PRESS DIGEST - British business - March 26

The Times

BONUS FOR HBOS EXECUTIVES AS BANK'S SHARES RISE

Shares in HBOS HBOS.L soared a record 15 percent, giving the bank's top executives a 1.7 million pound profit on stock they bought last week. The group saw the largest one-day increase since HBOS was created by the merger of Halifax with the Bank of Scotland in 2001. Rumours that were spread by rogue traders last Wednesday were responsible for HBOS shares plummeting by 17 percent, which wiped more than three billion pounds off the bank's value.

TCHENGUIZ AND APAX DIVIDED

Apax and Robert Tchenguiz are believed to be at loggerheads over whether to sell Somerfield, which is up for auction but has only attracted one bid. Sources suggest Tchenguiz is keen to press ahead with the disposal because he is sitting on millions of pounds of losses from soured bets on Mitchells & Butlers (MAB.L) and J Sainsbury (SBRY.L). Apax is prepared to put the sale on hold if it does not achieve a decent price for the group's 955 stores.

CLIPPER COUNTS COST OF WINTER

Clipper Windpower (CWPR.L) announced it has raised more than 25 million pounds through a share placing. The news from the wind turbine maker comes following inclement winter weather, which had affected its production plans, and caused a four-week delay to work on its turbine drivetrains.

The Daily Telegraph

BT TO EMPLOY 300 FOR NEW INDIAN CENTRE

BT Group (BT.L) announced it would hire around 300 staff for a global operation centre as it seeks to outsource more operations to emerging markets to keep costs down. The new facility will support BT's procurement, legal, finance and human resource operations, and will be based at Gurgaon, near Delhi. Simon Milner, former BBC policy adviser, has been appointed as BT's first director of media and convergence policy, as the former telecoms monopoly takes on Virgin Media (VMED.O) and BSkyB (BSY.L) in digital television.

REVIEW MAY AXE AIB'S UK BOARD

Allied Irish Banks (ALBK.I) is conducting a corporate governance review that could see the board of its UK subsidiary scrapped. The move is threatening to spark a row among the group's top executives. A decision has yet to be made, but the review is believed to have triggered board members' concerns about corporate governance issues at the Irish lender.

BID TALK AS LAURA ASHLEY RAISES MOSS BROS STAKE

Laura Ashley (ALY.L) has again increased its stake in Moss Bros (MOSB.L), fuelling speculation that it could be plotting a bid for the menswear retailer. Currently, Moss Bros is subject to an indicative 42 pence-a-share takeover approach from Bauger, which owns 28.75 percent of the chain. However, Laura Ashley has been gradually increasing its holding and is thought to have not yet ruled out bidding for the under fire retailer.

The Independent

CRUNCH TIME FOR TECH START-UPS AS 3I QUITS SECTOR