Chanel’s “record fee” for Bond Street shop

The Financial Times has reported that the luxury brand Chanel is taking over a retail unit in Bond Street – and paying a pretty penny for it too.

If the reports are to be believed a £4million deal has been agreed for the new store which is opposite the new Louis Vitton store.

Nicole Farhi have been bought of their lease to allow Chanel take on a 25-year deal for their new London flagship store.

Le Méridien Piccadilly is sold

Le Méridien hotel on Piccadilly has been sold for £64 million, according to reports.

The five-star hotel has been purchased by American company, Host Hotels & Resorts. They describe themselves as one of the “largest owners of luxury and upper upscale hotels”.

Before the sale, Le Méridien, which has 266 guestrooms and boasts one of London’s largest indoor swimming pools, was part of the Starwood group of hotels.

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South Audley Street bike hire station to go ahead

Legal action to try and prevent a new bicycle hire station being put in South Audley Street has failed.

Last week, we reported on Noel Carroll’s attempt to get the High Court prevent the installation of the bike hire station which is part of a new scheme by the Mayor of London due to launch at the end of this month.

Deputy High Court Judge Michael Supperstone QC said: “None of the grounds put forward are arguable and permission to apply for judicial review is refused.”, the BBC reports.

Chambermaid finds jewellery stash in hotel room

A chambermaid was shocked to find jewellery with a value of up to £500,000 in a Mayfair hotel room, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

The shocked employee found the precious jewellery in a night safe whilst cleaning a room at the Westbury Mayfair hotel, off Old Bond Street.

She reported it to hotel management who eventually reunited the valuable discovery with its owner who had “left the room in a hurry”.

Mayfair bike hire docking station causes row

A MAYFAIR resident has gone to the High Court to try and prevent a the installation of a new bike dire docking station.

Westminster Council has given consent for the docking station – part of the Mayor of London’s new bicycle hire scheme – to be installed in South Audley Street, and work is due to begin next week.

But local man, Noel Carroll, has asked the High Court to stop it going again, saying that the Council has not properly considered the environmental effects, according to a BBC news report.

Around 400 of the docking stations are being installed across the capital ready for the launch of the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme at the end of July.

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Savile Row tailor designs new school uniform

A failing school in Norwich has turned to Savile Row as part of a plan to turn around its fortunes, according to the Guardian newspaper.

Costessey comprehensive school is being turned into a new Academy, and has commissioned Savile Row tailor, Thomas Mahon, to design a new uniform. The school has reportedly spent £34,000 on new blazers, trousers and skirts.

Read the full story here

Balderton Street hotel gets planning consent

A Grade-II listed former Mayfair garage will be turned into a new 75-bedroom hotel.

Westminster Council has given planning consent for Grosvenor to convert 8 Balderton Street in to a new boutique hotel.

The art deco building, overlooking Brown Hart Gardens, was designed in the mid 1920s by Wimperis & Simpson.

Sarah-Jane Curtis, Retail Investment Director at Grosvenor said:

“We are delighted to have secured planning consent for this landmark building, and we are in detailed discussions with Chris Corbin and Jeremy King as partners for the investment in this project. They have a proven track record for not only operating high quality restaurants, but also their attention to detail and sympathetic treatment of buildings taking into account their environmental context. This will, we believe, facilitate the creation of a fabulous amenity in Mayfair for residents, workers and visitors.”

The hotel will incorporate public art by artist Antony Gormley – famous for the Angel of the North and the fourth plinth’s One & Other – which will be an “inhabitable sculpture to be used as a guestroom.”

It is intended that the new hotel will be operational by early 2013.

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