PRESS DIGEST - British business - July 2

The Guardian

CRABTREE & EVELYN'S US ARM GOES BUST

The worsening recession in the United States has taken its toll on the American division of British soap, fragrance and candle manufacturer Crabtree & Evelyn. The Connecticut-based arm has filed for bankruptcy protection from its creditors to shut down a number of unprofitable outlets in its 126-strong store base. Although the company is expected to lose 13.3 million dollars this year due largely to consumers steering clear of its high-priced gifts, a spokeswoman at the UK headquarters asserted that the move will have no bearing on operations outside of America.

CATTLES SACKS SIX SENIOR EXECUTIVES

Yesterday, sub-prime lender Cattles (CTT.L) sacked six executives - among them, two board members - following an investigation into accounting irregularities that highlighted a 700 million pound shortfall in the company's balance sheet. The probe had focused on its main trading arm, Welcome Financial Services, and had revealed a number of managers had placed the company in jeopardy by failing to make proper provisions against bad debts. Consequently, Cattles is now locked in crisis talks with creditors over a 500 million pound loan that had been due for repayment this month and has been forced to suspend its shares having delayed its annual results until the accounting situation is resolved.

NATIONAL CONSUMER CHAMPION TO HELP PEOPLE GET THEIR MONEY BACK

Taking a lead from newspaper columns that highlight bad financial practice and consumer concerns, the government is set to appoint a "consumer advocate" to help people tackle problems such as unauthorised overdraft charges and finance problems. It is hoped the scheme, which is set to be confirmed in a consumer white paper today, will embolden people and encourage them to take greater care of their personal finances during these difficult economic times. In addition, the government wants to create a specialist team to tackle internet scams and also to push ahead with reforms to the regulation of store and credit cards - particularly "high-cost credit", usually above 50 per cent APR.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants ($1=.6083 Pound)