PRESS DIGEST - British business - Dec 19

The Times

TIDDLER TO WATCH

Shares in Beowulf Mining gained 12 percent to 3.5 pence after the Aim-listed mineral exploration company, which is backed by London's hedge fund RAB Capital, received a boost from a new Swedish investor. The company has yet to extract any iron ore or gold from its mines in northern Sweden.

BET OF THE DAY

Shares in National Express (NEX.L) rose 44 pence to 11.05 pounds after the company reported strong second-half trading and said it expected full-year results to be at the top end of market expectations. There is a bet on whether this prediction by the company can bring the shares up to the high of 13.10 pounds they reached this year.

RUMOUR OF THE DAY

SMG SCSMG.L is expected to reveal on Wednesday it has completed its 95.1 million pound rights issue without any stocks remaining in the books of the underwriter ABN Amro. All the investors in the Scottish media group, except ITV (ITV.L), which has a 17 percent stake in the company, are thought to have participated in the fund-raising, which will be used to pay down the company's debt.

The Daily Telegraph

SHOE CHAIN TALKED UP BY ASHLEY IS FOUND TO BE WRONG FIT

Mike Ashley, the billionaire behind the Sports Direct (SPD.L) retail empire, has sold the Original Shoe Company to rival JJB Sports (JJB.L) for five million pounds -- just 10 months after promising investors he would double the size of the chain as part of Sports Direct's flotation in February. Sports Direct bought the shoe company in May 2006 for 4.5 million pounds when it had 54 stores.

MATALAN TO ROLL OUT NEW STORE FORMAT

The discount retailer Matalan is to roll out a new store format following a successful trial. The group was taken private by its founder John Hargreaves and his family last year. According to accounts filed at Companies House, the retailer's first two months as a private company showed its pre-tax profit increased 8.5 percent to 28.1 million pounds in the year to February 24 while its 24 new format stores were delivering like-for-like sales growth.

SOUTH AFRICAN MEDIA GROUP PAYS 946 MILLION POUNDS FOR AUCTIONEER

QXL Ricardo, the former dotcom star, has been taken over by the South African media group Naspers (NPNJn.J) in a 946 million pound deal. Naspers said the deal would extend its reach into central and eastern Europe, especially Poland, where the online auction house generates most of its money. QXL is renaming itself Tradus.

The Guardian

U.S. ACTIVIST INVESTOR TURNS HEAT ON CADBURY

The U.S. investor Trian Fund Management is turning up the heat on Cadbury Schweppes (CBRY.L), asking it to return 1.7 billion pounds to shareholders and impose stricter profit margin targets in a bid to bolster its share price. The fund, run by New York-based Nelson Peltz, said if the company did not move to improve performance, it would be forced to become more active in evaluating all of its alternatives as a large shareholder.

OFCOM FLAGS UP PAY TV MARKET WARNING SIGNS

Ofcom has highlighted the "warning signs" in the British pay TV market as it posed the question of whether large players had enough incentive to offer premium channels to their rivals at an economic price. In a consultation document in its investigation into pay TV, the regulator said the industry had delivered "significant benefits" to consumers over the past 15 years and contributed four billion pounds a year to the broadband industry. Ofcom is unlikely to deliver its final conclusion until next year

FOOD RETAILERS EXPECT RECORD CHRISTMAS SALES

The market research firm TNS Worldpanel has estimated UK households will splash out a record-breaking 4.25 billion pounds in supermarkets on festive food during the Christmas week, up 13 percent on last year, and nearly two-and-a-half times the spending level in 2002. In contrast to food retailers, most fashion retailers are said to be failing to match last year's level, prompting many to launch early sales to clear stock.

The Independent

TAKEOVER BID HOPES HELP TO REVIVE DEBENHAMS

Debenhams (DEB.L), the retailer whose shares fell off a cliff on Monday following a bearish note from Seymour Pierce, rebounded Tuesday after the fashion retailer disclosed Milestone Resources had upped its stake in the company to 7.3 percent. The shares rose 8.28 percent to 81.75 pence as investors hoped the stake-building was a prelude to a bid.

VT IN 75 MILLION POUND DEAL FOR BNG DECOMMISIONING ARM

VT Group (VTG.L) has agreed to pay 75 million pounds for BNG Project Services, the decommissioning arm of British Nuclear Group. Paul Lester, chief executive of VT Group, said the acquisition of BNG Project, which is VT's first in the sector, was the logical next step in the company's transformation from its shipbuilding heritage into a supplier of support services to local councils, the Defence Ministry, and with the latest deal, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

DRAX SHARES FALL

Shares in Drax (DRX.L) fell more than 6.8 per cent to 623.5 pence after the operator of the UK's largest coal-fired power plant said the ongoing global credit crisis had forced it to cancel a planned refinancing. Drax, which is the UK's single largest emitter of carbon dioxide, is seen as particularly vulnerable to the second phase of the European Union's emissions trading scheme, which comes into force on Jan. 1 and runs until 2012.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants.