PRESS DIGEST - British business - Sept 29

The Times

JESSOPS IN DEBT SWAP

Photographic retailer Jessops JSP.L will come under the control of its bank, pension fund and an employee benefit trust in a debt-for-equity swap deal that is expected to leave shareholders with only 100,000 pounds. The company said the move would safeguard 2,000 jobs. HSBC (HSBA.L) will take a 47 percent holding in the group in return for foregoing 34 million pounds in debt.

BARCLAYS READY TO POUNCE AS STANDARD LIFE WALKS AWAY FROM BANKING

Barclays (BARC.L) has entered discussions to buy the banking arm of Standard Life (SL.L) as part of its drive to acquire businesses while its competitors struggle to shore up their finances after the economic slowdown. Standard Life is in talks with several parties, but Barclays is believed to be the most likely bidder. The deal could be valued at between 200 million pounds to 300 million pounds, according to City rumours on Monday, although analysts said such a price was generous. Standard Life, which employs 300 people in Edinburgh, reported a profit of 9.5 million pounds in 2008.

POOR TRADING AT GLOBE PUBS CAUSES PROFITS TO DRAIN AWAY

Globe Pub Company has posted a first-quarter loss of 203.3 million pounds after being forced to write down the value of its estate amid continued poor trading conditions. The struggling tenanted pub group, which has been hit by the smoking ban, the recession, high beer tax and cheap drink in supermarkets, said that a review of the carrying value of its 421 pubs had led to a 199.1 million pounds impairment fee. In the three months to the end of August, beer sales in the group declined by a further eight percent year-on-year. The company, founded by Robert Tchenguiz, said the continued inability to access capital meant it was unable to invest in refurbishing any pubs.

The Daily Telegraph

ARSENAL SUFFERS PENALTY KICK OVER VACANT FLATS

London & Stamford Property (LSP.L) has announced the acquisition of almost 150 flats for a knock-down price from Arsenal Football Club's Highbury Square development. The acquisitive real estate group stepped in with a cut-price offer after Malaysian group Fraser & Neave abandoned plans to acquire the apartments. Analysts say the club has sold the flats in the North Stand of its former stadium at a discount to market value of almost 20 percent. Guernsey-based London & Stamford has paid 41.2 million pounds for 142 one and two-bedroom flats, four three-bedroom flats and 98 parking bays.

ORANGE TO START IPHONE PRICE WAR

On Monday, Orange [ORNGF.UL] became the first mobile company to break into O2's exclusive deal to sell iPhones in the UK, in a move that is expected to prompt a price war for the hugely popular device at Christmas. Several other operators have entered discussions with Apple in a bid to win the right to sell the phone, with Virgin Mobile VM.N and Vodafone (VOD.L) understood to be the frontrunners in the race. Tom Alexander, chief executive of Orange UK, said: "Getting the iPhone has been top of my to-do list since I joined Orange and I am delighted that we've been able to get it."

ALBEMARLE STRIKES RECESSION GOLD

Albemarle & Bond (ALBH.L) announced a surge in profits after a jump in gold prices and more consumers borrowed against their valuables in a bid to beat the recession. The pawnbroker said pre-tax profit increased 50 percent to 14.6 million pounds in the year to the end of July, while revenue jumped 18 percent to 55.5 million pounds. The company, which lifted its final dividend by 44 percent to 6.5 pence a share, plans to open 10 to 15 new pawn shops in 2009. Chairman Greville Nicholls said the group's customer base remains the same. "We haven't seen a lot of middle class people coming to pawn their Rolexes", he said.

The Independent

BORDERS UK TO CLOSE STRUGGLING BOOKS ETC STORES

Borders UK has revealed it is set to close the struggling Books Etc and Border Express brands but said there are no "imminent plans" to shut down any Borders stores. A spokesperson for the bookseller, which completed a management buyout backed by the retail restructuring specialist Hilco in July, said: "I can confirm that our future strategy is single-brand." The troubled retailer is understood to be particularly keen to restructure leases on its bigger outlets, which could involve sub-letting floor space, putting in more concessions or negotiating a cut in space with landlords.

S&SE SEES PROFITS UP "SUBSTANTIALLY"

Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE.L) has said it expects profits to be "substantially higher" compared to 2008. It said the figure for the half year to the end of September compared with "exceptionally low" profits a year earlier, when the surplus dived 54 percent to 303 million pounds, hit by delayed price hikes. In a trading statement on Monday, the owner of Southern Electric, Swalec and Scottish Hydro Electric, said it expected a "moderate increase" in profits for the year to March 31, plus a dividend increase of at least four percent more than inflation.

PHONES4U POSTS FALLING PROFITS

Phones4U [PHONE.UL] reported a 43 percent slump in pre-tax profits to 12.9 million in 2008, after it incurred restructuring costs worth of 8.7 million pounds. However, the 450-store mobile phone specialist saw its sales increase by three percent for the year to December 31 2008. Tim Whiting, the company's chief executive, underlined it had struck an IT outsourcing deal and restructuring of its workforce in 2008.

The Guardian

GLAXO LOOKS TO NEWER MARKETS WITH LUCOZADE LAUNCH IN CHINA

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) has signed a deal with President (Shanghai) Trading to distribute Lucozade in China, as part of an expanding drive into emerging markets. The multinational said it hoped the launch of the energy drink into the world's most populous country, which is planned for early 2010, would be followed by other markets, including Mexico, Brazil and the United States. It also announced on Monday it had signed a 1.38 billion pounds deal to sell its pneumonia and meningitis vaccines in Brazil, in a move that is expected to further boost the company's world reach.

FAREPAK CUSTOMERS BEGIN TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION

BDO Stoy Howard said on Monday it had begun posting compensation cheques to Farepak customers, almost three years after the company collapsed leaving more than 100,000 people out of pocket. The liquidators of the Christmas hamper firm said payments worth a total of 240,000 pounds have been sent to 5,900 customers whose money was put into trust by the company before it fell into administration. Around 122,000 customers have put in claims worth 38 million pounds but they can expect just five pence for every pound.

A WEEK AFTER PLEDGE TO CUT EMISSIONS, BA STARTS LUXURY FLIGHTS WITH NEARLY EMPTY JETS

Environmental campaigners have accused British Airways (BAY.L) of hypocrisy as the carrier is set to launch luxury flights between London and New York, just a week after the chief executive Willie Walsh pledged a drastic reduction in emissions. Vicky Wyatt, Greenpeace aviation campaigner, described the new all-business service, as "another example of BA saying one thing, and doing another". Richard Dyer, of Friends of the Earth, said the spacious layout of the aircraft -- 32 seats on a plane normally fitted for 100 people -- meant each passenger accounted for about three times the usual CO2. A spokesperson for the company said BA was committed to cutting emissions.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants