PRESS DIGEST - British Business =3
The Guardian
BIOTECH FIRMS HAIL BIGGEST VENTURE CAPITAL FUND
Abingworth, the venture capital investor, has raised Europe's largest ever life sciences venture fund worth over 300 million pounds, a move that is likely to be enthusiastically welcomed by the industry, particularly firms at an early stage of development which have recently been complaining about the lack of funding in the UK. Dr Stephen Bunting, managing director of Abingworth, acknowledged it had been difficult for people in the industry to raise funds but said there were very good opportunities out there and good people to back. Experts agree that the situation in the industry is not as bad as it is in other countries.
SOMERFIELD INQUIRY INTO STAFF PRANKS ON YOUTUBE
Somerfield has launched an investigation after video clips depicting various people dressed in the grocer's uniforms and taking part in activities such as "extreme floor cleaning" and "trolley surfing" were uploaded on the video-sharing website YouTube. The trade magazine The Grocer suggested that the spate of uploading began after one YouTube user posted a message saying: "I declare the underground YouTube Somerfield competition open to all Somerfield staff".
244 MILLION POUND APPROACH MADE TO SAUSAGE-SKIN MAKER
Shares in Devro (DVO.L) soared 16.75 pence to 147.75 pence after the sausage-skin maker revealed it had received an approach worth 244 million pounds. Devro, which makes 80 percent of all sausage skins used by UK sausage manufacturers, said there was no certainty that the approach would lead to an offer or the terms on which any offer would be made. The company has suffered some setbacks recently, including a profit warning last November.
The Independent
SIMCLAR CUTS 220 MORE JOBS
Simclar SIMC.O, the electronics company, yesterday dealt another jobs blow to the Scottish economy when it announced 220 redundancies and the closure of two plants in Ayrshire. Unions accused Simclar, which had cut 200 jobs last November, of acting like "Victorian mill owners."
SMG TO FILL 22 MILLION POUND PENSION HOLE
SMG, the Scottish media group, is to inject about three million pounds a year over the next ten years into its pension scheme in a bid to plug a 22 million pound hole in the scheme. SMG, which owns STV and the Grampian television franchises, is also asking members to up contributions by about 25 percent.
FILTRONIC'S TEN MILLION POUNDS FOR SHAREHOLDERS
Filtronic (FLTR.L) is set to return ten million pounds to its shareholders following the narrowing of first half losses to 6.8 million pounds - though it expects the losses to continue into the second half of the year as a result of flat sales outlook. The company also said it would complete plans to exit the US defence business by the end of the year.
