Laurence Benson is an international jetsetting businessman who is based in Belgravia, Florida and the Seychelles. (more…)
Tag: business
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Laurence Benson
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Michelle Mone OBE
When her husband left her, she could of ‘moaned’ but instead she got on with it and paid her now ex-husband some £24 million for his share of her lingerie business. Glasgow born, Mone “”grew up a Scottish, Labour voting Protestant and is now a Conservative voting Catholic” but it is for her patented Ultimo bra that women love her most. Like Margaret Thatcher before her, this high achiever sleeps for only 4 hours each night and goes for a 5-mile jog every morning. She especially likes the lyrics of Michael Buble’s Haven’t Met You Yet. -
Linked in more ways than one
The links between Owen Oyston, William Roache and Stuart Hall
Board meetings of Ridings Publishing Company Limited and its subsidiaries and Oystons Limited must have featured some interesting conversations as at them three well-known men were eligible to attend. Those three men, as of today, variously have served a jail sentence for rape, been convicted and await sentencing for 14 charges of indecent assault and await trial for two counts of raping a 15 year old.
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Laurence Benson: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times asks entrepreneur Laurence Benson: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
I fear a 9 to 5 office job. I cannot run far enough away from it.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
“Cheer up, the worst is yet to come”.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2013?
Unnecessary animal testing.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
Long school summer holidays. 12 weeks of sun, sand and golf.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
To bring a tropical climate to the UK.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the banking crisis?
As a once recent graduate trying to find a job in the banking crisis, I feel bad for the kids that aspired to becoming a big shot in the City. These fresh faces are finding themselves in an environment where they must work inhuman hours, contribute a greater value, have no job security and get minimal rewards for their troubles.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“Alright for some!” – It is usually used as a negative statement, judgmental of others decisions, full of resentment and jealously.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
I support a lot of the main cancer charities as well as efforts in other areas. I have always been particularly close to The Aspinall Foundation and have worked with The Bill Clinton Foundation to provide clean water solutions to many parts of Africa.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
I loathe my mobile phone, but I am rarely detached from it when awake. They have become a ghastly anti-social necessity. More worryingly though, is my over riding belief that they will be the death of our generation.
Laurence Benson If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
From past and present I would invite Salvador Dali, Nelson Mandela, Vivienne Westwood, Elton John, Audrey Hepburn and David Mitchell to keep the conversation amusing.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
I would have a picnic on the beach between the port and castle of Mandelieu. The basket would contain a large array of starters including tomato and mozzarella salad and garlic gambas. For the main course, rosemary rotisserie chicken from La Maison du Bon Poulet. I’d finish off with a white chocolate parfait with honeycomb.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
I’m trying to stop drinking before 5pm. The emphasis is on trying.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
Always a cup of tea.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
Any within my close circle of friends. Luckily, we are all fairly good party hosts and know how to have a good time.
Who is the most positive person you know?
Lulu Otte. She has had a few downs recently, but knowing that she will be blessed by many more ups in the future, she is always positive.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Jaffa Cakes.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
A list of places I have visited and people I have met who have influenced my life, making me the person I am today.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
I think a beach buggy. Laid back, good fun but effective at the job they do.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
Half of my family has roots in the Seychelles, which is why I hold a Seychellois passport.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
A large mirror, a chiming clock, an MCC fixture list and a postcard from a friend in Hawaii. She’s rubbing salt into our cold April wounds.
Laurence Benson is a Belgravia based businessman. He began his career in the City but left to found first Lily & Benson, a design bureau and creative consultancy, and most recently a luxury accessories brand, Touni Minuit.
Follow him on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/LaurenceBenson
View Lily & Benson’s official website at: http://www.lilyandbenson.com
View Touni Minuit’s official website at: http://www.touniminuit.com
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Sophie Rossdale: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times asks designer Sophie Rossdale: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
An inkpot and a computer.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
“If in doubt, add more wine”.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2013?
The TOWIEs and Made in Chelsea crew. They’re so scripted and utterly crap.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
My dog, Mojo.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
A time machine so I can go back and find out which horse I should have backed for this year’s Grand National. I’d then put all my wealth on it.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the banking crisis?
It’s terrible. I don’t think anyone could comment in any other way.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“Moist”.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
I like to support smaller charities as I’d like to know where my money is going. I support a charity for children in India because of my business involvement there. I also support a charity for women in Iran.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
I can achieve a lot on my phone without moving. I deal with people in India to manufacture and supply my fabrics and being able to communicate with them so easily is just great.
Designer Sophie Rossdale If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
Maggie Smith, Danny DeVito, Peter O’Toole, Paul Newman (when he was younger). It’s such a weird mix but I’d rather have these than the obvious.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
I would have dressed crab to start and as a main I’d opt for a steak and green salad. I’d have a raspberry cheesecake to finish. I’d eat it on a terrace in the sun with a glass of rosé.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
I think 12 o’clock but some people say just after 11.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
A cup of tea. I don’t like the other two.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
My own, as I know where everything is.
Who is the most positive person you know?
My father.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Smoking.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
A tattoo of bubbles as “Bubbles” is my nickname.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
Something old and rusty.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I’m colour-blind but my fabric designs are much loved because people consider them unusual.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
An empty wine glass, pictures of my sisters and a smelly candle.
Sophie Rossdale is a designer and importer of fabrics from India. Her tablecloths, cushions, bedspreads and napkins are a combination of Indian and European styles and she sells them through her firm, Adair UK.
View Sophie Rossdale’s official website at: http://www.adairuk.com
Follow her on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/AdairHomeware
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Moving on
A monthly round up of the moves of the newsworthy
Fishing around
Poissonnerie on Draycott Avenue, popular with the likes of Sir Michael Caine and Sir Roger Moore, is for sale through Miles Commercial. The 6,700 square foot property, owned by respected restaurateur Peter Rosignoli, has a price tag of £14,000,000 and the agents state that it “has good redevelopment potential”. Meanwhile, around the corner in Walton Street, the same firm seeks £90,000 per year for the former Baity Kitchen premises.
Living like Lilly
The “Queen of Prep” Lilly Pulitzer’s realtor daughter, Liza, is marketing her late mother’s former home at 710 South County Road in Palm Beach, Florida at a price of £5,500,000. Originally marketed at £7,500,000, the fashion titan told the New York Times recently that the house is “just magnificent, but I’m old and I’m cranky and I can’t keep it up the way it should be”. She now rests in peace but with the “cabana inspired” property being marketed as a “tear-down” or for subdivision into two lots, it looks like the bulldozers will be on the way.
Meyer’s kebabed
Sir Christopher Meyer was recently spotted on the steps of 17 Lincoln Street in Chelsea with a group of men who looked like builders. The same property, for which offers in excess of £2,650,000 were sought, is now “under offer/sold” on the Primelocation.com website. If indeed the former ambassador and his wife, who was described as being “Chanel-clad” by the Daily Telegraph in May 2011, have bought the house, they’ll quickly have to get used to the smell of kebabs. The 4-storey unmodernised end of terrace is right next to the Al Dar restaurant.
Monckton moves on
The house where financier John Monckton was tragically murdered in November 2004 in Upper Cheyne Row, Chelsea has recently come on the market with W. A. Ellis. Monckton’s killer Damien Hanson and his accomplice Elliott White were rightly jailed and now, his widow, Homeyra, is selling the 5-bedroomed house at a guide price of £5,500,000.
If you know of a story about someone newsworthy who is changing jobs, setting up a new business or selling an existing one or moving home, do email us at: [email protected]
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You're booked
Matthew Steeples argues against the idea of bookshops charging customers to browse in an article first published in “The Good Web Guide”
What is going on in the world of bookselling?
First, in January 2012, the last remaining chain of bookstores in Britain, Waterstone’s, dropped the apostrophe in their name and became Waterstones as they consider it “a more practical and versatile spelling”. Now, bookshops are being urged to charge their customers to browse by Victoria Barnsley, the CEO of HarperCollins and the founder of the Fourth Estate publishing house.
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A cock-up by “Cock Roache”
The latest in a series of bizarre comments from actor William Roache
William Roache MBE, who plays Ken Barlow in Coronation Street, is no stranger to controversy.
The grandson of a Freemason who was interested in hypnotism, theosophy and esotericism, Roache is a vegetarian and spiritualist who was photographed participating in Druid rituals in the 1970s.
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Andreas Panayiotou
A self-made mogul and former champion boxer who cannot read or write fluently. He thinks “differently” and built a £400 million fortune by creating and then selling a buy-to-let empire of almost 6,000 rental properties. Panayiotou takes the view that it is “moral[ly]” right to pay taxes in Britain and of those who call Heath Hall, a £65 million property he developed in North London, as “impersonally hideous as a brothel”, he rightly responds: “These guys are just jealous”. This maverick is indeed a businessman worthy of admiration rather than envy. -
Hilary Devey
This Lancastrian tycoon transformed the Dragons’ Den with her 80s style shoulder pads and comments such as “he made my foot itch”. Thrice married Devey has five homes around the world and claims to have “felt sexism in every way conceiveable”. She’s “proud to pay tax” and dubs David Cameron “weak”. By ‘eck.