PRESS DIGEST - British Sunday Business - Aug 2

Durrants corrects item on Friends Provident/Resolution in Independent on Sunday section, to make clear Resolution is also interested in insurance assets of Lloyds, in which UKFI holds a stake

Sunday August 2 2009

Mail on Sunday

RONNIE GIVES DOSSIER TO FSA

Former JJB (JJB.L) chief executive Chris Ronnie is planning to hand a dossier to the Financial Services Authority and call for an investigation into the troubled sports retailer. Ronnie is said to be fighting back after being made a scapegoat for JJB's decline and this latest move is likely to heat up what is becoming one of the City's most acrimonious arguments in recent times. Ronnie was troubled by speculation linking him to rival retailer Sports Direct's (SPD.L) owner Mike Ashley and a severe decline in sales, but maintains all his decisions as chief executive were backed by the board and chairman Sir David Jones in particular.

HILL AND LADBROKES ODDS-ON FOR OFFSHORE

William Hill (WMH.L) and Ladbrokes (LAD.L) are expected to disclose plans to move their online sports and phone betting operations offshore due to their opposition to the UK's gambling duty. Hill and Ladbrokes, two of the country's largest bookmakers, pay 15 percent betting tax while offshore rivals such as Paddy Power and Victor Chandler are paying closer to 1.5 percent. Hill are likely to announce the plans to move to Gibraltar with the company's interim results on Tuesday, with the company already having its online casino gambling division based there. Ladbrokes is said to prefer to remain in the UK, but sources have admitted it would have to respond to any move by William Hill.

LEISURE GROUP PROFITS DOWN 27 PERCENT

A&S Leisure has announced its profits fell by 27 percent last year after being negatively affected by the smoking ban, higher taxes and the credit crunch. The casino and greyhound racing track owner saw turnover fall from 23.4 million pounds to 21.5 million pounds in the year to the end of September 2008, while pre-tax profits fell from 3.3 million pounds to 2.4 million pounds. A&S continued to support local community, social and welfare organisations despite the fall in profits, although its donations halved from 53,000 pounds to 25,000.

The Sunday Times

GUARDIAN CHIEFS PLOT CLOSURE OF OBSERVER

Guardian Media Group is said to be considering the closure of its Sunday newspaper The Observer, as part of a cost cutting drive to counter a drastic fall in the group's finances. Members of the Scott Trust, the charitable foundation that owns GMG, are said on July 6 to have discussed a plan to replace the Sunday national newspaper with an Observer branded weekly magazine published on a Thursday. GMG executives agreed to put the scheme on hold while an alternative could be worked out. According to insiders a decision on the Sunday national paper's format is expected at the next trust meeting, to be held next month.

WAITROSE IN HIGH-STREET ASSAULT

Waitrose is to harness the marketing power of its sister department store John Lewis in an effort to poach customers from rivals. The supermarket chain will now sell John Lewis kitchen and home-ware products on its website and in around 18 of its larger stores. This month's figures from the research group TNS are expected to show Waitrose generated double digit sales growth during the past three months, exceeding all its rivals. The company's strong performance was driven by its Waitrose essential's range that now accounts for 16 per cent of the company's sales.

CANDOVER FACES DEBT TALKS

Private equity group Candover has been forced into restructuring negotiations over the debts of its mail delivery business DX Services. Candover is in discussion with its lenders over a range of options likely to lead to a dilution of the firm's majority stake in DX. Candover is thought to favour an injection of cash into the business in return for a partial debt writedown by its lenders. The banks may however, adopt a more aggressive approach during negotiations and propose a deal that sees the lenders taking a bigger stake in the company and possibly even take overall control of the mail company.

SHAREWATCH

BT (BT.L) - [We're steering clear]

The Sunday Telegraph

RETAILERS LINE UP FOR MERGER BONANZA

The Bibby Line Group, which owns 51 per cent of Costcutter, has launched a takeover bid for Nisa-Today's, Europe's largest independent buying group. The bid was rejected, with Nisa's board writing to its members: "The approach represented a significant undervaluation of Nisa-Today's and would have meant the demutualization of the company." Sources close to the deal say that the bid valued Nisa- Today's at between 50 and 75 million pounds.

FIVE GETS ADVICE ON ITV-TIE UP

TV broadcaster Five is believed to have talked with advisers regarding a potential deal with ITV (ITV.L). Though ITV is in search of a new chief executive, Five is said to be keen to have a deal in place in the event that an opportunity arises. Several candidates for the ITV position are believed to view a deal with Five as an avenue worth exploring. A deal could see ITV forced by competition authorities to sell off its sales house, with ITV currently in control of 46 per cent of the UK television advertising market.

42 PER CENT PAY CUT FOR HMV CHIEF

HMV (HMV.L) chief executive Simon Fox has seen his pay reduced by 42 per cent. Fox took home 579,000 pounds this year, down from 992,000 pounds last year, with his bonus reduced from 498,000 pounds to 73,000 pounds after the music and video retailer failed to hit profit growth targets. The company hopes that a restructuring of its executive incentive scheme for the 12 months to April 2010 will lead to improved performance over the next year.