PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - April 3

NEW CONSENSUS ON MARKET SLOWDOWN

Standard & Poor's warned on Wednesday that the UK faces "a major slowdown" in the housing market. The credit rating agency placed Britain on a par with Spain as the most likely European candidate to follow the US housing market in a correction. S&P has not yet predicted falling house prices, but it expects flat prices with large downside risks as the property market wrestles with "a triple whammy" of stretched affordability, mortgage squeezes and possible unemployment.

TAX EVASION CRACKDOWN URGED TO STEM LOSSES

An official report from the National Audit Office has revealed that tax evaders are draining the exchequer of over one billion pounds a year. The public spending watchdog urged Revenue & Customs to employ data-screening techniques to track down offenders and warned of new risks as a result of online trading and the buy-to-let market. The NAO said that a telephone hotline set up in 2005 to encourage the public to report evaders had led to the collection of 2.6 million pounds in tax in 2006-07 against original estimates of 32.5 million pounds.

LABOUR UNREST OVER ABOLITION OF 10 PENCE RATE

The Conservative party issued a warning on Wednesday that five million poorer households were due to suffer from the abolition of the 10 pence income tax band, which takes effect from April 6. The tax change, announced last year by Gordon Brown in his former role as chancellor, has also led to unrest on Labour benches, despite his assurances that 21 million people would be better off as a result of the tax change. Labour MP Nia Griffith warned that voters who were on a low income or had taken an early retirement may make their objections felt at the forthcoming local elections.

STAGECOACH FOUNDERS BEAT CGT

Stagecoach (SGC.L) co-founders Ann Gloag and her brother Brian Souter are transferring 33 million shares of the travel group into two discretionary trusts. The move will save them millions of pounds ahead of this weekend's changes to capital gains tax. The shares equate to a 4.7 percent stake in Stagecoach with a value of around 82.4 million pounds at current market prices. The deal is due to be completed in January 2010, but by agreeing to the sale and transfer now, the siblings will avoid paying the higher rate of CGT. The company said that the transactions were "being done for personal tax planning reasons".

WOOLWORTHS TAKES STEP TOWARDS BREAK-UP

Woolworths has announced adjusted profits of 3.4 million pounds in the year to February 2 against a loss of 12.9 million for the same period last year. Revenue increased by 8.5 percent to 2.97 billion pounds. The retailer and entertainment wholesaler also revealed a trial deal with Somerfield, whereby the supermarket will sell ready meals in Woolworths stores and Woolworths will provide non-food products to the supermarket. Woolworths chief executive Trevor Bish-Jones also stated the possibility of a broader deal with another supermarket in the future.

PLEXUS PARTNERS HEDGE FUND LOSES THIRD OF ITS VALUE

London-based Plexus Partners has seen its $1.4 billion (704 million pound) flagship hedge fund lose over a third of its value this year following disastrous arbitrage trades in the credit markets. According to several investors and other people close to the fund, Plexus sold hundreds of millions of dollars of positions in convertible bonds to stabilise the fund and ensure banks did not call in loans. The loss has left the company facing the problem of retaining its investors and staff. Dermot Keane, head of Plexus, declined to comment.

WELLSTREAM FALLS DESPITE ORDERS GLUT

Shares in pipeline designers Wellstream (WSML.L) fell by 111 pence to 12.89 pounds on Wednesday, despite the announcement of record annual profits and a 336 million pound order backlog. The Newcastle-headquartered company was floated less than a year ago at 320 pence a share and controls around 30 percent of the global offshore flexible pipe market. Chief executive Gordon Chapman pledged that Wellstream would "carry on making pipe and making money".

SILVERJET FAILS TO BREAK INTO THE BLACK

Silverjet failed to meet its target of breaking into profit for the first time last month. The UK all business-class airline had sought to allay investor fears by repeatedly expressing confidence that it would record its first monthly profit in March. Chief executive Lawrence Hunt said that the monthly operating loss was the smallest since the airline introduced its second and third aircraft last autumn, despite a "material increase" in fuel costs. Silverjet is due to expand its fleet to five this month and is in discussions with the Civil Aviations Authority about its capital position ahead of plans to introduce new routes in the summer.

FINDEL TURNS AWAY CUSTOMERS AS SHOPPERS EXPLORE CREDIT OPTIONS

Home shopping company Findel has revealed a rise in sales figures that bucks the general trend of gloom among UK retailers. Online purchases, which accounts for over half of sales at the company's home shopping division, helped to lift group turnover from continuing operations by 17 percent to 640 million pounds in the year to the end of March. However, chief executive Patrick Jolly partly blamed a slowdown in sales growth in the fourth quarter on a shortfall in the supply of the popular Nintendo Wii console. Findel, which offers consumer credit on a wide range of products, turned down 22 percent more customers while maintaining the same level of stringency in its credit agreements.

GALA CORAL TO GET CASH INJECTION

The private equity backers of betting operator Gala Coral are ploughing 125 million pounds into the company in return for a relaxation of its covenants. Candover (CDI.L), Cinven and Permira met bankers and Gala's management on Wednesday to agree a new deal that will see about 85 million pounds of the new investment go towards paying down debt, currently amounting to 2.5 billion pounds. Gala's management also laid out a five-year business plan which forecasts a continuing reduction in debt and described the new deal as "a prudent measure which appears to have been well received".

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants