The St James's Hotel and Club is the latest luxury hotel in London to be generating widespread interest from foreign investors as it goes up for sale.
Situated in a quiet cul-de-sac in Mayfair, the five-star, 60-bedroom hotel, is attracting offers of more than £60m.
Henrik Muehle, the hotel's managing director, said that the property would represent a trophy asset to any investment group.
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Is The W Atlanta Perimeter Closing Later This Year?
Uh-oh. It looks like there is trouble brewing at the W Atlanta Perimeter. A tipster wrote in to tell us that the hotel that the hotel is in the process of being sold to an unknown hotelier. Hotel managers were even told they had until the end of the year to apply for a new job within the company.
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Bill Gates Boosts His Stake In Strategic Hotels By 8M Shares
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Bill Gates bought another eight million shares of Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. (BEE) for $36.8 million, boosting his holdings to about 12.2 million shares total.
The company--a real-estate investment trust with properties in the U.S., Mexico and Europe--held a public offering of 40 million shares this week, hoping to raise proceeds for repaying debt. Many companies have been tapping equity markets to pay down their debt loads.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Gates' investment fund Cascade tapped the offering to buy the shares at $4.60 apiece Thursday.
As of May 5, the company had 75.6 million total shares outstanding. In its earnings call that day, Chief Executive Laurence Geller said the company was surprised at the momentum of a recovery in high-end lodging. Its funds from operations, a key profitability metric for REITS, were flat in the first quarter excluding foreign currency exchange, as revenue slid just 1.5%.
Shares in Strategic Hotels closed down 4.8% Friday at $4.95. The stock has more than quadrupled in value over the last year.
Bill Gates bought another eight million shares of Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. (BEE) for $36.8 million, boosting his holdings to about 12.2 million shares total.
The company--a real-estate investment trust with properties in the U.S., Mexico and Europe--held a public offering of 40 million shares this week, hoping to raise proceeds for repaying debt. Many companies have been tapping equity markets to pay down their debt loads.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Gates' investment fund Cascade tapped the offering to buy the shares at $4.60 apiece Thursday.
As of May 5, the company had 75.6 million total shares outstanding. In its earnings call that day, Chief Executive Laurence Geller said the company was surprised at the momentum of a recovery in high-end lodging. Its funds from operations, a key profitability metric for REITS, were flat in the first quarter excluding foreign currency exchange, as revenue slid just 1.5%.
Shares in Strategic Hotels closed down 4.8% Friday at $4.95. The stock has more than quadrupled in value over the last year.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Hotels Gear Up for Tech-Savvy Guests
Despite the lingering economic turndown, hotels are investing in technology to ensure that tech-loving travelers are as content in the hotel room as they are in their fully-equipped homes.
Or perhaps a bit happier, given that hoteliers are offering access to new devices like the iPad, IP TV, and a slew of smartphone apps that enable guests to check in and order room service from their phone.
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Or perhaps a bit happier, given that hoteliers are offering access to new devices like the iPad, IP TV, and a slew of smartphone apps that enable guests to check in and order room service from their phone.
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Berkeley restaurant falls victim to credit card scam
BERKELEY, CA (KGO) -- Anyone can get scammed from thousands of miles away and not even know it. An international credit card fraud ring has been targeting restaurants across the nation and a busy East Bay restaurant got caught up in it. Lots of people use credit cards every day on the Internet, over the phone, and swipe them, taking the system for granted. In Berkeley, Jim Maser of Picante Restaurant has spent a lot of good will and time in building a good reputation for over 16 years.
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US travel agent faces 25 years jail for fraud
A US travel agent could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of massive ticketing fraud. Prosecutors told a Manhattan court that Virginia Wofford, 53, swindled American Express out of $US35m in fictitious travel over a three-year period.
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Va. restaurant owner pleads guilty to bank fraud
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A flashy Virginia restaurant owner with a penchant for sports cars has pleaded guilty in federal court to a series of bank frauds totaling more than $50 million. Osama El-Atari, 31, owned a small chain of steakhouses in the Washington, D.C., suburbs and was known for driving Lamborghinis and Ferraris. Last year, authorities say he disappeared after several banks discovered they had been defrauded. He was thought to have left the country and Brazilian authorities say El-Atari tried to fake his own death, buying a death certificate there. He was tracked this year to Texas.On Thursday, El-Atari pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud and one count of money laundering. He could face between 16 to 20 years in prison under sentencing guidelines.
Valley Forge finance director held for theft
A 71-year-old Norristown man who served as finance director for the Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau was busy writing checks between 2002 and 2009, law enforcement authorities said Wednesday. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't raise an auditor's eyebrow. But 293 of those checks, totaling $775,509.44, were to himself, though they showed up on bureau books as payable to vendors, according to records filed in Montgomery County.
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Meat supplier has beef with Gordon Ramsay
Another local restaurant-business supplier has come forward to accuse super-chef Gordon Ramsay of not paying his bills.
Last week, The Post reported the "Hell's Kitchen" star is being sued by two wine distributors who claim he stiffed them on bills of about $40,000 each. Now, Michael Braunschweiger, owner of the Bronx-based meat purveyor Endicott Meats, tells Page Six that Ramsay has gone AWOL on a bill for a cool $190,000.
