Category: Business

On Stage Coaches

In my terraced street there have been a few false starts. The pavements were taken up to lay cables for TV; roofs were adorned with giant white mushrooms for TV; a proposal to communally install solar panels did not gain traction; plastic caddies for bio-waste likewise did not get wide take-up.

Sir Walter

The most interesting of the Gilbey brothers is Walter. They were all good businessmen and philanthropic but Walter had a deeper hinterland. “In 1858, the year after his return from the Crimean War, Walter had married Ellen Parish, the fourth daughter of the landlord of the White Horse Inn at North Street, and soon after… Continue reading Sir Walter

From Gilbey to Guinness

W. A. Gilbey was founded in 1857 and was initially successful because wine imported from South Africa attracted less duty and the brothers passed on this advantage to their customers. That got them off the ground but almost immediately, in 1860, the rules changed.

The River Cafe

When I was a waiter at Mullaghfin (Co Meath) in my university holidays I may have had some sort of gauche charm but I entirely lacked professionalism.

The Devonshire

I thought I was going to write about the stock market but knew few would want to read so didn’t bother and went out to lunch.

Hare and Tortoise

I have friends, yes really, that take an interest in their investments and if the performance is unsatisfactory they kick ass. That’s not my style. I await events.

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Sustain and Gain

I have been beating the drum for Indonesian palm oil producer, MP Evans, since I started posting here ten years ago. You can see how it has performed in the last five years, above. So I’m all right Jack.

Concordia, Integritas, Industria

RIT Capital Partners (RCP) listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1988. If you had invested £10,000 and reinvested the dividends, today it would be worth £393,000. That’s an annual return in excess of 10%.

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Categorised as Business

The Gaumont

The Cadogan Estate has done its magic on Sloane Street turning it into a shopping boulevard with wider pavements and more greenery. It has already transformed the Duke of York barracks site into a pedestrian precinct with restaurants. Now it is moving west along the King’s Road.