Business
Prior to his business success he very briefly joined both the Royal Navy and then the Metropolitan police.
In 2004, Martin Webb set up Britain's first charity pub. The profits from The Robin Hood pub in Brighton go to local charities. [6]
Martin co-founded the C-Side Leisure group with, the former Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown, Simon Kirby, whose portfolio grew to include many pubs, clubs and restaurants in and around Brighton. Martin himself is a keen Labour supporter.
His first venture was a design company, Copywrite, founded with business partner Simon Kirby, but it went bust within three years. Other ventures have included Dekoart, a web-based fine art digital printing company, and another pub company, Medicine Group, which had sites in Islington and the ever-fashionable Shoreditch in London. [4]
On 3 September 2016, he shut down The Dyke Pub and the following day reopened it as a second-hand furniture shop. This was done as permitted development, a planning loophole which allows owners to change the use of a business from A4 to A1 without the need to submit a planning application. [7]
Martin plans to reopen the Dyke as a smaller bar in the darker half of the building, whilst developing private accommodation above and in the garden. [8]
Brighton is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the city of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located 47 miles (76 km) south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The ancient settlement of "Brighthelmstone" was documented in the Domesday Book (1086). The town's importance grew in the Middle Ages as the Old Town developed, but it languished in the early modern period, affected by foreign attacks, storms, a suffering economy and a declining population. Brighton began to attract more visitors following improved road transport to London and becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. The town also developed in popularity as a health resort for sea bathing as a purported cure for illnesses.
Simon Robert Fuller is a British entrepreneur, artist manager, and film and television producer. He is the creator of the Idols TV format, including the UK series Pop Idol and the US series American Idol.
Gregory Dyke is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am. In the 1990s, he held chief executive positions at LWT Group, Pearson Television, and Channel 5.
The Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital is a children's hospital located within the grounds of the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton on the south coast of England. It provides outpatient services, inpatient facilities, intensive care and a 24-hour emergency care service for children referred by GPs and other specialists. It is managed by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.
Cains was a brewery in Liverpool, England, founded in 1858 by Robert Cain. The company merged with Peter Walker & Son in 1921 to form Walker Cains. Peter Walker & Son had a large brewery in Warrington so sold its Liverpool brewery to Higsons in 1923. Boddingtons of Manchester took over in 1985. In 1990, Whitbread acquired Boddington's brewing operations and closed the brewery. It was reopened by GB Breweries, who became part of Bryggerigruppen in 1991, and in 2002 was sold to Gardener-Shaw for £3.4 million.
Brighton and Hove Pride is an annual LGBT pride event held in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, organised by Brighton Pride, a community interest company (CIC) who promote equality and diversity, and advance education to eliminate discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) community.
Hastings Pier is a public pleasure pier in Hastings, East Sussex, England. Built in 1872 and enjoying its prime in the 1930s, it became a popular music venue in the 1960s. The structure suffered major storm damage in 1990, and was closed to the public for a time before closing completely in 2008, and 95% destroyed by a fire in 2010. Hastings Pier Charity oversaw a rebuilding project, with the pier reopening on 27 April 2016. The redeveloped pier won the 2017 Stirling Prize for architecture.
The Empire Mall is a shopping mall in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The anchor stores are Dillard's, Macy's, Dick's Sporting Goods, and JCPenney. The mall is owned by Simon Property Group.
Brighton i360 is a 162 m (531 ft) moving observation tower on the seafront of Brighton, East Sussex, England at the landward end of the remains of the West Pier. The tower opened on 4 August 2016. From the fully enclosed viewing pod, visitors experience 360-degree views across Brighton, the South Downs and the English Channel.
Simon Gerard Kirby, also known as Simon Radford-Kirby, is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown in 2010. In 2016, he was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister. He lost his seat at the 2017 general election.
Michael Birch OBE is a British computer programmer and entrepreneur. Birch has helped co-found several startups including Blab, BirthdayAlarm.com, Ringo.com, and social networking site Bebo. Birch sold Bebo, his most lucrative business, which he started with his wife, Xochi Birch, to AOL in March 2008 for $850 million. Later he purchased the company back for $1 million. Birch has made several large donations to charitable organizations, including charity:water.
Jonathan Paul Moulton is a British venture capitalist. He is the founder and managing partner of the private equity firm Better Capital, and is the former managing partner of the private equity firm Alchemy Partners. He is an active private investor and has been working in private equity since 1980. Moulton regularly writes, broadcasts and speaks on corporate finance and financial matters. His career has also included spells running Citicorp Venture Capital, Schroder Ventures (Permira) and the buy-out group of Apax, as well as being a director of numerous public and private companies.
The Brighton Marathon is an annual marathon in Brighton and Hove, England. It was first held on 18 April 2010 and has usually been held in April every year since. The inaugural Brighton Marathon was set up by former international athlete Tim Hutchings and local athlete Tom Naylor.
Brighton Hippodrome is an entertainment venue in Brighton, England. It was built in 1897 and closed in 2007.
The Astoria Theatre was a former cinema in Brighton, part of the English coastal city of Brighton and Hove. Built in 1933 in the Art Deco style for a local entertainment magnate who opened one of Brighton's first cinemas many years earlier, it was the first and most important expansion of the Astoria brand outside London. It initially struggled against the town's other "super-cinemas", but enjoyed a period of success in the 1950s and 1960s before rapid decline set in, culminating in its closure in 1977.
The Marlborough Pub and Theatre is a historic venue, situated at 4 Princes Street, Brighton. It has been associated, since the 1970s, with the LGBT community. The Marlborough's small theatre presents drama, cabaret and music throughout the year, including during the Brighton Fringe Festival, LGBT History Month and Brighton Pride Arts Festival. The pub reopened in 2021 as 'The Actors'.
Brighton Open Air Theatre, also known as B•O•A•T, is a British theatre built in Dyke Road Park, Brighton, which opened on 9 May 2015. It has been paid for not by corporate funding or public grants, but by private donations. The theatre is the legacy of the Brighton showman and construction manager, Adrian Bunting, who died of pancreatic cancer, aged 47, in May 2013.
Peter Kyle is a British Labour politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove since 2015. He has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology since 2023. He has previously served as Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice, Shadow Minister for Schools, and Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary.
The economic impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the United Kingdom has been largely disruptive. It has adversely affected travel, financial markets, employment, a number of industries, and shipping.
Madeira Terrace, Madeira Walk, Madeira Lift, and Madeira Shelter Hall are an 865 m long, Victorian cast iron stretch of seafront arches and walkway, with integral former shelter hall and a 3-stage lift tower, on Madeira Drive in Brighton, UK. The complex was built between 1890 and 1897 and designed by the Brighton Borough Surveyor, Philip C. Lockwood. The various structures have a common design style and colour scheme, and form a unified whole. Madeira Terrace, Madeira Walk, the lift tower and related buildings are listed Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England, having been upgraded in 2020.
