Person of the Week

Andrew Cosslett, chief executive, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG)

Last week Andrew commented that London has pulled itself out of recession faster than any other world city. He said that the capital has a bright near-term future and will benefit hugely from the Oympics in 2012. "London is the most resilient of the big cities. It has been better than all the other major capitals, and occupancy is now coming back strongly." Whilst last year was a challenging one for hoteliers, Andrew argued, "We are a lag industry, we don't lead."

Quote of the Week

"I've heard it described as a mixture of Nascar, motocross and bull riding. I've seen it compared to 'a cabbie in New York trying to race through traffic and not crash'. And I've heard it being likened to wacky races and the Grand National on skis all rolled into one."

Anna Thompson, BBC, on the debut of ski cross at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

To find out what all the fuss is about, click here.

Facts of the week

American restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday to open in the UK

The casual dining giant will open first site in Cardiff

• With more than 900 owned and franchised restaurants, and revenues of more than $1.4 billion, Ruby Tuesday has a total of five UL openings in the planning stages.
• The company is headed by Sandy Beall, chief executive and was started in 1972 by a group of US students (including Beall).
• Serving a mix of north and south American foods such as burgers and fajitas, its first venture in the UK market will be a franchise.
• The company has stated that British venues would reflect its American heritage but cater for local foods and beers.

Source: timesonline.co.uk

Are UK businesses blinkered on prospects for economic recovery?

Report finds that 44 per cent of board directors predict their companies will return to 'pre-recession normality' and that businesses would not fundamentally change in the next five years

• Entitled 'Transitions', research conducted by BDO and the Centre for Future Studies includes comment from bodies such as the CBI, the Institute of Directors and the Institute for Public Policy Research.
• It finds that the UK economy shrank by 4.8 per cent in 2009 and that, after taking the recession into account, the UK economy has grown by an average of just 1.7 per cent during the past decade.
• Peter Hemington, partner at BDO said, "The global economy has become unnaturally skewed through the rise of India and China. Although we hope that this recession may be over, the consequences still remain. As a result, the economic environment will remain tough for some time to come. Linked to this, we are going through a period of profound societal and technological change which will mean that some business models will wither away and die, while others will thrive and grow."
• However, a different view was put forward by Ian Pearson, director at Futurizon, "The recession has enforced the necessity to trim an awful lot of dead wood from the economy. The companies which are faster to modify themselves and more willing to grasp new techniques and new business models will thrive."

Source: telegraph.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 business feature entitled "Game On". EP met with Simon Dobson, Managing Director, DNC UK to discuss the opening of Wembley Stadium. DNC are a major global player within event catering market and have the ability to become a very competitive force in the UK. However, there were many that hoped that the opening of Wembley Stadium would see them fail. What was Simon's experience?