PRESS DIGEST - British business - July 10

The Times

M&S ACCUSED OF HYPOCRISY AFTER ROSE ATTACK ON CUT-PRICE FASHION

Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) came under fire on Thursday after Associated British Foods (ABF.L), the owner of Primark, confirmed that it shared some suppliers with its upmarket rival. The news came one day after Sir Stuart Rose, the executive chairman of M&S, attacked the budget fashion industry over subsistence wages. Anti-poverty charity War on Want accused M&S of hypocrisy. "This underlines the systemic problem that no leading British fashion retailer can guarantee a living wage and decent conditions for garment workers," said Simon McRae, the charity's senior campaigns officer. The retailing giant rejected the claim that its ethical stance had been undermined, saying it had only three suppliers in common with Primark and took products from only one factory in common, but conceded that the number varies as contracts expire.

LAW FIRM PARTNERS' PROFITS DOWN BY TENTH AFTER RESTRUCTURING

Allen & Overy, Britain's fourth-largest law firm, will announce on Friday that February's big restructuring, which saw 450 salaried employees and 47 equity partners leaving the group at a cost of 46 million pounds, led to an almost 10 percent drop in partners' profits in 2008. However, despite a drop from 1.1 million pounds, the group's profits per equity partner remained above the benchmark one million pounds level, with Allen & Overy's most senior partners earning 1.35 million pounds in the period, down from 1.65 million pounds the year before. Turnover for the year to the end of April grew by seven percent to 1.1 billion pounds, partly because of the strength of its billings in eurozone countries.

EJECTION AT IBERIA TO GIVE TAILWIND TO BA MERGER

Spanish flag carrier Iberia (IBLA.MC) has announced that Antonio Vazquez, the former chief executive of tobacco producer Altadis, will replace Fernando Conte as the group's new chairman. The move is expected to kick-start talks with British Airways (BAY.L) over a potential merger that would create one of Europe's largest carriers. Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA, which owns about 10 percent of Iberia and has a seat on its board, said of Vazquez's appointment: "We are confident that his business and leadership skills will ensure that the relationship with British Airways will continue to develop."

The Daily Telegraph

ANGLO HIRES PARKER AS CHAIRMAN

Anglo American (AAL.L) is expected to announce on Friday that Sir John Parker, one of the UK's most respected industrialists, will replace Sir Mark Moody-Stuart as the mining group's new chairman. Anglo's largest shareholders are believed to have been informed on Thursday about the move and their response is understood to have been supportive. Parker is expected to lead the company's defence if, as expected, Xstrata (XTA.L) increases its pressure to secure a deal that would result in the creation of one the world's most important natural resources groups. His decision to accept the job now, after he was forced to remove his candidacy for the position last year because of opposition from a number of South African board members, suggests that the appointment has unanimous support in the Anglo boardroom.

HOLIDAY AUTOS FOUNDER BUYS REED ELSEVIER TRAVEL MAGAZINES

Clive Jacobs, the founder of Holiday Autos, has paid an undisclosed sum to buy TW Group, a small magazine unit covering the travel industry owned by Reed Elsevier (REL.L) (ELSN.AS). TW, which formed part of Reed Business Information, publishes Travel Weekly, Travolution and Gazetteers. The move has sparked rumours that RBI, which was taken off the market in 2008 after it failed to attract a suitable buyer, could be broken up and spun off. Simon Ferguson, who quit his role as publishing director of Reed's travel magazine in March, will be TW Group's new chief executive.

LONDON & STAMFORD'S CASH CALL

Property group London & Stamford (LSP.L), which owns a holding in Sheffield's Meadowhall shopping centre, is set to announce a 200 million pounds-plus capital raising that will be used to fund acquisitions. The group, led by entrepreneurs Raymond Mould and Patrick Vaughan, is expected to announce on Friday morning it has completed the cash call. However, sources close to the situation said managing the distribution of new shares could postpone the deal.

The Independent

CORUS AXES MORE STEEL JOBS AT SCUNTHORPE

Corus [TISCG.UL], the steelmaker, has announced that another 366 jobs are to be lost at its Scunthorpe plant on top of the 2,500 dismissals it has already made this year. The move is expected to spark condemnation from trade unions as it will bring the number of this year's redundancies to almost 5,000. Only two weeks ago, the Anglo-Dutch group, which is owned by Tata Steel (TISC.BO) of India, announced a 2,000-strong redundancy programme, including several hundred workers at its Scunthorpe site.

SEGRO AGREES 109.4 MILLION POUND DEAL TO BUY BRIXTON

Segro (SGRO.L), the industrial property company, has secured a 109.4 million pound deal to purchase the warehouse specialist Brixton BXTN.L. The agreement includes a 250 million pound capital raising and the option of buying back 325 million pound's worth of Brixton bonds. Segro's property portfolio is expected to be worth as much as 5.5 billion pounds after the completion of the deal. The debt-saddled Brixton specialises in warehouse space around Heathrow airport and the Southeast of England.

INSOLVENCY TRADE IS BOOMING, SAYS BEGBIES

Begbies Traynor (BEG.L), the restructuring specialist, is booming in the downturn as more companies buckle under financial pressures and dropping demand for their services. Reporting its results for the year to April 30, the company said adjusted pre-tax profits grew by 40 percent, at 9.8 million pounds, while total revenues increased by 29 percent at 62.1 million pounds. Revenues at is insolvency unit rose by 30 percent while staff numbers increased by 22 percent to 427. Begbies proposed a final dividend 13 percent higher at 1.7 pence, giving a total of 2.8 pence for the year.

The Guardian

ASDA LAUNCHES NEW PETROL PRICE WAR

Asda (WMT.N) has launched a new petrol price war by reducing the cost of unleaded and diesel to 99.9 pence a litre at all its 176 fuel stations. The supermarket chain cited the recent large drop in the price of oil to argue that there is "no justification for any major retailer selling fuel above one pound a litre". The Automobile Association believes the other main players in the market will follow suit. The average cost of unleaded petrol in the UK is 103.8 pence a litre while diesel is retailing at 105.3 pence, according to petrolprices.com.

PRIMARK BUCKS HIGH STREET TREND

Primark is taking advantage of the recession as more cash-strapped consumers opt for its low-cost fashion items. Associated British Foods (ABF.L), the budget chain's owner, said on Thursday that like-for-like sales growth had been "excellent" in the third quarter but did not provide a figure. Analysts believe the number could be as high as eight percent -- well ahead of the five percent rise posted in the previous quarter. Sales growth slowed at all the other AB Foods arms in the same period, but total revenue increased by eight percent after the effect of currency movements were stripped out.

BARRATT CUTS HOUSE STOCK TO "ANOREXIC" LEVELS

Barratt Development (BDEV.L), the debt-laden housebuilder, closed its final-salary pension scheme on Thursday in a bid to reduce costs as it announced a 19 percent dive to 166,000 pounds in its average selling prices for private homes over the past year. Chief executive Mark Clare confirmed the company, which completed 13,202 homes in the same period, suffered a drop in production of more than 5,000 properties on the year before. However, Clare also said Barratt had cut its debt to 1.28 billion pounds. He said a sustained improvement would not happen "until the availability of mortgage finance, particularly in the higher loan-to-value segment, recovers".

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants