What the Sunday papers said

Sunday Times

• Leisure industry legend Trevor Hemmings is preparing to burst back into the contest for the £2.4 billion Scottish & Newcastle pub estate. Hemmings failed to make the shortlist of three bidders but, after the collapse of a consortium led by Cinven and CVC last week, he is pressing the board to let him back into the auction. Read the latest on thePublican.com.

Mail on Sunday​

• Pub firms are jostling over who will end up with parts of the 1,450 strong Scottish & Newcastle pub estate even before the preferred bidder has been decided. Final bids are due on Tuesday, but chains including Pubmaster and Punch Pub Company have already been in talks with the shortlisted bidders over splitting the estate.

The Business​

• Switzerland's Hess Group is considering raising its offer for Peter Lehmann Wines this week in its battle with Allied Domecq for control of the Australian wine company. Read the latest on thePublican.com.

Companies such as Nationwide building society are becoming increasingly wary of the merits of biometric ID cards, which home secretary David Blunkett want to use for a national scheme. Recent tests of an iris-scanning cash machine added 25 per cent to the cost.

Sunday Express​

• The Inland Revenue is to launch a massive tax clampdown on smaller partnerships and companies, and about one in three sole traders and partnerships can expect to have their businesses investigated in the coming year.

Business owners will urge the government to put support for small firms at the top of their agenda at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth. Action will be demanded on a list of complaints from red tape to insurance premiums.

The Independent on Sunday​

• Scottish & Newcastle is expected to announce the sale of its pub estate on Tuesday. Potential buyers are Spirit, backed by US private equity firms Texas Pacific and Blackstone, and Laurel Pubs, backed by Japanese investment firm Nomura, while venture capitalist Cinven has dropped out of the running. Read the latest on thePublican.com.
• Allied Domecq is hoping its £61.8m revised offer for Australia's Peter Lehhmann Wines is going to be enough. It faces stiff competition from Swiss-based Hess Group, which has the backing of the wine-maker's founder Peter Lehmann. Read the latest on thePublican.com.