PRESS DIGEST - British Business =4

The Guardian

O'REILLY BRACED FOR NEW CHALLENGE OVER INM BOARD

Denis O'Brien, who has a 22 percent stake in Independent News & Media (INME.I: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), is likely to raise objections to the composition of the INM board at the company's annual general meeting next month. Last year he commissioned a report from consultants at Davis Group that alleged nearly all the company's directors had affiliations with chief executive Sir Anthony O'Reilly, while INM's annual report said company chairman Brian Hillery, and 11 other non-executive directors were independent. Mr O'Brien is to have the Davis Group report updated by this year's AGM.

NORTHERN ROCK: ARREARS DOUBLE IN THREE MONTHS

Fears have been raised that the quality of Northern Rock's NRK.L loan book is deteriorating rapidly after it revealed on Monday that the number of customers falling behind with monthly loan repayments almost doubled in the past three months. Ron Sandler, chairman of Northern Rock since its nationalisation earlier this year, said the increase in arrears, from 0.57 percent to 0.95 percent, followed a decision by the board to tighten controls under which the incidence of payments falling behind by three months or more had been under-reported.

BT'S GOT TALENT LINED UP FOR ITS PODSHOWS

BT (BT.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will announce on Tuesday the full consumer launch of BT Podshow, its joint venture with US-based Podshow. The online TV portal allows people to create their own television and radio serials and earn a living by linking their shows with advertisers, and is what BT Podshow president Adam Curry described as a "brand-safe net-work". He added: "There is an expectation about what is going to be delivered, an advertiser won't just find themselves next to a video of someone shooting a firecracker out of his bum."

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants