Members of the exclusive George club in Mayfair must have got a fright when an email landed in their inboxes on Friday from owner Richard Caring.
“Now that London has come back to life, following the last year and a half of what has proven to be a difficult time for all, I have some good news, and some bad news,” warned the perma-tanned clubs tycoon, 73.
Caring, whose Birley Clubs empire also includes Annabel’s, told them he was expanding the dining area inside and improving the terrace, too. However, the venue will shut just before Christmas for the refurbishment and will not reopen until autumn. It is the first time the George has had a makeover since it opened 20 years ago.
Round the corner at Annabel’s, Caring hosted a lively Halloween fancy dress party, where guests included the actor Idris Elba. Accompanied by his wife, Patricia, 40, Caring looked terrifying as a creepy ringmaster.
His farewell party at George on December 7 is likely to be an emotional affair for some. Spare a thought at this difficult time for former M&S boss Lord (Stuart) Rose, Lord (Michael) Spencer, and other regulars.
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Taking the piste at festive Just Eat
If you think there are too many Just Eat riders clogging up the roads, just wait till you hit the ski slopes. Staff at Just Eat Takeaway, the curries-to-pizzas courier, are gearing up for possibly the biggest corporate ski trip around.
The Takeaway.com founder Jitse Groen, 43, has been whisking his staff off to the Alps since the company was a start-up. But after his £6 billion takeover of Just Eat, he now has thousands of staff to look after — so many, in fact, that he’s doing three separate trips towards the end of this ski season.
Sunny side up for Darktrace boss
To the UK Tech Awards at the Park Plaza hotel by Westminster Bridge to crown the country’s top digital talent. And after the blockbuster £1.7 billion stock market float in April, it was no surprise that Poppy Gustafsson, the chief executive of cybersecurity company Darktrace, was up for several gongs, including deal of the year, company of the year, businesswoman of the year, and chief executive of the year. She won the chief executive award.
Shares in Darktrace, which was backed by Autonomy founder Mike Lynch, who is facing extradition to the US, surged 30 per cent on their debut. They then continued on their merry way over the summer, culminating in entry to the FTSE 100 index. Things haven’t quite gone to plan since for Gustafsson, 39. The shares have collapsed 40 per cent in two weeks after a negative analyst note from brokers Peel Hunt and the end of a lock-up period meaning long-term investors can now dump shares.
The compere of the awards announced Gustafsson as having “salvaged London’s tech IPO dream”. It might be a tad early to declare that.
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Tech Awards no laughing matter
Talking of the UK Tech Awards, the only thing less tasteful than the rosemary and garlic goat cheese starter was the after-dinner entertainment. Paul Chowdhry stepped up for the tough but lucrative comedy slot, but wasn’t exactly a hit with guests.
After he referred to an audience member as “Indian guy”, the irritated guest corrected him by declaring he was in fact Sri Lankan. A joke about Aids then offended one guest so much he demanded Chowdhry move on to a different topic. Cue the tumbleweed.
Just saying . . .
“We’ve had a pretty aggressive short attack . . . you wouldn’t rob banks any more — you’d just do short attacks, you can get away with it”
The Hut Group founder Matt Moulding lashes out at hedge funds after shares in his beauty and protein empire collapse.
Funny business
