PRESS DIGEST - British business - Oct 28

The Times

UBS BANKER TO REPLACE KINGSMAN AS HEAD OF UKFI

Robin Budenberg will become chief executive of UK Financial Investments. The senior investment banker at UBS (UBSN.VX) will replace Treasury mandarin John Kingman, who will join NM Rothschild. Budenberg beat John Crompton, head of capital markets at UKFI, to the position. While Budenberg's salary has yet to be disclosed, Kingman's was 143,000 pounds. The salary for Budenberg was thought to be a hurdle to his appointment as he could expect to earn several million pounds a year at UBS.

AMBITIOUS BARCLAYS RESHUFFLES AT THE TOP

Barclays (BARC.L) has stepped up its efforts to become one of the world's biggest investment banks by embarking on an executive reshuffle at Barclays Capital. Thomas King, previously with Citigroup, will join BarCap as joint head of corporate finance, while Joseph Gatto, who previously held the post, will be the new chairman of investment banking for the Americas. Both will report to BarCap's head of global investment banking, Hugh McGee.

TPG CHECKS OUT OF DEBENHAMS 500 MILLION POUNDS RICHER

American private equity house TPG sold its remaining shares in Debenhams (DEB.L) on Tuesday, taking the total profit on its investment to almost 500 million pounds. Traders said all of TPG's 9.34 percent stake in the retail group had been bought by a single, unnamed investor, which Debenhams is desperate to identify. Industry sources point to Och-Ziff, the U.S. hedge fund. The investor is expected to make itself known within days in accordance with stock market regulations. TPG's exit represents the end of a chapter in Debenhams' history, as it typified the "quick flip" business model that saw private equity buy listed businesses at a discount before loading them with debt and later refloating them at a huge profit.

The Daily Telegraph

CILLIT BANG MAKER RECKITT UPS TARGETS

Reckitt Benckiser (RB.L), the maker of Cillit Bang, has raised its full-year sales and profit growth targets after reporting a 25 percent increase in third quarter profits to 357 million pounds. The performance was helped by revenue growth of 15 percent in developing markets and strong global sales of its Suboxane heroin substitute drug. Chief executive Bart Brecht said the group has increased its full-year sales growth target to between six and seven percent at constant exchange rates, improving on previous targets of between five and six percent.

ARM PROFITS HELPED BY IPHONE DEMAND

ARM Holdings (ARM.L), the group that designs microchips for gadgets such as Apple's iPhone, has seen its third-quarter pre-tax profits drop 50 percent lower from 15.8 million pounds to 7.7 million pounds due to the charges linked to the closure of a factory in Belgium. Nevertheless, excluding the 6.5 million pound restructuring charge, profits before exceptional charges beat analysts' expectations at 24.3 million pounds. Chief executive Warren East calculated that soaring smartphone sales would help the group "at least" meet its full-year dollar revenue of 476 million dollars, in contrast to its recession-hit rivals.

SPORTS DIRECT HEADS FOR COURT OVER STAKES

Sports Direct (SPD.L) is taking legal action against failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing Singer & Fredlander and its administrator Ernst & Young after the latter seized control of the sportswear retailer's stakes in Blacks Leisure and JD Sports Fashion. In a statement released on Tuesday, Sports Direct said it would continue to "resist any effort by the administrator of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander to appropriate Sports Direct's strategic investments". The group said it was "in the process of taking an action", which is currently being pursued through the UK courts.

The Independent

BARRATT WORRIES ABOUT POST STRIKE

Barratt (BDEV.L), the housing developer, has urged investors looking to participate in the company's 720 million pound rights issue to respond quickly to avoid the effects of the national postal strike. Shareholders looking to take up the new shares have until 11 a.m. on Monday and have been advised to use alternative means "other than the ordinary post" and to use resources provided by the Internet and business directories to find a courier service.

HOPES GROW OF YELL DEBT DEAL TODAY

Yell (YELL.L), publisher of the Yellow Pages, announced a fresh delay in debt restructuring talks to give lenders until 5 p.m. on Wednesday to agree the plan that will allow it to push ahead with a 500 million pound equity issue. Its shares ended the day up as analysts predicted a deal would still be struck. Paul Richards at Numis said the short timeframe attached to the delay indicated Yell was confident the problem would be resolved.

The Guardian

BP'S QUARTERLY PROFITS NEARLY HALVE AND CITY IS DELIGHTED

Despite oil prices plummeting from the record highs of the past year, the stock market was cheered yesterday when BP (BP.L) reported a smaller-than-forecast fall in third quarter profits. Profits at the oil firm fell to 5.3 billion dollars in the period from July to September -- down from eight billion in the same period last year. The group, which is beginning to see positive effects of its turnaround programme, managed to cut annual costs by three billion dollars, meeting a target set by previous chief executive Tony Hayward. Shares rose five percent in yesterday's trading, closing at 594.4 pence.

LONDON LITE SURRENDERS IN FINAL BLOW OF FREESHEET WARS

Associated Newspapers is to close its loss-making free publication London Lite, as the capital's three-year free sheet battle draws to a close. The announcement has been widely expected, following the closure of rival The London Paper and the Evening Standard's decision to become a free sheet. London Lite's closure puts 36 jobs at risks and the paper has said consultations will be held before any decision on jobs is made.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants