PRESS DIGEST - British Business Press - May 18
The Times
SHELL TO FACE SHAREHOLDER ANGER AT ANNUAL MEETING AS CO-OP CRITICISES PAY POLICIES
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.AS) is set to face a new wave of shareholder pressure over its pay policy as a second leading investor has expressed its disapproval of the company's decision to hand share awards to directors who did not meet key performance targets. Co-operative Asset Management, the ethically styled investment arm of the Co-op, has promised to vote against the directors' remuneration report at Tuesday's annual meeting. It also said it would oppose the re-election of Lord Kerr of Kinlochard as a director because of the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas group's "persistent payment of inappropriate executive rewards".
THEY MAY BE SHORT STAY, BUT JLH SEES LONG-TERM FUTURE IN LOVE HOTELS
AIM-listed Japan Leisure Hotels (JLH) is aiming to raise up to 50 million pounds to boost its presence in Japan's "love hotels" market, which offers rooms for couples at a competitive hourly rate. The British company, which tries to take advantage of the still-falling property market in the country, said it was planning to use the capital to more than quadruple its present room total. JLH, which owns six hotels, is to publish on Monday a trading update for its first full-financial year, and analysts expect the figures to show the industry's hardiness in the face of the economic downturn.
WINE LOVERS CAN THE BOTTLE AND TURN TO A RING-PULL
Rexam (REX.L), one of the largest can makers in the world, sold 35 million cans to the wine industry last year as a growing number of consumers opt for drinking one glass at a time and have become more environmentally aware. The company, which sold six million cans to wine companies in 2006, expects sales to reach 100 million in the next couple of years, with more than a billion cans of wine being consumed every year in the long run. John Revess, of Rexam, cited mounting demand from winemakers and retailers for alternative packaging as consumers watch their alcohol intake but are more likely to drink at home rather than pubs and bars.
