PRESS DIGEST - British business - July 12

The Times

JOHN LEWIS ADMITS MARKET IS TOUGH AFTER POSTING A NEW FALL IN WEEKLY SALES

John Lewis [JLP.UL], the privately owned department store chain, posted another fall in weekly sales on Friday despite the launch of a clearance sale. Sales fell by 1.3 percent in the week to July 5 -- the eighth decline in weekly sales in the past nine weeks across the stores. Dan Knowles, director of selling, said: "It's definitely tough out there, but many of our competitors would love to have our figures and we should be proud of all that has been achieved."

CYPRUS TALKS FAIL TO RESOLVE STANDOFF AT TNK-BP

The stalemate between BP (BP.L) and its Russian joint venture partners continued on Friday at a meeting of the TNK-BP board in Cyprus, where the issue of who should control the company, Russia's fourth-largest oil producer, remained unresolved. The board discussed a series of demands made by Viktor Vekselberg, one of the four Russian billionaires who jointly own 50 percent of the shares. These include the removal of the BP-nominated chief executive Bob Dudley and his management team; fewer BP secondees; and greater powers for Russian executives within the organisation.

SHARES IN OXFORD BIOMEDICA PLUMMET ON DRUG TRIAL FAILURE

Oxford BioMedica (OXB.L), the biotechnology company, revealed on Friday tests of its kidney cancer vaccination drug TroVax had failed. Shares in the company plunged 59 percent to 7.5 pence. After 190 out of 733 patients in a trial of the drug died, the independent Drug Safety Monitoring Board ruled doses of TroVax should not be administered to kidney cancer patients. Nick Woolf, senior vice-president, said: "People are writing the drug off entirely but we feel that's wrong. We believe there's still value in TroVax in other cancer types."

The Daily Telegraph

B&B INVESTORS HIT FOR 30 MILLION POUNDS

Investors in Bradford & Bingley BB.L have taken a 30 million pound hit as a result of the buy-to-let lender's bungled 400 million pound fund-raising, the cost of which has soared to 54 million pounds. The issue has been restructured twice since it was first launched in May, when it aimed to raise 300 million pounds at a cost of 24 million pounds. The figures were disclosed on Friday in B&B's prospectus, which also said "there can be no guarantee that the company will not be subject to further downgrades to its credit ratings". These have already been cut to two notches above junk.

THOMAS COOK SCRAPS MERGER WITH AIR BERLIN

A planned merger between Air Berlin (AB1.DE) and the Thomas Cook-owned (TCG.L) airline Condor has been scrapped as the consumer downturn and soaring fuel prices pile pressure on the industry. Thomas Cook> said it continues to see Condor "as a strong business with significant potential". Analysts were unsurprised by the failure of the deal. "We have long expected this, given the ever-declining share price of Air Berlin, the very generous terms and the deteriorating macro-economic environment," said Landsbanki analyst Mark Reed.

The Independent

IPHONE SERVICE AIMS TO CUT ROAMING COSTS

Mobile software company Truphone, which uses Wi-Fi technology to route calls over the Internet, has launched its service on the Apple iPhone. The technology allows consumers to bypass expensive roaming charges, enabling them to cut the cost of bills particularly on international calls, which are not included in the free minutes bundled as part of the phone contract. The company says it can also improve patchy network coverage.

THALES TO BUY IT SECURITY FIRM NCIPHER

Defence group Thales UK (TCFP.PA) has been successful in its 300 pence-a-share cash offer for nCipher NCH.L, the IT security firm. The proposal values the company at 50.7 million pounds and represents a 138 percent premium on the closing price before talks were announced. Thales is one of the Ministry of Defence's main suppliers, specialising in advanced electronics, unmanned aircraft and warship design.

RBS IN TALKS TO SELL AUSTRALASIAN UNITS TO NAB FOR ONE BILLION AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) is in discussions with National Australia Bank (NAB.AX), a potential buyer for ABN Amro's corporate and investment banking operations in Australia and New Zealand. Australia's biggest bank said on Friday although there was no certainty of a deal, it was considering buying the businesses. RBS said: "NAB is one of the parties with whom we are in discussions with. We are proceeding with examining options under our review process and will advise the market of the outcome once complete."

The Guardian

AMEC GROUP WINS SELLAFIELD CONTRACT

A consortium that includes Amec (AMEC.L), the UK engineer, has been selected as the preferred bidder for the contract to run Sellafield, the nuclear plant in Cumbria. Ownership will remain with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The Nuclear Management Partners consortium, which is completed by URS Washington Division and France's Areva, can now begin discussions on what is likely to be an initial five billion pound, five-year deal. Samir Brikho, Amec's chief executive, said: "Amec and our consortium members will be contributing world-class skills to Sellafield, ensuring this programme is carried out safely and effectively to the benefit of the taxpayer."

OFFICE SPACE STILL IN DEMAND, SAYS BRITISH LAND

British Land (BLND.L), the UK's second-biggest property investment trust, said on Friday that demand for prime office space in London is high despite a slump in commercial property values. The trust said it expected underlying earnings per share in the three months to the end of June to be up on the previous quarter as a result of bumper rental incomes, despite having seen 1.3 billion pounds wiped off the value of its London office and retail property assets in the last year. Shares in British Land fell 2.9 percent, closing at 663 pence.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants