PRESS DIGEST - British business - Oct 26

The Times

DEAL OF THE DAY

Shares in Rank (RNK.L), the bingo and casino operator, gained 2.25 pence to 102 pence on continued bid rumour despite the fact chief executive Ian Burke bought 20,000 of the company's shares at 103.75 pence per share. Burke would not have been allowed to buy the shares if he knew of any bid approach. Genting (GENT.KL) of Malaysia is fingered in the bid rumour as the likely predator.

TIDDLER TO WATCH

Michael Armitage, an analyst with Charles Stanley, has tipped Vanco VAN.L, the installer and designer of telecom networks, saying the company's shares had the capacity to double in a year and triple in three. The shares gained 8.5 pence to 180.5 pence, still shy of Armitage's price target of 300 pence, which assumes flat earnings.

CREDIT CRUNCH SPOILS DELEK'S SWISS PROPERTY DEAL

Delek Global Real Estate (DGRE.L), owner of Britain's NCP car parks, has pulled out of a 1.4 billion pound Swiss property deal, blaming it on the "continuing uncertainty in the global commercial property market". The deal, which was due to be completed in just two days' time, was struck at the end of July with an Israeli property company to buy 88 buildings in Switzerland from the retail group Jelmoli.

The Daily Telegraph

BOS SELLS EQUITY STAKE IN LUXURY FLATS

The Uberior unit of the Bank of Scotland has sold its stake in One Hyde Park, the flagship project of property entrepreneurs Nick and Christian Candy that invests in Knightsbridge development where flats sell for 20 million pounds. BoS has also sold the debt it arranged on the project to Eurohypo, a German lender.

LK BENNETT ON THE MARKET FOR 150 MILLION POUNDS

Linda Bennett has appointed the investment bank NM Rothschild to examine the strategic options for her fashion chain, LK Bennett. It is thought the move was partly motivated by changes to the capital gains tax rules announced by the Chancellor in his pre-Budget speech, and which will come into effect next year. LK Bennett, which has 74 stores and employs 600 people, is expected to attract interests from private equity firms such as Phoenix Equity Partners.

CAPITA LOSES CONTRACT FOR CONGESTION CHARGE

Transport for London has stripped Capita (CPI.L) of its contract to run London's Congestion Charge and replaced the company with IBM (IBM.N) from November 2009. The loss of the contract is a major embarrassment for Capita, which has won awards for the project. TfL said the IBM bid offered superior technology which would be vital as it seeks to introduce new automated ways to pay in the next few years. Capita's shares closed down 5.5 percent to 700 pence on the news.

The Guardian

SPORTS DIRECT DIRECTOR QUITS IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ROW