PRESS DIGEST - BRITISH BUSINESS - MARCH 2

The Times

DEAL OF THE DAY

Shares in Renew Holdings (RNWH.L) fell 1.5 pence to 0.82 pence ($1.61) after John Bishop, a non-executive director who joined the group in October, bought 10,000 shares in the company at 80.5 pence each. Bishop, a chartered accountant, had previously been on the board of the rival Morgan Sindall (MGNS.L).

NEUROPHARM'S AIM

Neuropharm, a developer of treatments for obsessive compulsive disorder and autism, is planning to raise 20 million pounds by listing on AIM. The company hopes to use the fund raised, subject to regulatory approval, to launch a treatment for autism spectrum disorder based on an orally dissolving form of fluoxetine, the drug used to make the anti-depressant, Prozac.

TROUBLED BLACKS TO CLOSE 45 STORES

Shares in Blacks Leisure (BSLA.L) yesterday fell 1.5 pence to 295 pence after the outdoor clothing and equipment retailer stepped up a review of its operations by appointing Don Trangmar, a non-executive director, to act as consultant to the review. The company, which issued profits warning early in January, said it would scale back the roll-out of its Blacks-out-of town store format and limit openings to two this year.

The Daily Telegraph

HUNTING DOUBLES FULL-YEAR PROFITS

Shares in Hunting (HTG.L) gained 15.5 pence to 635.5 pence after the oil services company reported a better-than-expected full year profits for the second year in a row, reporting a 98 percent rise in profits to 80.8 million pounds on revenues 19 percent higher at 1.81 billion pounds. Chief executive Dennis Proctor said that while that level of performance was unsustainable, the company's management expected that a continued strength in the market would provide excellent growth opportunities.

UK ACCOUNTANT GOES GLOBAL

John Connolly has been promoted to chairman of the global accounting firm Deloitte. Connolly, a senior partner of Deloitte in the UK and Britain's best paid accountant, earning 3.6 million pounds in 2005, will take over from Piet Hoogendoorn, whose seven year term ends in June. Connolly is the second senior UK accountant to head up the global practice of a "big Four" firm.

JESSOP SHARES PLUNGE FURTHER

Shares in Jessops (JSP.L) plunged for the second day running, falling 30 percent to an all-time low of 52.5 pence after chief executive Chris Langley issued a profit warning on Wednesday, saying that profits would be hit as the troubled retailer slashed prices to lure customers to its stores. The company, which only a few months ago was expected to make pre-tax profits of 19 million pounds, is now expected to make only 6.5 million pounds this year.

The Guardian

REUTERS TO START FINANCIAL MYSPACE

Reuters RTR.L is planning to launch its own version of the community website MySpace, which will target fund managers, traders and analysts, using the 70,000 subscribers to its messaging service as a starting point. The service, which will be launched this year, will give the company's financial services users the ability to post their research or if they are traders, their trading models. Reuters yesterday reported an eight percent decline in annual trading profits - to 308 million pounds, on revenues up 4.8 percent on an underlying basis to 2.56 billion pounds.

HIGH RANKING

Shares in Rank (RNK.L) fell 5.75 pence to 218 pence ahead of the company's results today, when it is expected to report pre-tax profits of around 50 million pounds from continuing operations. The figures will be the last from the leisure group as a conglomerate following the sale of its Hard Rock business, which should be completed this month. Analyst Ivor Jones from broker Panmure Gordon (PMR.L), predicts that the smaller and more attractive Rank will be taken over before the end of the year.

CHINESE TRAVELLERS TO RISE FOURFOLD, SAYS LONDON FIRM

Tarsus (TRS.L), the exhibition and conference organiser, has reported a 21 percent jump in profits for 2006, with adjusted pre-tax profits of 7.3 million pounds, up from six million pounds in 2005. The company, which has been operating in China for four years and is working on partnerships for exhibitions on everything from anti-ageing to transport, said it wanted to tap into a surging market for overseas travel shows in China.

The Independent

UNILEVER SCRAPS FINAL-SALARY PENSION

Unilever (ULVR.L) yesterday closed its five billion pound final salary pension scheme to new members while demanding that existing employees increase their contributions by 40 percent if they wish to remain within the generous scheme. The consumer goods giant said it had decided to close the scheme, which was one of the largest pension plans of its kind to still be open to new members in the UK, to give the company greater certainty over the future cost of pensions. Six years ago the company's pension scheme hit the headlines when it took legal action against the managers of the fund Merrill Lynch for poor investment performance.

CAZENOVE STAFF SHARE OUT 107 MILLION POUNDS BONUS PAYMENT

Cazenove, the blue chip broker, is planning to share 107 million pounds in bonus payment between 850 staff at its joint venture, JP Morgan Cazenove yesterday reported a 47 percent surge in pre-tax profits to 92.3 million pounds on turnover up 31 percent to 233 million pounds. The profits were boosted by the current buoyant conditions in the City of London. Cazenove's chief executive Robert Pickering defended the bonus payments, saying their business was cyclical, and making more money also meant paying more taxes.

SABMILLER BREWS UP A PARTNERSHIP WITH AFRICAN FARMERS

SABMiller (SAB.L), the brewing giant, is investing a further 3.8 million pounds in Uganda following the success of its alliance with thousands of micro-farmers who previously survived by subsistence farming. The brewer, which acquired a 40 percent stake in Nile Breweries in 1997, bought out the Asian Ugandan family that ran it four years later. It then persuaded subsistent farmers who lived on sorghum to step up production of the grass crop and sell the crop to the company to use in a newly created drink, Eagle Lager. SABMiller is also hoping to produce Eagle Lager in Tanzania.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants. ($1=0.5105 pound)