PRESS DIGEST - British business - June 23

Monday, 23 June 2008

The Times

LLOYDS TSB ASSESSES DRESDNER BANK PURCHASE AND SCOTTISH.

Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L) is thought to be working on plans to acquire Dresdner Bank DRSDgd.F from German insurance giant Allianz (ALVG.DE). Although Dresdner has been put on the market for six billion pounds, one option under consideration involves a straight swap of Lloyds' Scottish Widows arm for Dresdner's retail operations. The plans are believed to be at an early stage, with the British retail bank considering bidding for targets in Germany, possibly including Postbank (DPBGn.DE), the country's biggest customer bank, or Citigroup's (C.N) German operations.

FOXTONS

Jon Hunt, the founder of the Foxtons estate agency chain, is thought to be considering reinvesting in the company which he sold for 390 million pounds at the height of the property boom. Sources have said that the Mr Hunt could be lured back at a discount to help Foxtons to meet the interest payments on its substantial debt. However neither Mr Hunt nor BC Partners, the purchasers, have confirmed this.

TESCO

The supermarket giant Tesco (TSCO.L) has been accused of employing underhand tactics after it used a local retailer to "front" a planning application for a massive supermarket development. A planning application for an 80,000 square foot store in Barnstaple, Devon, was handed in with the name Brian Ford, a local retailer. This came despite Tesco having acquired the independent retailer a year earlier.

The Daily Telegraph

TRAVELODGE BOOKS MORE ROOMS

To meet growing demand for cheap accommodation, Travelodge (TVLG.PK) is planning to expand by spending 70 million pounds on new hotels. The group will use the money to buy two Swallow hotels in Edinburgh and Scarborough. It will also convert five hotels in London. Travelodge is owned by Dubai International Capital and currently operates 330 hotels and 22,500 rooms around the world.

THUS WOOS WHITE KNIGHTS

The board of Thus THUS.L, the telecoms group which is seeking to fight off an unwanted advance from Cable and Wireless (CW.L), is to meet to discuss its response to expressions of interest from possible "white knight" bidders. Colt Telecom (COLT.L), majority owned by Fidelity (FEV.L), and US telecoms group Global Crossing (GLBC.O) are both rumoured to be interested in making a bid for Thus. Thus rejected a 165 pence per share offer from Cable and Wireless earlier this month.