PRESS DIGEST - British business - Oct 5

Mail on Sunday

STAVELEY IS FAVOURITE FOR A DEAL AT TRILLIUM

One of the City's most glamorous dealmakers, Amanda Staveley, has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire property management company Trillium from Land Securities (LAND.L). Backed by cash from Qatar, Staveley has gained exclusive bidding rights for her PCP Capital Partners consortium. In the event of the deal going ahead, PCP will pay about 1.1 billion pounds for the Land Securities-owned Trillium, beating off competition from Telereal, the only other serious contender for the business.

CAMELOT FACES SCRUTINY ON OVERSEAS EXPANSION

After signing its third lottery licence in the UK early next year, National Lottery operator Camelot is considering expanding its business overseas. The group is understood to be keen to build upon 14 years' experience of running the UK lottery to take on overseas markets. In order to address the clause in the lottery licence that prevents foreign operations, the company can activate a dormant subsidiary. However, Camelot's potential overseas expansion would be inspected by the National Lottery Commission, to make certain the UK is not adversely affected by the expansion.

PHOENIX OFFERS PENSION CARROT

Phoenix & London Assurance is writing to more than 50,000 investors this weekend asking whether in exchange for better investment returns they would be prepared to give up reassuring annuity guarantees. Due to the annuities being so expensive, Phoenix parent Pearl has had to adopt a very cautious investment approach. By removing the guarantees, Pearl says it can adopt a less cautious approach in its investment and provide for a wider scope to accumulate larger pension pots for investors.

The Sunday Times

NOBIA IN COST CUT BID

Nobia UK, the parent company of Magnet Kitchens, has told suppliers that they must carry the burden of mounting costs as it becomes the latest retailer to feel the pinch on the high street. Chief Executive Roy Saunders is calling for a five percent cost reduction on all prices from this month, saying: "We have incurred severe price pressure throughout 2008. As a result, we are not in a position to pass on this cost to the consumer. These are extremely challenging times, which require equally challenging solutions in order to sustain our long-term business objectives."

CITY LAUNCH FOR CREDIT CRUNCH ART FUND

David Thomas and Gerard Moxon, the former Lloyds (LLOY.L) bankers, are planning to raise 50 million dollars (28 million pounds) for a fund to invest in art, including works by the Impressionists and Russian masters. "We believe that an allocation to art makes sense in turbulent markets," said Moxon, managing director of Jersey-based Dean Art Investments.

MARKET CRASH ROCKS AVIVA

The insurance giant Aviva (AV.L) is estimated to have suffered a 30 percent wipe-out of its capital surplus as a result of the collapse in global equity markets, after it warned in June that a 20 percent fall in equity markets would reduce its 1.8 billion pound capital buffer by 700 million pounds. Since then the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen by about 10 percent, while the FTSE 100 has plunged about 12 percent.