Airline riled by poor odds

Paddy Power, the Irish bookmaker that takes bets on everything from the colour of Kylie Minogue's knickers to the next Pope, has upset the owners of Flyglobespan, the Edinburgh-based charter airline.

In the wake of the collapse of XL Leisure, the holiday company, the bookie has been offering odds on the next airline to go bust. At one point, it was quoting Flyglobespan as one of the hot favourites, but clearly this has riled Tom Dalrymple, its multimillionaire founder. A spokesman says: “Big debts and a lack of cashflow brought down XL. Flyglobespan has 30 years of trading behind it and no debt.” I suspect Paddy Power may have to lengthen its odds.

Paris unsure about hotel arrivistes

The so-called palace hotels of Paris are among the most dazzling hotels in the world. My own favourite is the Meurice, although the Crillon, George V and Plaza Athénée are all just as spectacular in their different ways - but according to a new report from Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, these grande dames could soon face a challenge from a number of overseas interlopers.

A Shangri-La is due to open in Paris by mid-2010, with a Mandarin Oriental joining the fray the following year. It will be interesting to see how the Parisians react to these arrivistes.

Easy Diner in search for investor

I hear that Ed's Easy Diner, a Soho institution for more than 20 years, is looking for a buyer - or at least outside investment to expand the business. The word in restaurant circles is that the family trust of Barry Margolis, its late founder, has appointed Coffer Corporate Leisure to handle the process.

The business, worth an estimated £3million, has only three Ed's diners - the others are in the Trocadero and Bluewater - but, as Margolis used to claim: “Ed's is a small company with a very big brand.”

Your hotel - as seen from space

Ever fancied choosing which hotel to stay at from space? InterContinental Hotels group has just signed a deal with Google Earth that will make all 4,000 of its hotels available to view - and book - via the Google Earth website. Customers will even be able to zoom in on their chosen hotel and see how close it is to local attractions.

businessfeatures@thetimes.co.uk

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