PRESS DIGEST - British Business Press - May 22

The Times

BAN FOR ACCOUNTANT WHO WAS HEAD OF TRANSTEC

Richard Carr, the former boss of TransTec, has been expelled from the accountancy profession for his role in the collapse of the bankrupt motor parts business founded by Geoffrey Robinson. Mr Carr was given a lifetime ban from the Institute of Charted Accountants in England and Wales for misconduct of "a serious and sustained nature." His former finance director, Richard Parkin, was severely reprimanded for a "serious dereliction of duty" after an investigation by the Joint Disciplinary Tribunal.

BRITVIC SPARKLES

Britvic(BVIC.L) announced that half-year profits soared 13 percent as it showed signs of recovering from last year's poor summer. Pre-tax profits for the Robinsons squash maker in the six months to April 13 increased to 17.2 million pounds from 15.2 million pounds a year earlier. Revenues also rose 28.6 per cent to 454.7 million pounds following the acquisition of the Ballygowan soft drinks business of Irish cider maker C&C.

LAND OF LEATHER DEBT WORRY

Land of Leather dropped a further five pence to a new low of 26 pence on concerns that the retailer will not be able to renegotiate debt covenants with banks by its year-end in nine weeks. In March, the group said that, at the end of January, it had 16 million pounds of cash but pending bills of 53 million pounds. The company said it would try to negotiate the terms of its overdraft facility by the end of July because trading was deteriorating.

The Daily Telegraph

BUSINESS POST BOOSTED BY 45 PERCENT JUMP IN PROFITS

Two weeks after Royal Mail revealed a 279 million pound loss, Business Post has unveiled a 45 percent jump in pre-tax profits to 14.2 million pounds, buoyed by growth in its mail division, which handles about 11 percent of Britain's post. Revenues in the parcel arm fell 7.2 percent as the company continued to feel the effects of losing its contract with FedEx. Group revenue climbed 10 percent to 359 million pounds.

TESCO BUYS OUT SIR TOM'S DOBBIES STAKE

Tesco(TSCO.L) has agreed to buy out Sir Tom Hunter's stake in Dobbies Garden Centres for 36 million pounds. The move paves the way for the UK's largest retailer to significantly expand Dobbies. Until last week, the Scottish billionaire was attempting to scupper a planned 150 million pound rights issue by Dobbies. However, West Coast Capital, Sir Tom's investment company, agreed to sell its 29.2 per cent stake to Tesco for 12 pounds a share.

RENTS IN CITY MAY DIP BY 15 PER CENT, WARNS PORTLAND

Great Portland Estates(GPOR.L) warned capital values could drop further after posting a two percent fall in its net asset value. Decreases in valuations for the year ending March 31 pushed the company into a three million pound loss from a profit of 326 million pounds last year. Toby Courtland, chief executive, said: "We are definitely witnessing a slowdown. But as long as the UK avoids a significant contraction in growth then I am still fairly optimistic that what we are witnessing is a correction rather than anything more fundamental."

The Independent

PARAGON RESUMES DIVIDEND PAYOUTS.

Paragon(PARA.L), the mortgage lender, reported a four per cent fall in underlying first-half profits on Wednesday, but said its funding position remained strong after a rights issue in February. The company met forecasts with an underlying pre-tax profit of 38.4 million pounds for the six months to the end of March. The group also resumed dividend payments at one penny, against eight pence a year ago.

CONDELLA TO STAND DOWN AT SKYEPHARMA

It was announced on Wednesday that Ken Cunningham will take over at the helm of SkyePharma, the drug group, as the company renegotiates the terms of its longstanding debt. Mr Cunningham, the company's operations chief, will replace Frank Condella, the group's current chief executive, in the autumn. By the time Mr Cunningham takes up his new post, it is hoped that 89 million pounds of debt will have been restructured.

HOPES OF MOVE BY HALLIBURTON BOOSTS EXPRO

Expro InternationalEXR.L, the UK-based oil services firm, was in the middle of bid talk on Wednesday after rumours that suggested Halliburton was about to unveil an offer for the company. The American oil services giant confirmed it was conducting due diligence on Expro in April. At the time it said that if it made an offer, it would be cash and at a premium to an earlier 1,435 pence offer from a Candover Partners(CDI.L)-led consortium.

The Guardian

ITV FACES FINES OVER NON-LONDON CONTENT

ITV(ITV.L) failed to match its quota for programmes to be made outside of London for two years running, and is now facing another investigation by Ofcom. James Thickett, the watchdog's market research director, said: "Action could potentially include fines but at the moment we are not in a position to comment on any sanction we might impose." On Wednesday, Bectu, the broadcasting union, also lambasted ITV's announcement this week that it wants to make 89 staff redundant.

PLUNGING SHARE PRICE PUSHES RBS DOWN TO UK'S FOURTH-LARGEST BANK

After the slide in Royal Bank of Scotland's(RBS.L) share price continued on Wednesday, it is no longer deemed as the UK's second-largest bank, and has been pushed to fourth in the rankings. Shares in the bank dropped a further 12.5 pence to 241 pence in technical trading ahead of the completion of its 12 billion pound rights issue. The slide means that investors are currently valuing the company lower than HSBC(HSBA.L), Standard Chartered(STAN.L) and Barclays(BARC.L).

UNTIL THERE'S A CASH CALL IT'S TIME TO SELL YELL

On Wednesday, Yell(YELL.L) fell to a record low, down 23.25 pence to reach 130.75 pence. The 15 percent slump follows Tuesday's 26 per cent decline after the directories group cut its dividend by half and unsettled investors by not giving guidance for the full-year outlook. This fuelled concerns that the company is struggling to cope with increased competition from the internet, since it generates only about 11 per cent of its revenues online.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants