Pembroke: Hambro capitalist ventures out the door

UPHEAVAL is in the air in the world of venture capital. First Jon Moulton, leading light of Schroder Ventures, packed his bags last week following a difference of opinion over strategy. Now Gilbert Chalk, managing director of Hambro European Ventures, has done the same thing. He resigned yesterday after a run-in over future direction with the fund's investment bank parent. The whisper is that Mr Chalk was unhappy about the bank's attempts to strengthen its grip on the venture division.

Edmund Truell will take over as managing director with Michael Sorkin acting as chairman. Mr Chalk will stay a director of the bank.

SOTHEBY'S obviously has great confidence in the purchasing power of the average reader of GQ, the glossy lifestyle magazine for men. An advert in the current issue placed by Sotheby's International Realty of New York includes the movie-style Caritas Island. The four-acre private island off the coast of Stamford, Connecticut comes complete with 280- degree views of Long Island sound. And the des res itself boasts 10 bedrooms, eight baths, a salt water pool, a lap pool and a deep water dock for those little private yachts friends might drop by in. Staff can make themselves at home in the three-bedroom caretaker's cottage in the grounds

Sotheby's declines to identify the seller, or how much the island might fetch. But you can bet it is out of the reach of the average advertising executive who reads GQ.

STAFF AT Courtaulds, the chemical company, might like to start early on their fitness programmes now they know Howard Evans will be joining in June as finance director. For Mr Evans seems to be that rare thing, an exciting accountant. A partner at Price Waterhouse, he is a keen skier and keep-fit enthusiast. At PW he sent staff on adventure courses and once brought in the former champion hurdler David Hemery to help with team building.

Hemery, who now runs a business called Performance Consultants, had the bemused suits lying on the floor describing to their partners how they were going to get up. Whether he will get Courtaulds' chief executive, Sipko Huismans, to join in is another matter.

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RALEIGH, Britain's best-known bicycle company, is really starting to pedal. It has just announced the sponsorship of a new racing team and in March will back two intrepid cyclists who are planning a trip up the Yangzte river valley. Raleigh is providing Jill Cholmondeley and Fiona Dunlop with Raleigh Pioneers to undertake the 3,000-mile ride, where they will cycle in the footsteps of Isabella Bird, who undertook the journey nearly 100 years ago in spite of a bad back and heart.

The trip will be filmed for a BBC documentary and Ms Cholmondeley hopes to raise a substantial sum to help save the Asian rain forest.

DONALD TRELFORD, erstwhile editor of the Observer and currently acting editor of the Oldie while Richard Ingrams completes his book on Malcolm Muggeridge, is obviously taking his new line of work very seriously. Next month he is speaking at a 'Third Age of Marketing' conference on selling to the over-50s which is sponsored by the charity Age Concern.

'I don't know exactly what he will be speaking about,' says a spokesman for the Henley Centre, which is organising the event. 'Just about being over 50, I think.'