PRESS DIGEST - British business - May 10

The Times

WINCANTON'S 229 MILLION POUNDS TOPS OFFER FOR RIVAL TDG

Wincanton (WIN.L) has made a 229 million pound bid for its rival logistics provider TDG TDG.L, and trumped a rival approach from Laxey Partners. The indicative cash offer was made at 281.25 pence a share, 15 pence more than Laxey's tentative proposal. On Friday, Laxey said its offer would remain at 275 pence a share, minus the dividend. The private equity firm also said it had completed due diligence satisfactorily and expected to make a formal offer "in the near future". Analysts placed Wincanton's success in doubt as Laxey built up a 22 percent stake in TDG. Sources, however, said that although Laxey's shareholding meant it had a strong position, the board would treat the bids equally.

BERKELEY FINDS SAUDI FINANCE TO SNAP UP CHEAP BUILDING LAND

Berkeley Group BKG_u.L is set to start buying land from distressed sellers as part of a drive to build up a one billion pound venture with a Saudi Arabian billionaire. The house builder's acquisition drive comes just as other large builders rein in their spending on new land and construction on existing sites. The company revealed that this time last year it had wanted to form a joint venture with Saad Investments, and shareholders approved the move this year, giving the Berkeley's board authority to funnel around 150 million pounds of cash into the venture.

JOHN LEWIS REPORTS SALES UP

John Lewis Partnership [JLP.UL] announced sales in the week to May 3 at its 26 UK department stores rose by 1.8 percent year on year to 47.7 million pounds. In the employee-owned retailer's chain of 187 Waitrose supermarkets, sales were up three percent to 79.9 million pounds. Total partnership sales soared by 2.6 percent to reach 127.5 million pounds.

The Daily Telegraph

FETTUCCINE FAMINE WILL END, SAYS WAITROSE

Waitrose has promised its shelves will be fully stocked with its own brand dried pasta within two weeks after it ran out at the start of April. The fettuccine famine came about following a row between the group and its supplier in Italy over "quality issues". Sources believe the supplier had been demanding higher prices because of the rocketing cost of wheat. Pasta prices have soared worldwide, and the average price for 500 grams of fusilli, for example, has almost doubled from last year.

HUNTER GOES TO COURT IN DOBBIES BATTLE

Sir Tom Hunter, who controls West Coast Capital, is attempting to scupper a 150 million pound rights issue at Dobbies Garden Centres DGC.L. Tesco (TSCO.L) owns a 65 percent stake in Dobbies following a failed takeover bid, which was effectively blocked by Hunter who refused to sell his 29 percent stake to the supermarket chain. Dobbies announced the 150 million pound rights issue last month, and the majority of the new capital will come from Tesco. Hunter, however, will have to stump up around 44 million pounds to subscribe to the rights issue if he wants to maintain his holding.

COLD WEATHER TAKES FIZZ OUT OF MAGNERS

C&C Group (GCC.I), the Magners cider maker, has blamed the "Siberian" Easter weather and sliding confidence for a continued fall in sales. The Irish company suffered a 42 percent decline in pre-tax profits in the year to the end of February. The chief executive, Maurice Pratt, requested shareholders to be patient, as the "market was tougher than anyone in the industry had forecast.". The group expects a return to revenue growth from June.

The Independent

BANKS TURN TO PRIVATE EQUITY IN BID TO SELL BOOTS DEBT

Banks holding billions of pounds worth of debt backing last year's buyout of Alliance Boots [AB.UL] will turn to private equity companies after they failed to sell chunks of the debt last week. A move to sell 780 million pounds of the debt at 91 percent of its value fell apart last week as tensions emerged between the syndicate banks. One private equity professional said: "At least one bank has gauged the appetite in the market; of course buyout firms will be interested."

DIAGEO PLANS NEW 520 MILLION POUND GUINNESS BREWERY NEAR DUBLIN

Diageo (DGE.L) is set to keep on brewing Guinness in the heart of Dublin, and also revealed plans for a 520 million pound new brewery in Ireland. The group said it would close two smaller breweries at Dundalk and Kilkenny and cut its Irish workforce by 250 from its current 450 when it opens the new brewery near Dublin in 2013. The British beer and spirits group launched a review of its Irish brewing operations last June, after its decision to close its Park Royal brewery in London in 2004 and move Guinness production to Dublin.

BRITISH ENERGY SHARES FALL AS AUCTION ATTRACTS LITTLE INTEREST

On Friday, shares in British Energy BGY.L decreased after another deadline for bids passed with only limited interest shown in the nuclear operator. EDF (EDF.PA) is understood to have submitted a bid for the operator, but hopes for other suitors including Centrica (CNA.L), RWE (RWEG.DE) and Iberdrola (IBE.MC) failed to materialise. The government will be disappointed by the apparent lack of interest because it is keen to reap a windfall via its 35 percent stake in the company.

The Guardian

BAA SHAREHOLDERS FORCED TO STUMP UP 400 MILLION POUNDS

BAA FER.MC has admitted a critical 9.6 billion pound refinancing might not happen, meaning the airport group's shareholders will have to inject 400 million pounds in emergency funding into the business. On Friday, Britain's dominant airport owner described the surprise cash injection as "part of the refinancing", although it follows a warning by JP Morgan that BAA would run out of cash next year unless it overhauled its debt.

BA GAMBLES ON T5 RECOVERY BY MOVING IN NEW YORK FLIGHTS

British Airways (BAY.L) has decided to switch its lucrative Heathrow-New York service to Terminal 5 in June, in the hope the 4.3 billion pound building will maintain its recovery. The chief executive of British Airways, Willie Walsh, said: "Terminal 5 is now working well and we are pleased we can confirm our plan to move in some additional flights." Analysts said the airline could not afford to let the move fail because the London-New York route was undergoing an unprecedented rise in competition since the Open Skies treaty.

GAMES RAISE HMV ABOVE RETAIL GLOOM

HMV (HMV.L) has managed to sidestep the gloom hanging over the other high street retailers because of booming demand for computer games. HMV reported double-digit sales growth over the latest quarter on Friday, and predicted full-year profits would be at the top end of market expectations. Simon Fox, HMV chief executive, said the group had "clearly benefited from a strong games market", which it continued to outpace.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants