred Fat Duck restaurant and Knightsbridge’s Dinner, doubled to £2.3m in the year to June last year, accounts filed on Companies House show. The celebrity chef’s holding company SL6 reported a 14.2 per cent jump in sales to £12.8m. It paid out a dividend of [...]
Why Britain’s changing economy needs a fresh monetary strategy April 9, 2014 THE PICK-UP in UK economic growth, which started last year, has continued into 2014 and appears to have gathered further momentum. Earlier this week, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Economic Survey painted a picture of strong demand at home and abroad in both manufacturing and services industries. The survey also showed that companies are [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 24 April 2014 April 23, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Deutsche Bank under pressure Deutsche Bank is facing pressure from investors to raise capital amid fears the bank is still not robust enough to cope with a tougher regulatory environment and a slump in global debt markets. Insiders at Germany’s largest lender are understood to accept as a real threat that the European [...]
Down to a Fine Art March 23, 2014 Annabel Palmer talks to Patrick van der Vorst, the ex-Sotheby’s art expert who used a £100,000 investment from Dragons Den to build online valuation service Value My Stuff THE INTERNATIONAL art market is having a ball, as investors flock to the perceived safer asset. A Sotheby’s sale last month totalled £163m, with demand coming from [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: Federal Reserve chair Yellen in investors’ focus March 24, 2014 FOR US stock investors, the main event will be Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s return trip this week to Capitol Hill. Wall Street will hang on her every word about the weather, of all things, when she goes before the Senate Banking Committee to complete her semi-annual testimony about monetary policy. Yellen will speak to [...]
Heaven in a box: Rococo Chocolates’ Chantal Coady talks hurricanes and strong wine July 20, 2014 Luxury chocolatiers weren’t a common sight in 1983 England. Stalwarts like Thorntons and Prestat were around but, save imports from the continent, it was a market waiting to be tapped. And 24- year old Chantal Coady realised this. The founder of Rococo Chocolates was then participating in the Youth Training Scheme, an on-the-job training course [...]
City Moves for 17 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 17, 2014 Chelverton Asset Management The asset management firm has appointed Richard Bucknell as an investment director in its unquoted equities team. Prior to joining, Bucknell held senior investment management positions at Barclays Ventures. Insparo Asset Management The Africa and Middle East specialist investment firm has hired Peter Lindqvist as head of sales and marketing. Lindqvist was [...]
House of Fraser plans London listing after Lafayette talks end January 23, 2014 HOUSE OF Fraser is planning to float on the London Stock Exchange after talks with French rival Galeries Lafayette failed to secure a sale. A source close the negotiations, said the owners of the department store chain felt they could get a better price for the company by floating on the open market. The float [...]
What you need to know before the open April 15, 2014 European markets are expected flat to mixed this morning, following yesterday’s turnaround on the back of a strong retail sales reading from the US, which quelled fears over the situation in Ukraine. The concern is, though, that investors have over-valued the retail sector. And meanwhile, there are worries that the EU’s somewhat muddled response to [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: Fed chair Yellen in spotlight for banking speech February 23, 2014 AFTER the S&P 500 slipped on Friday and broke a two-week rally, stocks may find tougher sledding this week as investors may be unwilling to push the benchmark index to a record high. The Standard & Poor’s 500 has risen three per cent over the past three weeks, as investors have largely been willing to [...]