PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - June 1

The Financial Times

OSBORNE ACCUSES FSA OF FOSTERING MARKET UNCERTAINTY

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is fostering uncertainty in the City by not revealing the full results of its stress tests on banks, according to the shadow chancellor George Osborne. His comments came amid concerns that the City watchdog's assumptions about the recession may have been less strict than previously believed. In a commentary in Monday's Financial Times, Osborne said the FSA had originally refused to make the results of the stress tests public, on the grounds that they could prompt market uncertainty. "Of course in reality the reverse is true," he wrote.

HOUSE PRICES HOLD FIRM IN MAY

New figures by Hometrack, the housing data analysis group, have revealed that house prices in the UK remained at the same levels in May, compared to the previous month. It was the first time in 20 months prices have not declined month-on-month. Hometrack's latest survey, to be published on Monday, also showed the number of house sales agreed continued to grow, rising 9.4 percent in May and 43 percent in the past three months.

REVENUE RECRUITS PRIVATE SECTOR EXPERTS IN TAX AVOIDANCE BATTLE

Revenues & Customs have appointed tax experts from the private sector in a bid to tackle aggressive tax avoidance, a new report by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has revealed. The OECD report, which followed a consultation with the private sector, stated that there was "broad support" for the idea of tax authorities employing staff from the private sector as this would improve the tax authorities' understanding of the complexities of the tax affairs of wealthy individuals. Dave Hartnett, permanent secretary for tax at Revenue & Customs, recently said the body had learnt a lot from hiring bankers and lawyers who had lost their jobs in the credit crunch.

CADBURY TO RAISE INDIA'S ROLE

Confectionery giant Cadbury (CBRY.L) is planning to expand its dominant presence in India by making the country a regional hub for cocoa production. The UK group, which controls more than 70 percent of India's chocolate market, wants to source all of its cocoa beans domestically by 2015, hoping to increase their national output from 10,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes a year by 2020. Despite the global downturn, Cadbury said the country was proving to be one of its most resilient markets, as profits continue to surge at about 20 percent a year and sales at 30 percent.

ANACAP RAISES 575 MILLION EUROS TO BUY FINANCE GROUPS

Anacap Financial Partners, the private equity group which in May completed the purchase of Ruffler Bank, is expected to unveil on Monday a 503 million pounds fundraising to help it acquire more financial services groups across Europe. The capital raising was backed from a string of leading investors, including Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Allianz (ALVG.DE), Honeywell, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, the State of New Jersey and Adams Street Partners. In May, Anacap became the first private equity group to acquire a UK bank after agreeing to inject 80 million pounds into Ruffler Bank as part of a drive aiming to rapidly expand its lending book.

PROFITABLE TIMES IN CABBAGES AND ROSES

Gardening retailers and wholesalers are registering a healthy growth throughout the downturn, as cash-strapped consumers spend more time in the garden to save money or grow their own food to cut weekly shopping bills. Wyevale Garden Centres, the 123-store private chain, reported a 50 percent sales leap from last year, while Homebase (HOME.L) recorded an 85 percent rise in vegetable seed sales. B&Q said that greenhouse sales increased by 157 percent on a like-for-like basis, while year-on-year vegetable seed sales have more than doubled. Total sales across the garden centres and nurseries sector rose by eight percent, according to figures by the Horticultural Trades Association.

HOLIDAY INN SIGNS LONDON OLYMPICS SPONSORSHIP DEAL

The London Organising Committee has struck a 10 million pound deal with Holiday Inn that will see the hotel chain become the official hotel sponsor for the Olympic Games in 2012. Holiday Inn, part of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG.L), is hoping that the move will help attract customers to its London network of 42 hotels. Under the terms of the deal, the company will offer accommodation and logistics services to the organisers in exchange for using the Olympic logo in its advertising. In April, InterContinental said that net income had almost halved in the first quarter on a year-on-year basis, although its mid-priced brands helped it post a better performance than its competitors.

EXECUTION SHARPENS UP FOR EXPANSION ON A BROAD FRONT

Execution, the institutional broker which is 10 percent-owned by the Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), has drawn up plans to expand its corporate broking and advisory services, as part of a drive aiming to help it grab business from distracted larger competitors. The London-based group's headcount is expected to rise from 120 to 300 as chief executive Simon Brookhouse and founder Nick Finegold have set a target of tripling the revenue to 153 million pounds by 2011. "We are becoming a serious institutional franchise rather than a maverick outpost," said Mr Finegold.

NEWCASTLE UTD ON MARKET WITH 100 MILLION POUNDS TARGET PRICE

The owner of Newcastle United has put the recently relegated football club up for sale with a 100 million pound target price. Mike Ashley, the sportswear retailer who bought Newcastle United for 134 million pounds in June 2007 and has injected another 110 million pounds, formally appointed broker Seymour Pierce last week as advisers on the process. Despite some preliminary interest, no concrete bids have been launched yet. Formalised offers are expected to emerge in the next few weeks. It is the second time in seven months that the club has been formally put up for sale. One insider said: "The value of the club has changed: 100 million pounds would be a good price and may be well attainable."

GALVANISED BY LASTING VIRTUES OF OWNERSHIP BY THE FAMILY

Jeremy Woolridge, chairman and principle shareholder of B.E. Wedge, has forecast that 2009 global sales at the UK's biggest galvanising company will fall by five to 10 percent. The 66-year-old executive did not provide details about profits but held a relatively upbeat stance for the future. "I think we've reached the bottom (of the recession) and the outlook is improving." He identified a long-term upward trend in the sector, saying that in 2008 "800,000 tonnes of steel goods in the UK received galvanising treatment [from contractors], twice as much as in 1986."

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants