What the Sunday papers say - July 1

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Sunday TelegraphNomura Principal Finance Group is launching a strategic review of Unique Pub Company, which could see some or all of the 3,200 pubs...

Sunday Telegraph

Nomura Principal Finance Group is launching a strategic review of Unique Pub Company, which could see some or all of the 3,200 pubs sold. Another option being considered is the acquisition of a brewery either from Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries or Bass Brewers. Read more on ThePublican.com

Scottish & Newcastle will this week announce losses of about £180m at its full-year results after being forced into exceptional charges of about £600m following a string of sales of the pay year and a restructuring of its brewing activities.

Interbrew is holding talks with Carlsberg to sell parts of Bass Brewers and possibly also Tennants. The Office of Fair Trading is expected to announce the deal as a possible solution to competition problems over Interbrew's acquisition of Bass' brewing arm after buying Whitbread Beer Company.

Taylor Woodrow has put London's St Katharine's Dock development of homes, pubs and restaurants on the market with a price tag of £250m.

Bass chief executive Tim Clarke estimates that the company, due to be renamed Six Continents, could easily borrow £3bn to fund hotel acquisitions.

Diageo is in advanced talks to sell its Guinness World of Records business to Gullane Entertainment, which owns Thomas the Tank Engine and Sooty, for about £49m.

Sunday Business

Diageo is in advanced talks to sell its Guinness World of Records business to Gullane Entertainment, which owns Thomas the Tank Engine and Sooty, for about £45m.

Italian drinks group Campari is set to debut on the Italian stock exchange on Friday with an initial public offering of a 49 per cent stake. It is expected to value the company at £620m.

The Independent on Sunday

Rob Hayward, chief executive of the Brewers and Licensed Retailers Association, is named as one of the 50 most influential gay men and woman in Britain in the newspaper's annual Pink List. Others from the hospitality industry include Peter Dalton, co-owner of bar operator Manto Group, and Laurence Isaacson, the head of Groupe Chez Gerard.

Taxpayers will have to pay £2.5bn for government spending on the foot-and-mouth crisis to date, which is equivalent to the sum raised by 1p on the basic rate of income tax.

A government scheme to rescue Britain's tourism industry has been exposed as a complete failure. It emerged that just four tourism businesses have received loans specially set up in the wake of the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

Sunday Times

Iceland, which owns Booker cash and carry, is being investigated for insider share dealing by the Department of Trade and Industry. In May Stephen Byers, then the trade secretary, set up the inquiry to look at events surrounding a plunge in Iceland's share price in January. The fall was a month after the company's co-founder and chairman, Malcolm Walker, had sold a £13.5m stake. Investigations are understood not to focus on any one individual.

Raising the £1,000 limit on jackpots from fruit machines is among the recommendations in a report delivered on Friday to Tessa Jowell, the new secretary of state for culture, media and sport. An advisory committee was asked to see if there was a case for more liberalisation in the face of increased competition from lotteries and internet services. The committee has also taken a cautious line by not allowing gambling in pubs, and has called for a new industry regulator. The recommendations, which will be published by the culture department in the middle of this month, also call for relaxations on betting shops, which are likely to be allowed to have fruit machines with bigger jackpots and to sell lottery tickets. However, there will still be restrictions barring anyone aged under 18.

Diageo is planning a £2.5bn share buyback next year. The company was in talks with Gullane, the children's media group which owns Thomas the Tank Engine, to sell Guinness Book of Records for £40m. The money raised from this latest disposal - combined with the intended sale of Burger King and a host of other brands - will contribute to an initial £100m buyback this year with larger ones in the middle of next year. Sources close to the company doubt there are any sizeable acquisitions that would make much of a dent in the funds retrieved from the intended disposals, which is why the funds will go back to shareholders.

Richard Macadam, managing director of Oddbins, and his management team have clinched the off-licence chain from Seagram for £65m. An announcement will not be made until Seagram gets the green light from American regulatory authorities to sell its spirits division to Diageo and Pernod Ricard. That decision is expected within a month. The news will disappoint trade buyers and venture capital firms, including Nomura Principal Finance Group, which owns First Quench off-licence group.

The war of words between Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries and its hostile bidder, Pubmaster, is "brewing up nicely and investors can afford to watch the drama unfold for a little longer". Pubmaster is likely to increase its bid from 480p to top 500p in the next few weeks. This compares with the current share price of 481p. At this level investors should take the cash. Analysts are adamant that if the offer is rejected the price will fall below 400p.

Iceland, which owns Booker cash and carry, is expected to give details of its strategic review this week when it announces full-year figures. Investors are recommended to hold on at 179½p.

A third of owner-managed companies in Scotland have experienced falling sales because of the foot and mouth crisis, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Although 51 per cent of companies' prospects improved in the past quarter, this is down from 61 per cent in the previous quarter. Also, 24 per cent reported a deterioration - up from 17 per cent last time (Scottish edition only).

The Observer

Hundreds of jobs will go later this month when troubled broadcaster ONdigital is folded into ITV. Sources say ONdigital's parent companies, Carlton Communications and Granada, are determined to slash costs. The terrestrial digital broadcaster has more than a million subscribers but is losing money. It is predicted that the joint venture will require a total investment of £1.2bn before it hits profitability.

Mail on Sunday

Iceland, which owns Booker cash and carry, is being investigated for insider share dealing by the Department of Trade and Industry. In May Stephen Byers, then the trade secretary, set up the inquiry to look at events surrounding a plunge in Iceland's share price in January. The fall was a month after the company's co-founder and chairman, Malcolm Walker, had sold a £13.5m stake. Investigations are understood not to focus on any one individual.

Scotland on Sunday

No industry-related news.

Sunday Express

No industry-related stories.

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