BUSINESS WITH PERSONALITY
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NOW THERE’S AN EXCUSE FOR A POWER BREAKFAST... STEVE DINNEEN THE OWNERS of iconic restaurant The Wolseley gave the City a vote of confidence yesterday, saying it is the “perfect” location for its second site. The £10m The Wolseley City is set to open this autumn on the historic King William Street with a venue even bigger and more glamorous than the original, with features including Byzantine chandeliers, baroque ironwork and spectacular vaulted ceilings. “We’re backing the City,” a spokesperson for The Wolseley Hospitality Group told City A.M. “It is a thriving location and we only see it going from strength to strength over the coming years. “More and more people are coming back to offices and they need somewhere to eat and drink. City readers have always been an important part of our business and we’re happy to set up shop right in the heart of their parish. There couldn’t be a better marriage of customers and restaurant than those working in the City and The Wolseley.” The new site will “pay homage” to the
original restaurant, although Baton says it will “be presented as a younger sister to the original and not a replica”. He added that while it will have its own personality, “you’ll immediately know it’s The Wolseley”. The original restaurant, located at 160 Piccadilly in Mayfair, has become a staple for both business breakfasts and lunches, and a hotspot for celebrities including Kate Moss and the Beckhams. Last year, The Wolseley co-founder Jeremy King left the company after hotel group Minor International bought Corbin & King – which it had acquired alongside The Beaumont Hotel in 2017 in a deal worth almost £60m – out of administration. King had attempted to buy back the company himself but was outbid; he is now rumoured to be eyeing the Grade IIlisted former Natwest bank on Piccadilly, a site just metres from the original The Wolseley, as part of his return to the restaurant business. £ THE BEST NEW RESTAURANTS OPENING SOON: PAGE 15
BANK: IT’S NOT AS BAD AS 2008 CHRIS DORRELL
SMALL BUSINESSES CRITICISE BANK OF ENGLAND FOR THE BANK of England was criticised last night by one of the country’s leading IGNORING IMPACT OF RATES ON STRUGGLING UK FIRMS trade bodies for failing to grasp the “far from theoretical” impact of rising rates on the country’s smaller firms. The Bank published a document yesterday which suggested that firms across the country were not feeling the same stress on their finances as they did in the global financial crisis. The central bank said the proportion of firms seeing debt-servicing distress is projected to increase from 45 per cent in 2022 to 50 per cent by the end of 2023, data that was used in a recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting to green light another interest rate hike. Despite the increase in interest rates,
the Bank reassured that the level of debt-servicing stress will remain below the equivalent level during the financial crisis. Some business groups raised questions as to whether the Bank was taking the impact of rate hikes on businesses seriously enough. Martin McTague, national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), highlighted that the data does not include many small businesses which are “far more exposed” to rising rates than larger peers. FSB data from the second quarter of
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey
2023 shows that one fifth of small businesses reported financing as a main contributor to increased costs, the highest proportion on record. “Small and medium-sized firms make up over 99 per cent of all businesses in the UK, and the risks to them from rising interest rates are far from theoretical,” McTague said. David Bharier, head of research at the British Chamber of Commerce, said members were concerned by the increased hit to their debt costs. “Businesses are citing significant increase to costs from loan repayment,
mortgages, and invoice financing…they need to be reassured that the Bank of England fully understands the impact high interest rates are having.” Despite the pain rising rates are pouring onto businesses, other groups noted that there was still support for rate hikes. Kitty Ussher, chief economist at the Institute of Directors (IoD), noted that a majority of the IoD’s members were “even more concerned” by high inflation than rising rates. But Ussher also highlighted that monetary policy operates with a lag, raising the question of whether it might be prudent to pause rate rises “so as to avoid the risk of overshooting”.
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