A test of loyalty, perhaps?

Heineken's appointment last week of Stefan Orlowski as head of Scottish & Newcastle UK, its British operation, comes at an interesting time. Orlowski, at present group commerce director at the Dutch brewer, is Australian and his start date in his new role is a week before the Ashes Test series kicks off at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Insiders say that a warm welcome is already being prepared for Orlowski, whose new job will include responsibility for the Foster's lager brand. One said: “I think it's fair to say he can expect a spot of gentle sledging.”

Saying farewell with Purple rain

Mike Prager, chief executive of the collapsed Real Hotel Company, had been hoping to buy back its Purple Hotels chain from the administrators. Well, it wasn't to be and most of the hotels have been acquired and rebranded by rivals, including Travelodge. Yet in his valedictory message to customers on the Purple website, Prager says that he has not given up hope of “bringing Purple back to life at some future time”. He also uses a Mark Twain quote to have a neat dig at the company's banks, declaring: “A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.”

Daresbury ready for new rat race

Word reaches us that Lord Daresbury, scion of the Greenall brewing family, has been eyeing a return to the pub trade. Daresbury, who is a partner in Green's, the fish restaurant and oyster bar in St James's, Central London, is believed to be among the suitors for Bel and the Dragon, a chain of four pubs owned by Premium Bars & Restaurants (PBR). But with the Reuben brothers in pole position to swallow the whole of PBR, the peer, who in his youth was twice National Hunt amateur champion, now looks a rank outsider in this race.

Turning a blind eye to fashion

Graduate Fashion Week's gala show last week attracted the usual great and the good. Harold Tilman, the owner of Jaeger, enjoyed the show next to Jeff Banks, the designer, while the supermodels Claudia Schiffer and Erin O'Connor towered over the fledgeling designers. Meanwhile, stars of the industry such as Matthew Williamson and Giles Deacon were happy to laud the students' collections. But, despite fashion being a pillar of British industry and the supposed “skills agenda”, not one representative of Her Majesty's Government attended. Richard Bradbury, the effusive chief executive of River Island, the event sponsor, surmised that fashion was considered too fluffy and frilly to count towards the balance of payments.

Tootsies caught in limbo

The credit crunch appears to have stymied efforts by Clapham House Group to sell its Tootsies restaurant chain. It is rumoured to have been in talks for weeks with Douglas Smillie, who, after selling the Henry J Bean's brand, bought the fledgeling Loco Locale chain. But the difficulty of securing bank finance appears to have left the £10 million deal in limbo.

Times Recommends

• Minister in talks with Saudis to protect creditors
• Premier Inn hits back in £29-a-room row
• Bankers hit back at 'populist' bonus supertax