The Times
FORMER S&N CHIEF DEVELOPS A TASTE FOR MAGNERS WITH ROLE AT RIVAL.

C&C group, the Dublin-based maker of Magners cider, announced on Monday that three former executives of rival brewer Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) will be joining the company. Former S&N boss John Dunsmore will replace Maurice Pratt as chief executive, former group operations director Stephen Glancey will become chief operating officer and Kenny Nelson, the brewer's finance director for Western Europe, has been appointed C&C's strategy director. The trio left S&N following this year's 10 billion pound takeover by Heineken and Carlsberg.

Majestic Wine, Britain's largest wine warehouse, has revealed a fall in pre-tax profit of 25 per cent to 5.6 million pounds in the six months to September 30. Sales of champagne decreased by 6.4 percent, while other sparkling wines were up by 16 per cent as businesses opt for the cheaper alternative in the current economic downturn. The company forecasted a challenging festive period as companies scale back or cancel their Christmas parties.

Vattenfall, the state-owned Swedish power company, has announced plans to team up with ScottishPower to build up to 2,400 offshore wind turbines in the UK. The companies will make a joint bid for a third round of offshore operating licences that are being issued by the Crown Estate, owners of the nation's seabed. The venture would be capable of generating 6,000 megawatts at an estimated cost of 18 billion pounds. The news was welcomed by the Government, which has ambitious plans for offshore wind energy.
The Daily Telegraph
HELP SMALL FIRMS NOW, SAYS COBRA FOUNDER

Lord Bilimoria, the cross-bench peer and founder of Cobra beer, has called for tax incentives and a government-backed funding scheme to help small firms and entrepreneurs through the financial crisis. Speaking at a reception for Asian Business hosted by London Mayor Boris Johnson, Lord Bilmoria described the four billion pounds of lending arrangements over four years promised by the European Investment Bank as inadequate. He also added that the Government's Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme was tiny in comparison to its US equivalent.
CARR'S ENGINEERS 133 PERCENT PROFIT RISE
Carr's Milling Industries, the agriculture, food and engineering company, increased its pre-tax profits by 133 percent to 12.9 million pounds in the year to the end of August. The firm's dividend also increased by 26 percent following a strong performance in its feed and fertilizer business and revenues were up 47.3 percent to 372.3 million pounds. Chairman Richard Inglewood said that the outlook for the group looked positive. Carr's raised its final dividend to 17 pence, payable on January 16.

Hammerson has said that it will not begin work on any new developments before the end of 2009 due to the current economic climate. The property developer will also cut jobs as part of a three million pound cost-cutting programme. Chief executive John Richards said that the decision to delay future developments, such as retail schemes in Leeds and Sheffield was "not difficult" and would not specify the number of potential redundancies.
The Independent

The car dealership Pendragon has warned that it expects to make a full-year loss of 30 million pounds as a result of a sales decline and the costs of an extensive redundancy programme. The company said that new car registrations had fallen more than 12 percent in 2008 as a result of the economic downturn. Registrations over the past three months were down by 21.4 percent. Prices in the used car sector fell by approximately five per cent per month on average in the last four months, with the market for executive and large 4x4 vehicles suffering the most. Since July, Pendragon has made over 2,500 staff redundant. The move will cost over three million pounds this year, but offer a future saving of at least 40 million pounds a year.

The luxury brand group Marchpole has collapsed into administrative receivership. The company suspended trading in its shares on 4 November and has appointed Grant Thornton as administrative receiver. It will now co-operate with its stakeholders to seek purchasers of its operating companies as trading businesses. Since its establishment in 1973, Marchpole has operated as a designer, manufacturer and distributor of fashion merchandise. The company has completed several licence agreements and opened five international offices.

The bingo and casino group Rank has been awarded a 59.1million pound VAT repayment from the Government following a legal battle over tax charges on bingo games played by its customers during intervals at its Mecca bingo halls. The company has objected to the fact that some but not all of the games are taxed, depending on the value of the payouts. It has argued that under EU rules the games should all be taxed the same. The Government will appeal against the ruling.
The Guardian

The founder of the price-comparison website TheEnergyShop.com has called on Britain's energy companies to reduce annual gas bills by around 100 pounds per household. Joe Malinowski said that there was a "clear case" for lowering domestic bills in February following a 50 percent drop in oil prices since July. He said the price fall represented "a level that finally indicates cuts in domestic energy bills are on the cards". Since the start of the year, average domestic energy bills have increased by 370 pounds a year.

The annual survey from the Society of British Aerospace Companies reveals that the UK's aerospace and defence industry performed strongly last year, with a 65 percent rise in orders to a record 43.8 billion pounds. The report also shows that spending on research and development increased from 2.5 billion pounds in 2006 to 2.9 billion pounds last year. The society's chief executive, Ian Godden, predicted that, while the industry would not escape the effects of the current financial crisis, it "should play a major role in the recovery of the UK economy", providing that liquidity is maintained within the sector.
PAPER COLLAPSE BLOWS HOLE IN BRITAIN'S RECYCLING STRATEGY

The Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) has highlighted the additional pressure facing Britain's recycling strategy as a result of a recent collapse in waste prices. Buyers in the Far East had previously bought around three million tonnes of Britain's exports of paper for recycling, but have now backed away, triggering a price collapse in some paper grades. The UK annually collects around 8.6 million tonnes of paper and board for recycling, while national paper manufacturers can only handle four million tonnes. The resulting shortfall has lead to the dependence on the European and Far Eastern export markets. The CPI has warned that "The worst-case scenario is that some material collected for recycling could go to incineration or landfill."
Prepared for Reuters by Durrants

Keywords: BRITAIN PRESS/BUSINESS

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