PRESS DIGEST - British business - March 5

The Times

CLIFFORD CHANCE CUTS

Law firm Clifford Chance is preparing to axe another 115 staff in its London office. The "magic circle" group announced the new round of redundancies following a cost-cutting review started in January. The job losses will affect employees in areas such as secretarial support, human resources and marketing.

VIRGIN MEDIA PUTS CONTENT DIVISION ON THE MARKET

Virgin Media (VMED.O) is understood to have put its content unit up for sale. The division includes a 50 percent stake in UKTV and could fetch up to 500 million pounds. Sources said Wednesday's departure of Malcolm Wall, the division's head, should serve as an indication of Virgin's intention to offload the division. A sale would help the group relieve some of the pressure exerted by its six billion pound debt. However, the strategy could be hampered by negotiations over the possible merger of Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide, Virgin Media's partner in UKTV. BBC Worldwide has a change-of-control clause in the UKTV venture giving it the option of buying the remaining half ahead of any other buyer.

CARILLION BUCKS TREND

Support services and construction firm Carillion (CLLN.L) has reported a sharp upturn in its order book, a 55 percent increase in full-year underlying pre-tax profits to 157.5 million pounds and an 18 percent increase in its dividend. The company hailed its "strongest ever" pipeline of support services work and an overall order book worth 20.4 billion pounds. Shares climbed 15 percent to 259.75 pence as the group reaped the benefits of its acquisition of former rival Alfred McAlpine.

Daily Telegraph

AURORA ASKS ITS RETAIL LANDLORDS FOR RENT RELIEF

Aurora, the new name for the Mosaic retail fashion business, is asking 90 percent of its landlords to slash rents to avoid having to close down stores. The company is in talks with the landlords of its 900 stores in an effort to secure agreements allowing it to pay rent on a monthly rather than quarterly basis. Property sources say it is also asking certain landlords if it can pay rents equivalent to 10 percent of store's turnover, while also asking others for a four-month rent-free period from March. Mike Sherwood, Aurora's deputy chief executive, said the group was working with landlords rather than making demands.

INFORMA DIVIDEND CUT TO TACKLE DEBT

Publishing and events group Informa (INF.L) has cut its final dividend in an effort to reduce net debts totalling 1.34 billion pounds. Adam Walker, the group's finance director, is targeting debts of below one billion pounds but said banking covenants would not be breached. Walker said the "conservative" decision to reduce debt and conserve cash had been taken as the economic downturn took hold. He said there were no current plans for disposals and also ruled out a rights issue.

IMI TO CUT MORE JOBS AS DEMAND SLOWS

Engineering firm IMI (IMI.L) is set to make more redundancies due to a slowdown in the business since the end of 2008. The company said it had cut 10 percent of its global workforce of 15,000 since December and would make additional redundancies in the coming weeks. The group reported a 15 percent drop in like-for-like sales for the three months to the end of February due to "significant retrenchment" across its sectors. IMI said in a statement that sectors including factory automation had suffered sharp declines "as businesses seek to rein back capital expenditure in the face of balance sheet concerns and poor forward visibility".

The Independent

TESCO WINS KEY APPEAL OVER RULING TO CURB STORE GROWTH

Tesco's (TSCO.L) expansion plans were boosted on Wednesday after it won its appeal against the proposed introduction of a competition test that would prevent a retailer from gaining a dominant position in a local market. The Competition Appeals Tribunal upheld Tesco's appeal on the grounds that it did not "fully and properly assess and take account of the risk that the application of the test might have adverse effects for consumers". Lucy Neville-Rolfe, executive director of corporate and legal affairs at Tesco, said the decision was "great news for consumers because it means we can continue to invest in parts of the country including deprived areas".

SAINSBURY'S BUYS STORES FROM CO-OP

Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) has bought 24 stores from the Co-operative Group for 83 million pounds. The group has acquired 22 Somerfield stores and two Co-operative stores. The Co-operative was forced to sell 133 stores after it acquired Somerfield for 1.5 billion pounds, and has already sold other stores to Waitrose, WM Morrison (MRW.L) and Tesco (TSCO.L). Justin King, chief executive of Sainsbury's, said the stores would be an "excellent addition" to the group's estate. The company will incur additional costs of 45 million pounds to fit out the stores. King said although the acquisition would have a marginal impact on the group's earnings, they would enhance earnings by 2010/11.

PREMIER FOODS SET FOR 400 MILLION POUND CASH CALL

Premier Foods (PFD.L) is expected to give details of a 400 million pound rights issue as it announces full-year results on Thursday. The company will also confirm that private equity group Warburg Pincus is to take a stake in the company. Premier Foods is weighed down by debts of 1.78 billion pounds following a series of acquisitions in recent years and its shares have lost 73 percent of their value on fears over its ability to repay it. Citigroup analysts predict the group will announce sales growth of eight percent and pre-tax profits of between 185 and 190 million pounds.

The Guardian

EUROTUNNEL INVESTORS GET FIRST DIVIDEND SINCE 1987

Eurotunnel announced on Wednesday its first dividend since its 1987 flotation as its 80,000 British shareholders gained four euro cents for each share. The group said it was paying 7.6 million euros to shareholders. Jacques Gounon, chairman and chief executive, defended the low dividend and said it heralded the start of a dividend policy. Eurotunnel, which makes most of its money from its roll-on shuttle rail service, saw its profits drop after a fire closed one of its tunnels for six months. Gounon said many hauliers had switched to ferry services and that drawing such customers back to Eurotunnel would take some time.

BA BLAMES SNOW FOR DIP IN PASSENGER NUMBERS

British Airways (BAY.L) has said snowfall contributed to a 10 percent drop in the number of passengers it carried in February. The airline said almost 2.17 million people travelled on its planes last month, compared with over 2.41 million in the same month last year, when there was an extra day for the leap year. George Stinnes, BA's group treasurer, said the shorter month and snow disruptions accounted for six percent of the 10 percent decline in passenger volume. The company said market conditions remained "challenging" but were in line with expectations.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants