Person of the Week

Ms. Marmite Lover

This blogger and proprietor of a underground pop-up restaurant in her home has this week been threatened with legal action by Warner Brothers for alleged copyright infringement. Having decided to do a Harry Potter themed evening complete with butterbeer and cauldron cakes, she was issued with a letter from the media company asking her refrain from holding such events. Ms Marmite Lover has since changed the name of her event to Generic Wizard Night.

Quote of the Week

"It just makes no sense. For a kilo of onion, imported from Germany, I'm paying the equivalent of a bottle of good whisky."

Jon Gardar Ogmundsson, Owner of the McDonald's franchises in Iceland following the restaurant chains decision to pull out of the country this week

Facts of the week

Rental deals in the frame

Francis Salway, Group Chief Executive of the UK's largest property developer, has provided some commentary this week outlining Land Securities plans for negotiating with retail tenants

• He said, "The downturn has been tough on property companies and on retailers. There are instances of retailers still asking for concessions, and it can be in our interests to show flexibility in specific areas, and we have led on a number of such initiatives. However, we do not believe across-the-board changes to agreed contracts are appropriate."
• However, Land Securities have announced a new lease which does not penalise tenants for paying monthly instead of quarterly, and have also replaced rent reviews linked to the open market with a review linked to retail price inflation.
• Landlords have recently reported an increase in the number of lettings for prime retail space.
• In confirming their support for the move the British Property Federation have said that cutting rents too far would undermine the investment value of retail property.

Source: timesonline.co.uk

...and the twist in the tale

• In a separate report this week, the British Property Federation has called for government to cut service charge costs for businesses and make business leases more transparent.
• The Local Data Company has published figures reporting that 10% of retailers closed between January and September (see graph in the link below for a breakdown of sectors).
• Retailers are set to see their rates bills increase in April 2010 because they have been reassessed based on property values on 1 April 2008. Along with last week's GDP figures this indicates increasing pressure will be faced on the high-street in the new year.
• In Central London businesses are facing an extra £500 million in
  rates bills due to revaluation and Westminster Council is calling for
  reform.

Click here for The Local Data Company Figures
Source: thelondondailynews.com

Singing a new Tune in the budget hotel market…

…the 20 cent hotel?

A new 222 bedroom Tune Hotel near to Kuala Lumpur's low-cost airport is one of a number of budget brands opening in Asia.

• Tune Hotels was launched in 2007 by Tony Fernandes, the entrepreneur who also launched AirAsia, the first budget airline for Malaysia.
• Although the hotels have a no star rating, they do include a 5-star queen bed, power-shower and ceiling fan. Extras such as television, refrigerator, kettle and air-conditioning cost extra.
• Whilst the average price of a room starts at around AUD$3 (£1.64) per night, some promotions means that you can get a room for as low as AUD$0.23 a night.
• Tune Hotels plans to have 150 hotels around the world by 2012; the UK is in their sights.

Source: stuff.co.uk

Article of the week

EP Condense is EP's weekly e-newsletter. But did you know that EP is also a bimonthly magazine available via subscription? Our Article of the Week provides a sample of what we have featured in past issue.

This week we feature a story from the EP archives. It is a management article entitled "More by Accident?" The opinion piece by Ian Hall discusses the popularity of MBAs in recent years. Do graduates (and employers) get what they think they signed up for?