£45m bid for Edinburgh’s “Cally” hotel
Northern Irish property group WG Mitchell will underline its credentials as a heavyweight in the Scottish property market with a bid of at least £45m for Edinburgh's landmark Caledonian Hotel. The historic building was put up for sale last week by its American owner, Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC), which said it wants to reduce its portfolio of directly owned hotels. – Scotland on Sunday, 10 October

Starbucks wants to overtake McDonald’s
Starbucks is set to grow even bigger by tripling the number of its stores worldwide. Under the plans announced yesterday, the Seattle-based corporation is aiming to have 40,000 shops, making it 30% bigger than McDonald's. – The Scotsman, 9 October

Gordon Ramsay to revamp Bhs cafés
Sir Philip Green, the retail entrepreneur, has signed up Gordon Ramsay to his Bhs chain to help in revamping Bhs's 120 in-store restaurants. – Sunday Telegraph, 10 October

Pizza Express sale agreed
Private equity business Cinven last night agreed to buy Pizza Express owner Gondola Holdings in a cash-and-debt deal worth about £900m. Gondola chairman David Ross said the directors were "adamant" that shareholders should vote for the deal. – The Scotsman, 9 October

Ken McCulloch confident about Dakota and Columbus brands
Scottish hotel entrepreneur Ken McCulloch talks as passionately about the new Dakota hotel at Eurocentral, off the M8, as he does about the Hotel Columbus in Fontrieille, the “Chelsea” of Monaco. McCulloch says: “Obviously we are aiming at a slightly different market. I would describe Columbus as five-star plus at a four-star price. The Dakota is four-star plus at a three-star price.” – Sunday Herald, 10 October

GNER to axe full-service dining?
The rail union RMT believe GNER are considering axing its full-service dining facility of the East Coast main line, the last train service where it is still possible to buy cooked meals through the day. The train company's 100 dining cars are thought to lose £10m a year. - Mail on Sunday, 8 October

By Bob Gledhill

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