Booker profit rises as it sets sights on India May 20, 2010 BOOKER Group beat forecasts with a 21 per cent rise in annual profit – boosted by higher customer numbers and tight cost control – and said it was stepping up expansion in India. Britain’s biggest cash-and-carry chain company, which runs over 170 branches supplying convenience stores, restaurants, pubs, schools and prisons, said its performance made [...]
Profits down at Enterprise as pubs suffer November 17, 2009 BRITAIN’S second-biggest pubs company, Enterprise Inns, yesterday blamed consumer belt-tightening, higher costs and competition for lower profits and warned of more woe this year. Enterprise, which has 7,400 leased and tenanted pubs, said underlying pre-tax profit fell 21 per cent to £208m in the year to the end of September, just below a forecast for [...]
Battling Jesus and Poker Gods in WC2 September 20, 2010 RAISE 2,000,” I say, and toss my chips on to the table. My face is carved from granite, but my heart thumps so loudly it could start its own drum ‘n’ bass label. In any big poker tournament there’s always one Table of Death, the one table where all the top pros happen to be [...]
Camra gives Ritchie pub support November 16, 2009 Real Ale campaign group Camra yesterday lent its support to celebrity Mayfair pub the Punch Bowl. Guy Ritchie’s pub in Mayfair is facing threats of closure after several noise complaints. But Camra said that Westminster City Council should consider the role the pub plays in the local community before it rules on the noise complaints [...]
Go surf ‘n’ turfing in Farringdon August 18, 2010 Redhook 89 Turnmill Street, EC1M 5QU Tel: 020 7065 6800 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £40 THE restaurant industry has a huge crush on Farringdon. Farringdon is the cool girl that couldn’t care less, twiddling her hair and looking this way and that, with her grimy streets and warehouse-style apartment buildings. The [...]
Greene King buys seven pubs as it reports increase in profit December 1, 2009 GREENE King, the brewer and pubs chain, has continued to weather the economic storm, reporting a three per cent rise in half-year profits. The firm, which brews the Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen brands, posted pre-tax profits of £62.4m for the six months to 18 October. Like-for-like sales in its retail business were up [...]
Cheap, imaginative and very tasty May 10, 2010 The Mall Tavern 71-31 Palace Gardens, W8 4RU 020 7229 3374 www.themalltavern.com FOOD **** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £23 IT once would have seemed an inauspicious outcome for the former executive chef of a highly-regarded London restaurant to wind up cooking – and waiting tables – in a pub. But [...]
PwC is appointed as Fabric nightclub’s administrator June 2, 2010 PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS was yesterday appointed as administrator for London superclub Fabric. The dance-music venue will remain open while administrators seek a new buyer, but is no longer accepting credit cards. David Chubb and Colin Haig of PricewaterhouseCoopers will handle the account. They worked together on the administration of bridging loan firm Link Lending last month. Chubb [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS YOUR EMPLOYER LAYING ON SPECIAL WORLD CUP VIEWING FACILITIES? June 2, 2010 NICK HOOK | DASHWOOD BREWER & PHIPPS “At the last World Cup my employer had the matches on in the boardroom and let us watch the games from there. There aren’t many games during my working hours during the group stages. It’s quite a sensible idea to have the games on at work – if [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS YOUR EMPLOYER LAYING ON SPECIAL WORLD CUP VIEWING FACILITIES? June 2, 2010 NICK HOOK | DASHWOOD BREWER & PHIPPS “At the last World Cup my employer had the matches on in the boardroom and let us watch the games from there. There aren’t many games during my working hours during the group stages. It’s quite a sensible idea to have the games on at work – if [...]