Caprice Holdings, the company behind some of London’s poshest restaurants, has reported lower profits last year after spending £800,000 opening a new venue in Mayfair.The group, which owns Le Caprice and The Ivy among other celebrity haunts, made underlying operating profits of £5.7 million in 2011 compared with about £6.3 million in the previous 12 months.
A family-run sweet company with half a century’s history has been sold off for a reported £50 million. Hancocks, which has grown from a single store to a nationwide wholesaler with annual sales of £100 million, has been snapped up by management in a private equity backed deal.
Kuoni, the Swiss travel giant, is close to offloading a division that specialises in luxury ski holidays. It is in advanced talks to sell Ski Verbier to Bluebird Partners, an investment firm with an appetite for leisure and property firms. The two sides have been negotiating for about a year, and a deal could be agreed in the next few days.
The founder of Carphone Warehouse is moving from mobile phones to fast food. Sir Charles Dunstone plans to bring Five Guys, a trendy American burger chain, to Britain.He has formed a joint venture with its parent company and hopes to open the first of several outlets next year.Booming demand for floral-print bags and colourful cookware has helped Cath Kidston to a 30% rise in sales. The clothing and homeware company, founded in 1993 from a shop in Holland Park, west London, racked up revenues of £89m for the year to April.
The future of the Savoy Hotel has been secured after its owners sealed a £290m refinancing of its debt pile. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia and Lloyds Banking Group, owners of the London landmark in a joint venture, have lined up loans from the French bank Crédit Agricole and the German lender Deka.