PRESS DIGEST - British business - March 4

The Times

ASDA DEMANDS EQUAL PAY FOR TEMPORARY STAFF

Asda (WMT.N), the UK's second-largest supermarket, has struck a landmark deal with the Unite union, committing 29 leading suppliers to pay temporary workers the same rate as permanent employees. It is also putting pressure on other grocers to do the same. Supermarket giant Tesco (TSCO.L) was criticised at its annual meeting last year for its treatment of temporary workers, with food retailers in general accused of fostering a labour system that "discriminates against migrants" according to Unite. A Tesco spokesman said the retailer has worked closely with the recent Equality and Human Rights Commission investigation and strives to "ensure that agency workers are treated decently and share good practice".

TIDDLER TO WATCH

Shares in Digital Barriers will begin trading on AIM on Thursday. The IT security group aims to build a business specialising in anti-terrorism technology and has attracted a number of well known City investors on to its register. Digital Barriers was founded by Tom Black, the former chief executive of Detica which was sold to BAE Systems for 539 million pounds in 2008.

DEAL OF THE DAY

AIM-listed investment group Brainspark (BSP.L) made its first step into the financial services industry on Wednesday, with the acquisition of a 6.66 percent stake in the small-cap broker Daniel Stewart (DAN.L). After previously buying into theme parks and television companies, Brainspark said the broker would help with its future investments. Brainspark finished the day's trading up 0.02 pence at 0.77 pence, while Daniel Stewart remained unchanged at 2.5 pence

NEED TO KNOW: HALIFAX ESTATE AGENCIES

The new owner of Halifax Estate Agencies, LSL Property Services (LSL.L), said it is expecting a "significant contribution" from its latest acquisition once the housing market returns to normal. LSL, which also owns Your Move, bought the Halifax property division from Lloyds Banking Group for one pound in January.

NEED TO KNOW: BT

Telecoms group BT (BT.L) (BT.L) has lost an important wifi contract with airports operator BAA. The contract has instead been awarded to American telecoms firm Boingo.

NEED TO KNOW: VODAFONE

Vodafone (VOD.L), the mobile phone group, has won a five-year contract with Deutsche Post (DPWGn.DE) in the Asia Pacific region to supply mobile voice and data services across 15 countries.

TEMPUS

Carillion (CLLN.L) (an unqualified buy)

International Personal Finance (IPF.L) (a brave buy)

The Restaurant Group (RTN.L) (hold)

The Daily Telegraph

KIRSH SET TO RENEW BATTLE WITH MINERVA

South African entrepreneur Nathan Kirsh looks set to oppose the appointment of Oliver Whitehead as chairman of Minerva MNR.L for a second time. Kirsh, who owns 29.9 percent of the property developer, successfully voted out Whitehead in December although he was immediately reappointed by Minerva, which described Kirsh's tactics as "deliberately disruptive". In a statement, Kirsh's vehicle Kifin said: "Following the general meeting, irrespective of the outcome, Kifin will engage directly with other shareholders in relation to its concerns about the governance and strategic direction of Minerva." Last week, the company reported it had returned to profit for the first time since 2007.

VIRGIN MEDIA ATTACKS BBC TRUST

Virgin Media [VMEDL.UL] chief executive is expected to tell a cable television conference that Project Canvas, the proposed combination of video-on-demand content into one broadcast format, would leave the BBC "as a de facto gatekeeper of the digital world". Neil Berkett will also question the independence of a consultation authored by the BBC Trust, which he says refused to address their concerns and instead delivered a "shameless whitewash". Project Canvas has won approval from ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT and Talk Talk, but BSkyB has already attacked the legitimacy of the BBC Trust consultation.

QUESTOR

Standard Chartered (STAN.L) (buy)

ITV (ITV.L) (ITV.L) (avoid)

The Independent

TAYLOR WIMPEY CUTS LOSSES

Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) the house builder, halved its annual losses to 700 million pounds last year, down from 1.97 billion pounds the year before. Chief executive Pete Redfern said both the UK and U.S. housing markets enjoyed "significant stabilisation" over 2009. Despite the news, the company said it was still planning to press ahead with the closure of the second of two final-salary pension schemes to current members.

WHITBREAD POACHES EASYJET BOSS AS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Andy Harrison, chief executive of no-frills airline easyJet, has been recruited by leisure group Whitbread (WTB.L) as successor to retiring chief executive Alan Parker. The appointment of Harrison, previously the chief executive of motoring services company RAC, came as a surprise to analysts ahead of Whitbread's pre-close trading update due on Thursday. The update could see the group's full-year pre-tax profits exceed market expectations of between 230 million pounds and 241 million pounds. Harrison, having expanded easyJet's fleet from 100 aircraft in 2005 to 187 today, paid tribute to Whitbread's "great history and strong culture".

INVESTMENT COLUMN

Arriva (ARI.L) (hold)

Carillion (CLLN.L) (buy)

Lavendon Group (LVD.L) (buy)

The Guardian

ITV WILL TAKE NEW LOOK AT PAY-TV CHANNEL PLAN

ITV (ITV.L) reported a 2009 profit of 25 million pounds on Wednesday, after reporting a 2.7 billion pound loss in 2008. Despite a nine percent fall in advertising revenue year-on-year, and a seven percent fall in total revenue year-on-year, the broadcaster said it closed the year strongly, outperforming the total TV advertising market, which fell 11 percent. Outlining plans for a "day zero" revamp of the group, chairman Archie Norman pledged to take a new look at a move into pay-TV services. Norman said the strategic review would be carried out by incoming chief executive Adam Crozier with support from consultants LEK.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants.