PRESS DIGEST - British business - March 2

The Sunday Times

RIVALS LINE UP FOR SOMERFIELD

Co-op and Asda (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are the front-runners to buy the supermarket Somerfield after both tabled bids for the whole of the grocery chain business. But with offers understood to be well under the 2.5 billion pounds sought by shareholders, it looks increasingly likely Somerfield will be broken up. Somerfield's consortium of shareholders, Robert Tchenguiz, Barclays Capital and Apax, is believed to want to sell the previously loss-making company as a whole, but industry sources are sceptical whether Co-op and Asda are interested in acquiring all of Somerfield's stores.

GALA MULLS MOVE TO SHUFFLE FOUR BILLION POUND DEBT

Gala Coral is mulling whether to renegotiate the terms of its 4.2 billion pound debt and has held talks with its bankers about adjusting its loan covenant. The gaming giant has been hit by a series of factors including a rise in duty for casinos, a change to the rules on gaming machines and the smoking ban. A company spokesman said: "The group continues to trade satisfactorily in a very challenging market and is ahead of its budget. The group constantly reviews its capital structure to ensure both a prudent level of debt and sufficient headroom to allow ongoing investment in the continued development of the business, both in the UK and internationally."

NEW NUCLEAR SITES

The government is to offer power companies a new range of potential sites to construct nuclear power stations. In the next few weeks the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency (NDA) is likely to announce an invitation for utility groups to come forward with plans for using part of its estate of 19 UK sites including Sellafield. The move by the NDA matches that made last year by British Energy (BGY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the company which owns and runs the rest of Britain's nuclear power stations.

The Sunday Telegraph

BABCOCK'S ANGEL EYES