PRESS DIGEST - British business - Nov 11

The Times

LLOYDS ANNOUNCES ANOTHER 5,000 JOBS WILL GO

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) announced it is to axe a further 5,000 jobs in its administration, insurance and mortgage divisions. This will bring the total number of jobs cut to 12,500 since the takeover of HBOS in January. Lloyds said it is targeting synergies of at least 1.5 billion pounds ($2.50 billion) from the merger and has forecast that by the end of the year it will have achieved annualised cost-savings of 750 million pounds. Unite, the union, said the cuts demonstrated "the depth of corporate arrogance within this taxpayer supported bank".

HSBC AND BARCLAYS SUGGEST THE 'BIGGEST JOLT HAS PASSED'

Britain's biggest banks, HSBC (HSBA.L) and Barclays (BARC.L), revealed notable improvements in underlying profits on Tuesday. There is also evidence that the rise in personal and commercial defaults is slowing. Michael Geoghegan, HSBC's chief executive, said that "the biggest jolt has now passed" but expressed concerns about rising unemployment levels in the West. Barclays, meanwhile, now expects bad debts to peak a few months earlier than previously thought. Its statutory pre-tax profit for the first three quarters of 2009 was 4.5 billion pounds, 19 percent lower than last year. HSBC does not disclose profit figures when it announces results.

DES AND DAVE CHECK BACK INTO CITY WITH BOUTIQUE HOTEL

D&D London, the company formerly known as Conran Restaurants, is to return to the hotel business by developing a small chain of boutique hotels. Initially D&D is teaming up with property developer Frogmore to create a luxury 80-room hotel in the Moorgate area of London. D&D sold its 50 percent stake in the Great Western Hotel in 2006, vowing to return to the market as soon as possible and experts estimate the cost of the new Moorgate development will be in the region of 50 million pounds.

The Daily Telegraph

YELL'S 660 MILLION POUND RIGHTS ISSUE HAS 85 MILLION POUND FEE

Yell (YELL.L), which has just raised 660 million pounds in a rights issue, will have to pay bankers 85 million pounds in fees. Yell owes lenders 60 million pounds after they accepted the company's request to extend 3.8 billion pounds of debts until 2014. Meanwhile, the four banks which arranged and underwrote the rights issue will collect 25 million pounds. Adviser Nigel Himsworth of NM Rothschild said the fee was lower than Yell had expected to pay. Yell recently revealed a 66 per cent fall in first-half pre-tax profits, to 38.7 million pounds.

NATIONAL EXPRESS PREPARES HEAVILY DISCOUNTED 370 MILLION POUND.