Cigars at Quaglino’s, a cricket-playing Prime Minister and diplomacy at the Bloomberg relay; catch up on the latest City shenanigans in this week’s The Capitalist

THE TORTOISE AND THE SQUARE (MILE)

Bloomberg terminals don’t come cheap but there are clear upsides for users. One is access to critical financial information, the other is the right to participate in the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay, a City event “exclusively for Bloomberg Terminal users and clients”. Last week’s event saw teams hurling round the City ahead of “an electrifying after party”. The top spot in the race was claimed by Jane Street with Millennium Management hot on their heels, followed by Blackrock. Bloomberg staff were among the runners, but The Capitalist hears they were under strict instructions not to win. Official rankings show the best Bloomberg team coming in 42nd out of 99, though there are those who swear they saw them come in much higher than that.

STICKY WICKET

Prime Ministers have busy schedules but former top dog Rishi Sunak has revealed that he found his own little safe space away from No 10… The Oval. Speaking at London’s rival cricket ground Lord’s, the keen cricketer said he’d “occasionally manage to get away for a net at the oval”, adding that “trying to hit some cover drives was a good way to clear my head”. Clear his head from what, you may ask? “I found there was less treacherous spin at the Oval than Westminster,” he said. Perhaps Andy Burnham has made a mistake in creating No 10 North, so close to his beloved Everton.

SMOKIN’ DESSERTS AT QUAGLINO’S

In its ’90s heyday, a trip to Quaglino’s wasn’t complete unless you had taken the Q-shaped metal ashtray away with you in your handbag. Back then, the St James restaurant, a favourite of greats including the late Queen and Ab Fab’s Edina and Patsy, was the capital’s most coveted table, with a reputation for naughtiness (Lord Mountbatten’s wife famously conducted an affair with the restaurant’s pianist). The venue might not uphold that reputation today, but a refurbishment has returned the iconic ashtray – at least, in the form of an edible chocolate dessert. Choccy cigars are also on the menu. You can just imagine what Ian Fleming, another of the restaurant’s old regulars, might have said. “Oh for goodness sake, pass me a real one!”

IF THE SHOE FITS

How hard is it to build a sportswear brand to rival the biggest market players? Most investment analysts set this exam question would answer it by looking around for research – scanning market studies or chatting with industry experts. But analysts at SocGen’s equity research partner, Bernstein, thought that would be boring. They came up with a better idea: why not have a go ourselves?

The analysts designed their own shoe brand – Bern to Run – manufactured it, marketed it and sold it. They were staggered by how easy the process was, getting their first product to market in just four months. “Globalisation, digitalisation and the rise of a middle class helped mega brands dominate, but have now become some of their biggest challenges as consumers move towards more fragmented, niche and targeted products,” the analysts found.

The Capitalist has a new task for Bernstein analysts: a study of the superyacht market. City AM would be happy to help out by testing out a demo product.