Leicester City’s fairytale season is proving an inspiration beyond the sports pages. Smith & Williamson, the accountancy firm, publishes a quarterly pamphlet titled Enterprise containing “thought leadership for entrepreneurs”, and in the latest issue there’s an exploration of the “lessons in leadership” to be gleaned from the remarkable triumph of the 5,000-1 outsiders. Enterprise has pulled off its own against-all-odds coup by securing an “exclusive interview” with Claudio Ranieri, the Leicester manager. Perhaps bosses at Smith & Williamson should take a leaf out of the genial Italian’s book and take the Enterprise team out for a well deserved pizza.
Getting over the blues
The takeover of Chrysalis by its founder Chris Wright and a group of industry veterans was conducted through a vehicle called Blue Raincoat, which is a reference to the old Leonard Cohen standard Famous Blue Raincoat. Chrysalis has form when it comes to the blues. One Times contributor points out that it once set up an indie imprint called Blue Guitar to tap into the jangly guitar trend known as C86 when it signed the Shop Assistants and the Mighty Lemon Drops. Given his penchant for the colour, I wonder whether Mr Wright might fancy a run at Blue Note, the jazz label.
Bound to be a classic act
There might be a bit of a do at the home of London racing should Humphrey Bogart land the Derby on Epsom Downs tomorrow. The colt is owned by Chelsea Thoroughbreds, the same people — City stockbroker Richard Morecombe and punter-about-town James Ramsden — who own the Sidney Sussex in Chelsea, the best boozer in town to watch the gee-gees. Humphrey Bogart was available at 25-1 but having won the Lingfield Derby Trial has a decent chance. Here’s looking at you, kid.
Excitement bubbles over
Flush with a fizzing 36 per cent jump in its first-quarter sales in the UK, SodaStream is about to launch what it claims is “the first drinkable art installation”, by Emmet Kierans, in Regent’s Place, London. The piece of art, titled Let’s Play, is made up of colourful tubes with bubbling water and “looming abstract shapes”. Sounds like street art meets Willy Wonka.
Business big shot
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Name Dale nicholls
Age 47
Position Portfolio manager, Fidelity China Special Situations Fund
Stepping into the rather large shoes vacated by Anthony Bolton, the former star Fidelity fund manager, was never going to be easy (Harry Wilson writes).
Regarded as one of Britain’s best money managers, Mr Bolton had built up a large following and relocated to Hong Kong to manage a fund specialising in Chinese investments before retiring in 2014.
Figures released yesterday by Fidelity showed that his Australian successor was doing a good job of running his old fund, which beat its benchmark by 16 per cent over the 12 months to the end of March.
Dale Nicholls joined Fidelity two decades ago as a research analyst in Tokyo before becoming a portfolio manager three years later. His travels across Asia have been led by his passion for scuba diving, which he often does in far-flung waters.
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