GET A GRIP ON YOUR PERFORMANCE

In this week’s issue of How To Spend It, Jerome Burne examines in the cover story whether a new health management plan can take executives to peak efficiency. “The fact is that when people in their 30s and 40s decide to start exercising again and aim to drop a few pounds, they invariably go about it in the wrong way,” Andy parker tells How To Spend It.

Parker realized there was a gap in the market. The result is Ki Performance, a new centre near London’s Oxford Circus whose stylish reception area might be fronting an advertising agency rather than an integrated system of high-tech physiological and biomechanical testing equipment designed to analyse how well senior executives are functioning and then optimise their performance.

Other highlights of the Bonus Issue of How To Spend It include:

•The Captain’s Table: The design of the £496m London Olympic stadium is the responsibility of Rod Sheard, senior principal architect at HOK. ”I associate pretty much all my stadiums with particular restaurants where I’d go with the clients to resolve any problems or issues that emerged during the project… Wembley makes me think of meeting at the Dorchester Grill with the Football Association’s Adam Crozier to generate some momentum when the project was stalling. For the Sydney Olympic Stadium, we caught the ferry to Doyles for some of the city’s best seafood - though no shellfish for me as I have an allergy - on Watson’s Bay. The Emirates Stadium… takes me back to Bibendum with the club’s board of directors.”

•An out-of-boutique experience: Luxury retailers are wising up to the needs of well-heeled professionals by offering deskside and out-of-hours shopping, writes Edwina Ings-Chambers. Efficiency is the key. For an increasing number of women (and men) who juggle demanding careers with parenthood, weekends are too precious for shopping for non-essentials and weekdays too pressured.

•In a blackberry and apple jam?: Blackberry, Smartphone and, now, IPhone... Jonathan Margolis investigates who will win the battle to be the boardroom phone of choice. “What is actually shaping up in 2008 is a three-way battle to be the super-phone of choice for senior corporate types, with three distinct tribes developing to differentiate aficionados of each genre”.

•The Oscars – The Smart Money: For gamblers, the Oscars aren’t just synonymous with frocks and tearful acceptance speeches. The identity of the big winners is the subject of a thriving betting market and odds-makers have been quoting prices on the 2008 contest since well before the Golden Globe nominations were announced in December. If you plan to have a wager, it’s vital to remember that it’s not about which film or performance you enjoyed most. Neither is critical acclaim necessarily a guarantee of vicorty. The nominees’ fates are in the hands of the relatively conservative, eldersly membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. The prejucdices and preferences of this singular electorate often defy expectations and exasperate film buffs hoping to see artistic brilliance rewarded.

•A Snowing Concern: Belinda Archer meets banker Charlie Berman, who’s investing in Verbier has turned his love of property, skiing and fine wine into a successful business. Some folk buy art. Others buy vintage cars, rare wine or obscure 18th century jewellery. But Charlie Berman, a senior investment banker at Citigroup, is choosing to spend a hefty portion of his disposable income on the smart Swiss resort of Verbier – Berman likes the town so much, he wants to buy it. “I like wind, food, art, architecture, skiing and parties. Verbier, the chalet and my other projects bring all of this together. They are completely correlated pastimes and interests”.

•Eclectibles: How To Spend It uncovers some devilish doodahs and funky knick-knackery at the click of a mouse, including the Lulu Guinness Dolly bag.

•Me and my Favourite Wine: Lord Linley, Antonio Pappano, Ruth Rogers and Martin Clarke talk to John Stimpfig about their particular passions for fine wines.

•The Magnificent Sevens: Thrill-seekers get plenty of bang for their bucks racing Caterham Sevens in the open-to-all academy, writes Minty Clinch.

•Sober up, Ladies: Avril Groom looks at how understated styling lends the latest women’s watches an austere beauty and quiet authority. “Women’s relationships with their watches are becoming as complex as those with their handbags”.

•Cool Hand Looks: They may have poker faces but these players certainly lay their fashion cards on the table. HTSI looks at couture by Valentino, Burberry, Sergio Rossi and hot diamonds by Stephen Webster.

•Technoplois: Jonathan Margolis cruises the highways and rat runs of Gizmo City with the grand wizard of gadgetology, including Wacom Bamboo’s new portable pen tablet.

•Bonnie Green Giant: Prospective members of the sublime Loch Lomond Golf Club should move fast and have the £75,000 joining fee at the ready. There are just 100 places before the list closes, says an envious John Gibb.

•Stallions in Morocco: In the foothills of the Atlas, where four-wheel drives fear to tread, James Henderson takes to the saddle for a weekend of North African male bonding.

•This Time it’s Personal: Studying form for the speculative enthusiast, the seriously epicurious and the six pack stereotype

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For further information, please contact:

Jo Crosby, Financial Times, 020 7873 3811 or jo.crosby@ft.com

Sophie Grut, Financial Times, 020 7873 3119 or sophie.grut@ft.com

About the Financial Times:

The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business newspapers, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing extensive news, comment and analysis, the newspaper is printed at 24 print sites across the globe, has a daily circulation of 452,448 (ABC figures, January 2008) and a readership of more than 1.3 million people worldwide. FT.com is one of the world’s leading business information websites, and the internet partner of the FT newspaper. FT.com is the definitive home for business intelligence on the web, providing an essential source of news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community. FT.com attracts 6.5 million unique users, generating 43 million page views. FT.com has 101,000 subscribers.