What the Sunday papers said - 03 March
The Independent on Sunday
Barry Warwick, the former chief executive of Old English Inns, has been accused of trying to "bribe" the former finance director, Stuart Simpson, to keep him quiet about alleged accounting difficulties. In a case in the High Court on Monday March 4, Simpson is claiming more than £70,000 in damages for wrongful dismissal. The writ claims there was at least £1.5m overstatement of profits in the 1997-98 financial year.
Shares in bar and nightclub group Luminar are recommended as a buy -the company is undervalued despite long-term prospects of healthy earnings growth.
The Observer
JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has attacked finance groups who invest in tenanted and leased pubs for short-term gains. He also confirms plans to roll out Lloyd's No 1 bars to 500 within 10 years.
Whitbread is held up as a good example of a company that provides a good work-life balance for its employees through flexible hours, job sharing and paternity leave.
The Sunday Times
The Big Food Group, formerly Iceland, is this week to announce a refinancing package to support major expansion plans for its business, which includes the Booker cash & carry chain.
A bidding war has broken out over Nestle's non-core food brands, such as Crosse & Blackwell, Gale's honey, Sun-Pat peanut butter, Branston Pickle and Rowntree's jelly. Private equity firms Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst and Doughton Hanson are thought to be in the lead, with a price tag of about £100million.
The Sunday Telegraph
In a study of 1,000 monkeys given alcohol, it was found that their behaviour divided into four types. Providing clues to human drinking habits, it found most were social drinkers but 15 per cent were steady drinkers, five per cent were binge drinkers and the rest were teetotal.
Matt Morrison, formerly a high-earning specialist in internet advertising, is one of the victims of the collapse of the dotcom bubble - and is now working as a commis chef in Notting Hill restaurant E@O, "earning peanuts" in "the worst job in the world".
Sunday Express
Domino's Pizza's shares are recommended as a buy at 74.5p, highlighting its continuing strong trading and future benefits from refurbishments and expansion.
The Mail on Sunday
Punch Pub Company and Enterprise Inns have both tabled bids of about £2billion to buy Nomura Principal Finance Group's Unique Pub Company and Voyager Group.
The worst should now be past for restaurant food supplier Brake Bros, which is recommended as a good investment at 577.5p. It was hit by the slump in tourist trade after September 11, but the business has underlying solidity.
