Mr. Broad hopes the space will have a "mini-Bilbao effect, " drawing cultural tourists who flock to architectural icons like the Frank Gehry's titanium-covered Guggenheim Museum in Spain.

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But a lot of consultants' time has gone into drawing up this plan, which will in effect, push money and effort less where its wanted and more where its needed.

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Rather than running his showroom like an office, he ushers clients toward his 1960s Willy Rizzo desk, from which he offers coffee and cigarettes. (This might be the only store in London where customers are free to smoke.) The overall effect feels more like catching up with a friend in a drawing room than conducting a business transaction.

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Drawing attention to food safety issues of one multinational undoubtedly has a knock-on effect of promoting restaurants that exist as alternatives.

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