William Curley Closes Mayfair Store

Chocolatier William Curley has closed his shop in Mayfair's Shepherd Market. Following the store's closure, Curley is reportedly now looking for new premesis in Victoria. Curley, who was recognised as Best Chocolatier of 2008, and also of 2007, at the Academy of Chocolate Awards, can also be found at its orginal home in Richmond.

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Visit the William Curley website

Mayfair Bucks Downward Price Trend

Whilst most of the rest country are seeing accelerating house price falls, research by Knight Frank apparently shows that property prices in Mayfair were up 10% so far this year. Mayfair - termed a "super-prime" district, alongside areas such as St James' and St Johns Wood - has seen these price increases primarily because there continues to be a shortage of stock.

Read more - Telegraph: London property market: Down, but not out…

Hardy Amies Faces Administration

Famous Savile Row brand, Hardy Amies, is seeking rescue funding to avoid administration or possibly bankruptcy.

The Financial Times quotes Andrew Manders (chairman) as saying: “We are working against quite a tight deadline. Either we find someone to buy the business as a whole or to buy a stake, or someone to inject more funds into the business. It’s only a matter of time before we need funds.”

Hardy Amies was dressmaker to the Queen for nearly 50 years, but over in the Guardian, the brand faces criticism from Jeff Banks who says the company has let it's image become too "mumsy".

The Fat Man Wants His Money Back

According to a report in the Observer, a Syrian billionaire who lost millions in Mayfair casinos and had decided he wants his money back. Known as the "Fat Man", the gambler racked up some huge losses but he recently won his case when Aspinalls tried to sue him for £2million that was owed. He successfully argued that he should have not been extended credit.

Following his court victory, he now wants to extend his claim that he was illegally given credit against the casinos in which he previously lost money. The newspaper report says he wants to claw back £67million from the total losses of £191million.

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Smythson Photos of David Cameron Cause Controversy

Mayfair stationery company, Smythson of Bond Street, has caused controversy after an image of David Cameron - husband of creative director, Samantha Cameron - with one of his children was used on the company website. Mr Cameron has attracted some criticism before regarding his children being brought into the public glare, but on this occasion, it appears to have been an innocent mix up. Apparently company directors volunteered pictures from home for use several years ago, before Mr Cameron became leader, and the image of the Conservative leader was used inadvertently.

Read more on this story in the Mail on Sunday

BT Outage in Mayfair

Internet and telephone access has been severely disrupted following the theft of equipment from a BT exchange in Farm Street, Mayfair. Routers, networking cards and fibre cabling were reportedly stolen from the Mayfair Telephone Exchange, with police being called out at about 1am.

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Harrys of London To Open Flagship Store in Mayfair

Harrys of London is due to open a new flagship store in South Audley Street on the 15th September. Founded in 2001, Harrys of London combines traditional cobbling techniques with contemporary styles to create an exclusive range of footwear for the modern man.

The new store at 59 South Audley Street follows the launch of a showroom in New York last year, and has been designed by Paris based architect, Ed Church. The boutique has been themed like a library with shoes arranged like books and accessible with a sliding wooden ladder.

Go along and see for yourself from Sept 15th onwards, of visit the Harrys of London website.