PRESS DIGEST - British business - July 11

The Times

BRITISH LAND FENDS OFF REMUNERATION REVOLT

A third of British Land (BLND.L) investors voted against the company's annual remuneration report. The property company's new chief executive Chris Grigg received a 242,500-share "golden hello" while executives were awarded bonuses worth between 200 percent and 500 percent of their salaries. The report was carried.

CENTRICA BEATS DEADLINE WITH 1.3 BILLION POUND BID

Centrica (CNA.L) has made a 1.3 billion pound takeover bid for Venture Production (VPC.L), the North Sea gas producer. The company also announced it has increased its stake in Venture to 29 percent. Centrica said the 845p-a-share all-cash offer represented a 45.7 percent premium to Venture's share price on the last day of trading before its intentions towards Venture became known. Centrica's chief executive Sam Laidlaw said a successful bid would give the enlarged group an enhanced position in the North Sea and a more diversified portfolio of assets.

THE SUN SHINES ON WAITROSE

Waitrose has benefited from the good weather with a 14 percent increase in takings in the week to last Saturday with sales of quiche, sandwiches, yoghurts and ice creams reaching record levels. Sales of seasonal flowers have also soared. Like-for-like sales at the supermarket are 5.3 percent higher for this financial year to date which began on February 1. Tony Solomons, retail director of the parent company John Lewis [JLP.UL], said: "Many sought to bring a bit of summer indoors."

The Daily Telegraph

FOXTONS CONTRACTS "UNFAIR"

The High Court has ruled that Foxtons, the estate agency, imposed unfair conditions on landlords for managing tenanted properties. The case was brought by the Office of Fair Trading after it received complaints about terms hidden in the small print and not presented in "plain and intelligible" language. The OFT's chief executive John Fingleton said the ruling sent out a clear message that contracts need to be written in clear and straightforward language and that unexpected terms should not be buried away. Foxtons said it has now amended its letting contracts to comply with the ruling.

JJB CHAIRMAN JONES PAYS BACK CONTROVERSIAL LOAN

The chairman of JJB Sports (JJB.L) has paid back the controversial loan he received from the founder of rival chain Sports Direct (SPD.L)>. Sir David Jones repaid the 1.5 million pounds to Mike Ashley on Thursday night in order to draw a line under the saga as a legal tit-for-tat ensued last week.

NORTHGATE BOOKS 195 MILLION POUND LOSS

Van hire company Northgate (NTG.L) has reported a 195.6 million pound full-year pre-tax loss on revenue up five percent to 609.6 million pounds. It has also scrapped its final dividend and announced new lending facilities of 880 million pounds. A placing and rights issue will raise a planned 114.4 million pounds. The company blamed the losses on impairments as the recession forced it to write down the value of its vehicles.

The Independent

MITIE REPORTS STRONG START TO THE YEAR