Latest news with #MarkWong
South China Morning Post
20-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Macau's most opulent lodging, The 13 Hotel and Casino, up for sale again
Touted as one of the world's most expensive hotels, The 13 Hotel and Casino in Macau has been put up for sale again by its creditors, as a tourism boom looks to lift overall business in the world's largest gaming hub. Advertisement Formerly owned by Hong Kong businessman Stephen Hung who appeared on the Netflix show Bling Empire , the 22-storey lodging located in Macau's southernmost district of Coloane was estimated to be worth HK$2.4 billion (US$309 million) last year when it was first launched for tender. The deadline for the new public tender for the 199-room hotel is May 19, according to JLL. The asset, which features a striking red facade, is currently held by a bank, according to the property consultancy. 'It's a super-luxury hotel,' said Mark Wong, senior director at JLL in Macau. 'The hotel market is recovering after the Covid-19 pandemic , and tourists are coming back quickly.' This sale would mark the second attempt by the undisclosed lender to find a buyer for The 13 Hotel and Casino, following a similar tender in March 2024. Advertisement Hopes for a successful tender appear to be high this time. The hotel's sale has generated 'many inquiries already', Wong said.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Dragon's Den turned me down but my alcohol-free beer brand is worth £12m now'
Not every business has an 800-year-old text from a Japanese monk at its heart, but it was just the connection Mark Wong needed to mesh ancient traditions with modern tech for Impossibrew, the alcohol alternative company he founded in 2021. As the alcohol-free beer market continues to grow in the UK, Impossibrew has sold over 1 million cans in the last 12 months and recorded around £500,000 alone from last month's Dry January sales. Turnover was just shy of £3m in 2024, with pre-money valuation standing at £12m ahead of a second fundraising round in January. All this after Wong was turned down for investment by Dragon's Den in 2022. Read More: How Jeff Dewing went from bankruptcy to £70m fortune His journey to beer brewing started at Durham University where he was studying philosophy. He opted for financial planning in his year out and, thinking of a potential future career with drinks giant Diageo (DGE.L), Wong bartended for seven months and became one of the highest scorers at the Wine Scholar Guild. However, as a 21-year-old and enjoying university social life, a health check up then revealed that he had the liver of 'someone consistent in their forties, not early twenties.' 'They aren't sure whether it was genetic but told me it wasn't a good idea to continue [drinking],' says Wong. It was the catalyst to pursue the Impossibrew journey. On a trip to his native Hong Kong, he visited a herbal medicine shop, delved into research and discovered a Japanese text from 1211, the Kissa Yojoki, which detailed natural herbs with relaxation properties. 'It was at a time when they were trying to find an alternative, teas and plants which could do more for you than just the flavour,' adds Wong. 'It was kind of like a guide to how to live better with nature and plants. 'It was a connection of quite a few dots and we looked to see if we could extract the early tradition and apply it in a modern context.' Read More: The entrepreneurs making the next generation of 'premium' nappies Back at Durham he partnered with Dr Paul Chazot, a bioservices professor, who saw the student's vision and allowed him to use his lab to concoct early experiments. 'There were people there thinking outside of the box,' says Wong They created Social Blend, a patent-pending technology combining Chazot's expertise in pharmaceuticals with the tradition of Wong's herbal medicine heritage and plants including organic ashwagandha root extract. 'We wanted to have that first choice,' says Wong. 'It was a problem I had where I couldn't find that choice. It was either you are drinking or aren't, with no middle option." Wong then won a university competition, although the £10,000 prize money was spent with a branding agency who failed with their brief. Lacking funds was 'a bit of a hiccup', says Wong. Instead they set up for pre-order, a three-month lead time and handed out to friends and family before launching in 2021's Dry January. Two crowdfunds have proved successful; the first after Wong went on Dragon's Den accrued £800,000 with 700 investors. A Crowdcube last month attracted 1,200 investors and Impossibrew reached its target of £500,000 just 35 minutes into priority access phase. It surpassed £1.2m within 24 hours of public launch. Based in London, the four-strong company has worked with breweries in the north of the UK due to the water quality, renting space from craft brewers and mimicking the brewing style to avoid watering down the beer. Impossibrew still sells 96% of its products online, while partnering with around 100 independent stockists. 'The way we see it now is a three-way journey; the supplementary option where no one cared for flavour, then some of the craft players came in to up the quality, as well as Guinness Zero," adds Wong. Read More: 'My sofa took six months to arrive — so I built a £20m business' "The adoption is much faster and what we are seeing now is the third phase of alcohol-free evolution, of the functional side where brands are focusing on things that do more for you in the same way that Red Bull split themselves away from the traditional carbonated soft drink industry and were delivering more.' With Frazer Thompson, founder of English vineyard Chapel Down (CDGP.L), as one of the advisors and investors on board with Wong, Impossibrew's goal based on market growth is now to double sales annually. 'A few years ago, non-alcoholic drinks were seen as the gluten-free bread of alcohol in a way. It didn't pick up the mainstream traction,' says Wong. Anything is possible now for Impossibrew.I've always loved Dragon's Den and it looked for me to be easier to run a business than it actually was. Our products are full natural beers and no artificials, but we didn't realise that one of the batches could get a bacterial infection. It was expecting the unexpected and learning as much as you can. The key learning was that no matter how scrappy things could be, it could work if you are running with limited resources and trying to be creative to deliver as much value as possible without diverting resources elsewhere. Read more: Meet the siblings who have grown UK's best-selling probiotics brand into £24m firm 'I went from photography to owning a £26m wedding venue business' How premium tea brand Birchall has shunned price war for qualitySign in to access your portfolio
