(CPR.L) Carpetright PLC Buy/Sell

RNS Number : 6856B Carpetright PLC 30 October 2009

CARPETRIGHT PLC

DIRECTORS'/PDMR INTERESTS IN SHARES

1. The Board of Carpetright plc (the "Company") announces today that the following awards (the "Awards") to acquire ordinary shares of £0.01 each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") granted under the Company's 2004 Long Term Incentive Plan were exercised by the following Directors/PDMR of the Company on 29 October 2009:

Name of Director/ PDMR Number of Ordinary Percentage of issued Exercise Price Per
Shares in respect of Ordinary Shares to Ordinary Share
which the Award was be acquired pursuant
exercised to the Award
exercise

Directors:
Lord Harris 8,337 0.012% £0.01
M Harris 4,432 0.007% £0.01

PDMR:
J Kitching 4,887 0.007% £0.01

2. This notification relates to transactions notified in accordance with DR 3.1.4R(1)(a).

Patricia Dregent

Company Secretary

Date of notification: 30 October 2009

This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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The Times

SLAUGHTER MAY LOSE ITS LEGAL STRANGLEHOLD ON BANKING

The Treasury is asking other law firms to tender for the role of the government's legal adviser on the banking crisis, threatening the position of the current occupier of the post, Slaughter and May. The law firm has been involved in the bailouts since the collapse of Northern Rock in 2007 and has generated 25 million pounds in fees. At this stage it is unknown which firms have tendered bids, but Slaughter and May is almost certain to keep some work, while its "magic circle" rivals, including Allen & Overy and Linklaters, are likely contenders.

BLACKS LEISURE SEEKS PACT TO LEAVE SHOPS AS DEADLINE LOOMS

FOR FINDING RESCUE PLAN

Blacks Leisure's attempts to restructure its store portfolio have been met with opposition from landlords. Its lender, Lloyds Banking Group, wants the company to offload 89 closed stores through a company voluntary arrangement. However, the retailer has not found a compromise that is acceptable to landlords. Blacks has until the end of November to jettison the loss-making stores, but must convince Lloyds that is has produced a viable turnaround plan by Friday. Martyn Chase, DTZ's retail head, said CVAs were "an absolute disaster for the industry. It's a blatant abuse."

YELL'S RESCUE BID IN PERIL AS LENDERS FAIL TO BACK SCHEME

Yell, the owner of Yellow Pages, has failed to convince its 300-plus lenders to approve its restructuring proposals and will now go ahead with a court application to impose the plan on the lenders. It is believed that just under 90 percent of the lenders by value agreed to the deal, five percent short of the required number. The deadline for the deal had been extended by three days, but yesterday's outcome means the courts could take up to eight weeks to approve a scheme of arrangement and leave Yell's share price in limbo until the new year.

The Daily Telegraph

LLOYDS TO QUIZ INVESTORS OVER 25 BILLION POUND CASH CALL

Lloyds Banking Group will ask its investors on Thursday whether it should raise 25 billion pounds of capital in a bid to leave the government's insurance scheme for its toxic debts. The bank will meet government officials and shareholders on Thursday morning to discuss commitment to a planned 11 billion pound rights issue in the light of its falling share price. The government fears questions over economic stability if the rights issue fails.

GSK SALES BOOSTED BY SWINE FLU

GlaxoSmithKline has boosted its revenues through swine flu, toothpaste and its performance in emerging markets. On Wednesday, it announced third-quarter revenues of 6.76 billion pounds, up three percent in constant currency terms -- the first increase of that kind for over two years. Analysts are predicting sales of the swine flu vaccine Pandemrix will generate one billion pounds in revenue for GSK in the fourth quarter. Sales of its anti-viral treatment Relenza have already soared. Chief executive Andrew Witty said the results proved his diversification of GSK's investment strategy had worked.

CARPETRIGHT POINTS TO HAPPIER OUTLOOK

On Wednesday, Carpetright reported its strongest quarterly increase in sales since August 2002, a sign that the consumer economy is recovering. Lord Harris of Peckham, its founder, revealed an increase of 5.6 percent in the three months to October 24. Despite analysts' scepticism over the results -- which follow a double-digit decline last year -- Harris remained optimistic about the economy. He praised Carpetright's "solid start", before backing the Conservative Party to win next year's election. Carpetright's share price fell 14 pence to 886 pence.

The Independent

BAA LOSSES BALLOON ON LOW PRICE FOR GATWICK

BAA, owned by Ferrovial, has revealed pre-tax losses of 785 million pounds over the first three quarters of 2009. It lost 261 million pounds because of an exceptional charge on its pension scheme deficit and 136 million pounds on financial instruments. There was also a 225 million pound gap between BAA's valuation of Gatwick Airport and its sale price. Passenger numbers declined 5.5 percent to 91 million across BAA's UK airports. Heathrow traffic has risen by 0.3 percent.

ROCK UP FOR SALE AS EU CLEARS SPLIT

The EU Competition Commission has sanctioned plans to divide Northern Rock into "good" and "bad" banks, amid reports that it will take ten years for the tax payer to recoup the money used to bail the bank out. Under the deal struck with the competition watchdog, Northern Rock will also have caps imposed on its lending and deposits until 2011. In addition, it will not be allowed a top three ranking in Moneyfacts mortgage categories for two, three, or five-year fixed or variable mortgages during this period. In return for these concessions, Northern Rock will receive a further eight billion pounds in state funding and will be able to call on four billion pounds of "stand-by liquidity".

The Guardian

TESCO RULES OUT NORTHERN ROCK TAKEOVER

Tesco outlined plans for its new full service bank on Wednesday. The supermarket group will offer current accounts and mortgage products before eventually extending its offering to business banking. Tesco Bank chief executive Benny Higgins said the group had no interest in establishing a network of high street branches, describing the high street as "not where the future is". Tesco also ruled itself out of the running to take control of the "good" bank set to be spun off from Northern Rock.

CENTRICA FEARS UK GREEN ENERGY TARGET IS AT RISK

British Gas owner Centrica has warned that the UK risks missing its 2020 renewable energy targets unless the government maintains current subsidy levels. Wind farms approved by March 2010 will receive an increase in subsidies known as renewables obligation certificates, but government officials announced yesterday there were no plans to make the arrangement permanent. Centrica has just announced plans to invest 725 million pounds in a wind farm off the coast of Lincolnshire and Sarwjit Sambhi, managing director of the group's power business, noted the fact that the increased subsidy was what allowed Centrica to undertake the project.

TRADING SLUMP AT THRESHERS CHAIN PUTS 6,000 JOBS IN PERIL

The management of First Quench Retailing, the firm behind off licence chain Threshers, confirmed on Wednesday that it is considering a number of restructuring options, one of which is understood to be a pre-pack administration. The group, which made a 30 million pound loss last year, is being advised by KPMG. First Quench has 1,300 stores, staffed mainly by part-timers, and 6,500 jobs are at risk.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants
Keywords: PRESS DIGEST British business Oct 29

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Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

Financial Times

LSE CLOSES IN ON DEAL TO ABSORB TURQUOISE

A new joint venture between the London Stock Exchange and Turquoise could be finalised within as little as two weeks, pending discussions with the latter's backers. The pan-European share trading platform will be merged with the LSE's so-called "dark pool" block trading facility, Baikal, affording the LSE a 51 percent controlling stake and bolstering its position against such rivals as Chi-X Europe and BATS Europe. Ironically, Turquoise, which launched two years ago, had also been seen as a contender to the LSE's dominance, but a lack of profitability and subsequent shareholder apathy have contributed to the exchange's decision to embark upon the move.

LOVELLS IN MERGER TALKS TO CREATE TRANSATLANTIC LEGAL FIRM

City law firm Lovells is rumoured to be discussing a potential tie-up with Washington-based Hogan & Hartson. The move is aimed at creating a law firm that will be slightly smaller than the UK's big four, Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy, and that will have a strong litigation focus. While transatlantic mergers have historically been mostly unsuccessful, a combined Lovells-Hogan partnership, which would result in a company with combined revenue of 1.9 billion dollars, would hope to succeed through offering a different perspective to the big four.

MGPA POISED FOR 90 MILLION POUND LAND DEAL

Private equity group MGPA is in the final round of talks to acquire Land Improvement Holdings for 90 million pounds. MGPA has until the end of next week to take advantage of an exclusivity clause that will see it stave off a rival bid from Carlyle. Although the price of land in the UK has dropped dramatically in recent years, residential land is forecast to increase in value as the property and housebuilding markets begin to recover. Land Improvement's portfolio of land and land purchase options are believed to amount to approximately 50 million pounds. In addition, the company has about 40 million pounds in cash, although a certain portion of that is already allocated to various projects and costs.

YELL USING SCHEME OF ARRANGEMENT TO RESTRUCTURE

Yell is depending on a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement to force creditors to back the group's debt restructuring plans after failing to secure the requisite 95 percent backing within the specified timeframe. Even though some 90 percent of Yell's lenders were in favour of the rescheduling, there were others who were either legally unable to submit an approval or were hoping to have their debts paid off early by refusing to back the scheme. The legal challenge, which will take approximately four to six weeks to complete, requires 75 percent of creditors by value of debt and 50 percent by number to be accepted. Shares at the directories group fell 6.16 pence to 46.34 pence.

BAT FIRM ON PRICE INCREASE IN FACE OF SALES FALL

British American Tobacco has said it is to push ahead with planned price increases in 2010 despite evidence that premium brand cigarette sales are slipping as consumers switch to cheaper brands or illegally-traded cigarettes during the recession. Paul Adams, chief executive, indicated there are a number of territories where price hikes are being explored. Like-for-like volumes for the nine months to September 30, excluding acquisitions gains, dropped three percent. With BAT reporting a two percent decline for the first half in June, analysts are suggesting the company could be facing an overall decline of five percent during the third quarter. Shares fell 33.5 pence to 19.57 pounds.

NANOCO MOVES TO RAMP UP QUANTUM DOTS

An anticipated increase in business has led quantum dot manufacturer Nanoco to ramp-up its manufacturing operations. The company intends to enter joint development agreements with multinational electronic companies, providing raw material and claiming royalties on each product. Nanoco is currently the only company able to produce quantum dots -- fluorescent semiconductor nano-particles used to create light sources such as LEDs and mobile phone displays -- without the use of cadmium. Results released on Wednesday show revenue of two million pounds for the year to the end of July. Nanoco's broker Zeus Capital has forecast revenue of 5.1 million pounds for 2009, with earnings before interest and tax of 421,000 pounds.

DIVIDEND TO DOUBLE AS CARPETRIGHT PILES ON SALES

A return to sales growth has led Carpetright to predict that its full-year dividend will more than double. Citing a boost in the housing market and the collapse of rival Allied Carpets as the reasons for the improved trading conditions, the UK's largest flooring retailer said it expected to pay a full-year dividend of about 20 pence in 2010. This figure is a marked improvement on the 2009 dividend which was cut to just eight pence in June. Despite a 10.3 percent increase in group sales in the 12 weeks to October 24 and a climb in like-for-like sales in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, Lord Harris of Peckham, group chief executive and chairman, sounded a note of caution. "I think (Carpetright's) over the worst. I've been through six, seven of these downturns and we're always first in, first out. But I don't think the country's over the worst," he said.

VENTURE TO JOIN INDUSTRY WITH RESEARCH

A new Coventry-based venture, funded by companies such as Rolls-Royce and Airbus UK, as well as 40 million pounds of public money, is being launched in a bid to pioneer manufacturing techniques and to address the UK's less-than-impressive track record for turning research into commercially viable products. The manufacturing technology centre, which will be officially announced on Thursday by Business Minister Pat McFadden, will bring academics and technical specialists together to solve practical problems. The MTC is due to open in 2011 and is expected to generate fee income from business of 13 million pounds per year.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants
Keywords: PRESS DIGEST Financial Times Oct 29

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

RNS Number : 4740B Carpetright PLC 28 October 2009

28 October 2009

Carpetright plc

Pre Close Trading Update

For the 12 weeks to 24 October 2009

Carpetright plc, Europe's leading specialist carpet and floor coverings retailer, today announces the following trading update for the 12 weeks ended 24 October 2009.

Highlights for the 12 weeks to 24 October 2009