Down to Mayfair for Jigsaw’s party to celebrate the opening of its Duke Street emporium.
Unlike most stilted shop parties, this one included DJs — designer Giles Deacon and New York’s Chelsea Leyland — and revellers stayed partying until well past 11pm.
Those disappointed that one-time employee the Duchess of Cambridge didn’t make an appearance were happy to see Laura Carmichael of Downton Abbey and Gwendoline Christie from Game of Thrones. Other guests spotted included Daisy Lowe, Richard E Grant and Jeremy Clarkson.
Jigsaw, which is owned by John and Belle Robinson, saw sales increase by 10% to £60 million in its most recent accounts. So hopefully no need for it to puzzle over covering the cost of the party...
Oz glitch that hit Barclays’ IT guru
Barclays’ new IT guru Michael Harte has a “wealth of experience”, including a lengthy stint at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia as its chief information officer, according to chief executive Antony Jenkins.
What the press release doesn’t mention is the time in 2012 when CBA’s IT systems were hit by a faulty software upgrade that scuppered PCs and iPads, and crippled almost a tenth of its 1000-strong branch network. The Financial Services Union said staff had been unable to access systems for up to five days, while the bank blamed IT provider HP.
Renai LeMay, editor of Australian tech website Delimiter, said at the time: “I wouldn’t say it’s the biggest IT disaster Australia has ever suffered but in terms of one-off enterprise IT outages that interrupt normal business, it doesn’t get much worse than this.” City Spy is absolutely sure everything will be fine at Barclays.
Panther on Ukip prowl again
Colourful Panther Securities chairman Andrew Perloff, known for his yearly “ramblings” in the property company’s results, is having another go at getting shareholders to support a hefty donation to Ukip after switching his allegiance from the Conservatives last year.
The resolution narrowly failed 12 months ago because one major investor forgot to tell his broker to vote his shares, “which only goes to show how important it is for shareholders to properly participate”, says Perloff.
The Panther boss accuses a Conservative-led Coalition of “creeping Marxism” but interestingly the donation proposed this year is £17,500, against last year’s £25,000.
Either Perloff’s support for Ukip is waning or he is being savvy in being seen to ask for less.
