PRESS DIGEST - British business - June 20

The Times

HBOS CHIEF REVEALS FIVE BILLION POUNDS IN PROBLEM HOME LOANS.

HBOS HBOS.L gave a downbeat forecast of the housing market on Thursday. It disclosed that it has almost five billion pounds of problem home loans on its books. HBOS has predicted a nine per cent fall in property prices this year. Standard and Poor's has knocked HBOS's rating down from "stable" to "negative".

SHELL DEEPWATER PLATFORM ATTACKED AS NIGERIAN SEPARATISTS STEP.

An attack by armed separatists in speedboats has forced Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) to shut down Bonga, its largest offshore oil production unit in Nigeria, removing a tenth of the country's output. The raid caught oil operators off guard. As the deep water installations in the Gulf of Guinea had previously been though to be beyond the reach of militant groups.

MULBERRY

The luxury food brand Mulberry (MUL.L) has said that it is yet to see any signs of a consumer slowdown. This comes despite Mulberry reporting a 16 per cent fall in full-year pre-tax profits, which are down to 5.2 million pounds. The group has blamed higher marketing expenditure and said its sales rose by 14 per cent

The Daily Telegraph

IMPERIAL STUBS OUT 15 PER CENT OF UK JOBS

Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L) is to cut 15 per cent of its UK workforce as part of a cull of 2,440 employees globally. This comes after its acquisition of Spanish rival Altadis ALT.MC in January this year. The job reductions will take place over three years as the company integrates Altadis into the business.

M&S BIDS TO BOOST SALES WITH VOUCHERS

Marks and Spencer (MKS.L) has distributed nearly one million discount vouchers in a bid to boost sales before next month's trading update. More than 70,000 staff have been sent vouchers offering 20 per cent off clothing, food and housewares. Marks and Spencer shares have halved over the last 12 months despite the group posting profits of more than one billion pounds. The shares closed on Thursday at 342 pence after little change.

LAND OF LEATHER SALES PLUNGE 35 PER CENT

Sales at Land of Leather LAN.L, the sofa retailer, fell by 35 per cent in May on a like-for-like basis. The company said that it expects the appalling conditions in the furniture market to continue well into 2009. The company plans to raise 15 million pounds through a new share issue. It will place almost 30 million shares at 50 pence and consolidate its existing equity on a one for ten basis.

The Independent

CENTRICA WARNS OF LARGE RISES IN BILLS

Centrica (CNA.L), the owner of British Gas, left little doubt that another round of imminent energy bill hikes was in the offing when it said that wholesale gas and electricity prices had not receded. Industry observers have warned that energy companies will have to increase bills by up to 40 per cent, or absorb significant losses.

SAINSBURY'S COUNTS THE COST OF ITS WEBSITE CRASHING

Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) is counting the cost of its online grocery service being down for another day. The company has not made any deliveries since the evening of the 17 June. Sainsbury's delivers to an estimated 90,000 customers a week. Their average spending is around 80 pounds, which means the company has lost well over a million pounds since the technical hitch.

PHORM TO USE BT CUSTOMERS TO TEST PRECISION ADVERTISING SYSTEM

The first live trial of the Phorm internet advertising system is expected to start imminently with the participation of up to 10,000 BT (BT.L) broadband customers. BT is to launch the technology as "Webwise". BT's test will determine if the system can handle the large number of users and is due to end before the autumn.

The Guardian

PRICE INCREASES NIBBLE AWAY AT CADBURY SHARE

After raising its prices, Cadbury CBRY.L has lost share of the British chocolate market. However it said that Dairy Milk and Crème Egg brands were enjoying double digit growth. The company is sure to beat its four to six per cent first-half revenue growth. Cadbury's share of the British chocolate market slid 1.4 percentage points to 34.1 per cent but it remains the largest player.

PROVIDENCE AND CARLYLE ADMIT COURTING INFORMA

On Thursday, Providence Equity Partners and the Carlyle CYL.UL group emerged at the head of a private equity consortium courting Informa (INF.L). The two groups confirmed that they had approached Informa with a cash proposal. Analysts said they are expecting a bid of 500 pence a share. Shares in Informa closed up six pence or 1.4 per cent at 435 pence having fallen 41 pence the previous day.

BULLISH BROKER POWERS BG'S PERFORMANCE

BG Group (BG.L) bucked a falling market on Thursday, with a combination of vague takeover talk and an upbeat broker note. The company closed up nine pence at 12.43 pounds. Traders heard revival rumours of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) being interested in BG Group, and Shell's A share fell 29 pence to 19.88 pounds.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants