No more BEER FEAR July 29, 2009 I’M sucking a cocktail of coconut and banana beer through two straws, grasping the coconut shell in which it is served with glee. This tastes like a combination of Malibu, suntan lotion and fizz – I feel I’m not meant to like it, but I do. “See, beer is fun!” bellows the buxom Melissa Cole, [...]
FOCUS ON: IPSWICH, SUFFOLK May 21, 2009 GREEN FARM, NEAR STOWMARKET, IP14 3REPrice: Offers in excess of £975,000If you’re looking for the property that has everything then this is it. Believed to date from the 16th century, this listed barn conversion comes complete with swimming pool, tennis courts, and even a carp lake/boating pond. Inside, the house has recently been modernised but [...]
FOCUS ON: CAMBRIDGESHIRE June 4, 2009 MANOR FARM, 10 NORTH END, BASSINGBOURNPrice: £2mThis stunning Georgian house is located outside Cambridge and is three miles from Royston railway station – 40 minutes from Kings Cross. Sitting next to a 14th century church, the grounds could not be more picturesque. The property has seven bedrooms, of which two have en suites. The kitchen [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 2, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES M&B SEEKS TO FEND OFF INVESTOR REBELLIONMitchells & Butlers is prepared to head off a potential rebellion by offering its two largest shareholders board representation. Drummond Hall, M&B chairman, is understood to be in talks with Joe Lewis, the Bahamas-based billionaire, and Elpida, the investment vehicle for Irish horseracing tycoons JP McManus and [...]
The gravy train shows no sign of hitting the buffers June 23, 2009 YESTIMOTHY BARBERIF the size of RBS boss Stephen Hester’s pay package wasn’t already invoking the wrath of the new breed of mealy-mouthed ascetics, the news that his bank is spending £300,000 on Wimbledon hospitality has really got them frothing into their sackcloth. These people seem to dream of some shining future in which MPs don’t [...]
The Smith & Nephew chief intent on making waves in tough times August 2, 2009 When politicians say that Britain should have more upmarket, research intensive manufacturing businesses, what they really mean is that we need more Smith & Nephews. Over the last five years, the firm, founded over 150 years ago, has grown its sales from £1.39bn to £2.3bn in 2008. It invests a very strong four per cent [...]
Ex-Bear hedgie wins court round October 26, 2009 Former Bear Stearns hedge fund manager Matthew Tannin, 48, won a round during his trial in New York on fraud charges yesterday when a judge ruled the jury cannot see a personal email in which he wrote about his fears of a “blow up risk” for investors. Emails written by Tannin and his former boss [...]
Ex-Bear hedgie wins court round October 26, 2009 Former Bear Stearns hedge fund manager Matthew Tannin, 48, won a round during his trial in New York on fraud charges yesterday when a judge ruled the jury cannot see a personal email in which he wrote about his fears of a “blow up risk” for investors. Emails written by Tannin and his former boss [...]
IDEALISM ISN’T LOST ON CITY ART CROWD June 23, 2009 IF THERE are any City types out there itching to use the dwindling financial job prospects as a catalyst for a change of career, they could do worse than to heed the advice of Thomas Ostenberg. Just before the recession of the early Nineties, Ostenberg decided to leave his career as an independent financial consultant, [...]
The property boss who can see the light at the end of the tunnel July 5, 2009 The airy offices of Knight Frank chairman Nick Thomlinson are as good a place as any to survey the wreckage of the property market over the last two years. So it can only be good news that the head of the UK’s largest privately-owned property business shows no sign of panic as he holds court [...]