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Last week, The Post reported the "Hell's Kitchen" star is being sued by two wine distributors who claim he stiffed them on bills of about $40,000 each. Now, Michael Braunschweiger, owner of the Bronx-based meat purveyor Endicott Meats, tells Page Six that Ramsay has gone AWOL on a bill for a cool $190,000.
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Las Vegas Hilton reports loss in first quarter
The Las Vegas Hilton swung to a loss during the first quarter of 2010 as revenue fell, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
The hotel-casino reported a loss of $2.1 million during the first quarter, compared to a $3 million profit in the same period of 2009.
Net revenue fell by 10.8 percent, from $60.4 million in the first quarter of 2009 to $53.9 million in the first quarter of 2010.
Casino revenue decreased by 17.4 percent to $19.6 million during the quarterly period.
For the first quarter of 2010, room revenue was $20.8 million, a decrease of $1.9 million from the first quarter of 2009. The property didn't include average daily room rates and occupancy numbers in the filing.
Food and beverage revenue remained relatively unchanged for the quarter at $16.1 million.
The hotel-casino reported a loss of $2.1 million during the first quarter, compared to a $3 million profit in the same period of 2009.
Net revenue fell by 10.8 percent, from $60.4 million in the first quarter of 2009 to $53.9 million in the first quarter of 2010.
Casino revenue decreased by 17.4 percent to $19.6 million during the quarterly period.
For the first quarter of 2010, room revenue was $20.8 million, a decrease of $1.9 million from the first quarter of 2009. The property didn't include average daily room rates and occupancy numbers in the filing.
Food and beverage revenue remained relatively unchanged for the quarter at $16.1 million.
Follow Up - Posh-hotel concierge caught on camera $queezing cabbies
Caught green-handed!
This stunning shakedown -- snapped by Post photographers -- is just one of the hundreds that doormen at swanky hotels demand every day from helpless cabbies, the hacks complain. The Paramount Hotel's concierge, Brian Conboy, was spotted demanding money in exchange for lucrative airport-bound fares -- not only from this driver but about a dozen others during a two-day period last week. Photographers snapped him shaking down three drivers on Friday and Saturday, and reporters observed several others.
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This stunning shakedown -- snapped by Post photographers -- is just one of the hundreds that doormen at swanky hotels demand every day from helpless cabbies, the hacks complain. The Paramount Hotel's concierge, Brian Conboy, was spotted demanding money in exchange for lucrative airport-bound fares -- not only from this driver but about a dozen others during a two-day period last week. Photographers snapped him shaking down three drivers on Friday and Saturday, and reporters observed several others.
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Carluccio's warns of uncertain trading despite a rise in profits
Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s has posted an 8% rise in pretax profit to £2.7m for the first half of the financial year but warned that trading conditions are likely to remain uncertain.
The company reported strong trading for the six months to 28 March and said that turnover for the period was up 8% to £37.1m compared with last year’s £34.5m.
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The company reported strong trading for the six months to 28 March and said that turnover for the period was up 8% to £37.1m compared with last year’s £34.5m.
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Riviera loses $4.5 million, says bankruptcy possible
Riviera Holdings Corp., owner of casinos in Las Vegas and Colorado, today said it lost $4.5 million as revenue fell in the first quarter.
The loss, amounting to 36 cents per share, compares to a loss in the year-ago quarter of $1 million or 8 cents per share.
Net revenue of $30.8 million was down from $34.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
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The loss, amounting to 36 cents per share, compares to a loss in the year-ago quarter of $1 million or 8 cents per share.
Net revenue of $30.8 million was down from $34.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
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Sunday, May 16, 2010
Starbucks has a new growth strategy — more revenue with lower costs
Starbucks is once again looking to grow, but this time will be different.
The coffee juggernaut is not aiming for seven new stores a day, a clip it reached three years ago after setting a goal of 30,000 stores worldwide. That dream died a year later and just over halfway there with sales and profits sliding before other retailers really felt the recession. The Seattle company has since closed nearly 900 stores and eliminated more than 34,000 jobs.
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The coffee juggernaut is not aiming for seven new stores a day, a clip it reached three years ago after setting a goal of 30,000 stores worldwide. That dream died a year later and just over halfway there with sales and profits sliding before other retailers really felt the recession. The Seattle company has since closed nearly 900 stores and eliminated more than 34,000 jobs.
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Hideout for Hollywood stars on the market
THE St James’s Hotel and Club, whose members have included Sir Michael Caine and Sir Sean Connery, is up for sale for £60m.
The luxury venue, a stone’s throw from the Ritz hotel in central London, has been owned by the Landesberg and Rosenberg families, who are well known property investors, for the past five years.
They bought the site for £20m from Sir Cyril Stein, the former boss of Ladbrokes, and have spent millions refurbishing the property
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The luxury venue, a stone’s throw from the Ritz hotel in central London, has been owned by the Landesberg and Rosenberg families, who are well known property investors, for the past five years.
They bought the site for £20m from Sir Cyril Stein, the former boss of Ladbrokes, and have spent millions refurbishing the property
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