Friday September 4, 03:54 AM
Glance-PRESS DIGEST - British business - Sept 4
The Times
BULLRING STAKE SELL
Property investment group Land Securities (LSE: LAND.L - news) is close
to securing a deal
with the Australia Future Fund over the sale
of its large share in the Bullring shopping centre in
Birmingham. The company is keen on offloading its 33 percent
stake in the retail development for 210 million pounds, in a
deal that could be finalised as soon as Monday. Hammerson (LSE: HMSO.L - news) is the owner of the other two-thirds of the shopping
centre.
STAGECOACH BOOKS ITS SEAT AS SPANISH GROUP RAISES BID FOR
NATIONAL EXPRESS (LSE: NEX.L - news)
The Spanish-led consortium eyeing National Express
has raised its bid to 765 million pounds, more than 10 percent
higher than the offer rejected by the struggling transport
operator last week. The 500 pence a share offer from the Cosmen
family and CVC Capital Partners is described as final and is
conditional on receiving a recommendation from the board. The
consortium has also struck a separate agreement to sell National
Express's bus and rail divisions to Stagecoach if the
deal goes ahead. Shares in National Express shot up 54 pence to
146 pence.
PARTNERS AT SJ BERWIN FEEL PINCH AS CASH IS CONSERVED
Falling revenue prompted SJ Berwin, the City law firm, to
suspend profit distribution to partners for six months. The
group, which suffered a 49 percent drop in partners' profits in
2008, made its last quarterly compensation in February and
postponed scheduled payments in May and August. Rob Day, SJ
Berwin's interim managing partner, described the move as 'a
better solution than alternatives such as increased bank
borrowing'. The firm will review the suspension in October,
before the next scheduled payment in November (Dusseldorf: NBXB.DU - news) .
The Daily Telegraph
SHIRE BOOSTED BY FDA APPROVAL
British drugmaker Shire (LSE: GB00B0KQX869.L - news) was boosted on Thursday
after U.S. regulators approved its extended-release
hyperactivity drug Intuniv, which is now expected to go on sale
in American pharmacies in November. The drug's availability was
pushed back in July, when the Food and Drug Administration
released a so-called complete response letter, after a series of
labelling discussions. Shire said at the time it still expected
to launch the drug, which is designed to be given to children
aged six to 17, before the end of 2009.
BOVIS RAISES 60 MILLION POUNDS TO BUY CHEAP LAND
Bovis Homes has staged a 60 million pounds
fund-raising via a share placing to give it firepower to snap up
cheap land. The Kent-based builder placed up to 12.1 million
shares, priced at 500 pence each, slightly below the company's
closing price on Wednesday of 508.50 pence, through Deutsche
Bank and RBS Hoare Govett. It cited a 92 percent jump in private
sales in the first six months of the year and said it was well
positioned to take advantage of the 'increasing number' of
opportunities to invest in residential land assets.
PLAYTECH A WINNER FROM ONLINE POKER
Playtech (LSE: PTEC.L - news) saw its profits jump by a record 37
percent in the six months to June 30, boosted by growing demand
for online poker. The Aim-listed gambling software provider said
profits in the period came in at 32.8 million euros compared to
24 million euros last year, while revenue rose to 56.7 million
euros compared to 51.6 million euros a year earlier. Shares in
the group added 15 pence to 347.75 pence after it announced that
its deal to develop software for William Hill (LSE: WMH.L - news) 's gambling website
was back on track. Playtech said that an 8.9 cents interim
dividend will be paid on October 23.
The Independent
HMV BUYS HALF OF 7DIGITAL TO DRIVE ONLINE EXPANSION
HMV has acquired a 50 percent stake in the online
store 7digital, in a 7.7 million pounds deal that is expected to
bolster its presence in the music and book downloads market.
Under the terms of the deal, HMV could negotiate a full
takeover, depending on performance, after 2011. The company also
reported a 1.8 percent year-on-year drop in sales during the 18
weeks to August 29. Like-for-like sales in the UK rose 1.7
percent but the troubled international business declined 12.6
percent. Chief executive Simon Fox remained upbeat, describing
the results as 'a pleasant start in a tough consumer
environment'.
WINCANTON WINS 275 MILLION POUNDS WORTH OF M&S CONTRACTS
Wincanton (LSE: WIN.L - news) , the logistics group, has secured three
deals worth 275 million pounds in revenues over the next five
years to manage Marks & Spencer's home delivery network
for furniture and large items as well as general merchandise
distribution in the south of England. The contracts are part of
the retailer's 400 million pounds drive to improve its IT and
supply chain networks after moving attention from its store
refurbishments. M&S has also renewed an existing agreement under
which Wincanton manages its shop fittings and store equipment.
LOW & BONAR ANNOUNCE NEW CEO AS SALES IMPROVE
Low & Bonar, the specialist materials supplier,
appointed Steve Good as its new group chief executive on
Thursday with immediate effect. The company's former chief
operating officer will replace Paul Forman, who quit the company
to head Coats. The group also said it had maintained the
encouraging improvement in sales patterns recorded in the period
up to July 13.
The Guardian
POWER WORKERS BACK 'FOREIGN LABOUR' STRIKE
Power station and refinery workers in Britain are understood
to have balloted in favour of strike action over the hiring of
cheaper foreign labour, in a move that is expected to affect the
operations of companies such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell (Amsterdam: RDSA.AS - news) . Unions accuse employers of breaking pay promises by
hiring foreign workers on lower wages. The seven sites at risk
are: BP's Forties pipeline facility at Grangemouth; the Ineos
refinery at Grangemouth; Sellafield; Shell's refinery at
Stanlow; RWE's power plants at Staythorpe in Nottinghamshire and
Aberthaw in South Glamorgan; and Chevron (NYSE: CVX - news) 's refinery in Pembroke.
EASYJET TO CUT 360 FLIGHTS A WEEK
EasyJet (LSE: EZJ.L - news) has announced plans to drop 360 flights a
week from Luton and East Midlands, with a loss of more than 240
jobs. Europe's second-largest no-frills operator also revealed
on Thursday it is looking to axe 40 positions among pilots and
cabin crew at its operations in Belfast, Bristol, Newcastle and
Stansted. The company blamed the Luton cutbacks on the airport's
Spanish owner, Abertis (Madrid: BACE.MC - news) , and the local council for not
accepting a reduction in landing charges. 'I am deeply
disappointed that Abertis and Luton borough council have not
taken a more far-sighted approach which would have protected
jobs at Luton,' said chief executive Andy Harrison.
GO-AHEAD SAYS DECLINE IN PASSENGERS WILL COST MORE JOBS
Go-Ahead Group warned on Thursday the loss of
further jobs at its rail division was 'inevitable', as it
reported a 60 percent drop in annual pre-tax profits, down from
103.1 million pounds to 42 million pounds. Britain's busiest
train operator, which in the past has cut 300 staff, said it
expected underlying fare income to be modest over the next year,
as a result of weaker demand and a reduction in ticket prices at
all UK franchises from January. Revenues grew 6.7 percent to
2.35 billion pounds, helped by the inclusion of full-year
contributions from the London Midland and Gatwick Express rail
services for the first time.
Prepared for Reuters by Durrants
Keywords: PRESS DIGEST British business Sept 4
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