WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
RBS INVESTORS SAY PAY CHIEF EXEC MORE
Royal Bank of Scotland chairman Sir Philip Hampton has had to overhaul the planned incentive package for chief executive Stephen Hester after institutional investors raised concerns that it was not generous enough.
INEOS DEBT SPARKS WORRIES OVER ITS FUTURE
Auditors to Ineos, Britain’s biggest private company, have raised “material” concerns about the chemical company’s future as it struggles under a €7.5bn (£6.4bn) debt pile. PricewaterhouseCoopers said refinancing talks with Ineos’s banks raised a “material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.
LLOYDS TAKES £600M HIT ON PUB GIANT ADMIRAL TAVERNS
Lloyds Banking Group will lose an estimated £600m on Admiral Taverns, the pub giant, in what is believed to be one of the biggest write-offs it will be forced to take on a single investment. The group’s Bank of Scotland arm had lent more than £1bn to Admiral to finance a string of acquisitions. But because of the market downturn, pub values have been slashed. The estate is now thought to be worth under £500m and the bank is sounding out potential buyers.
GALA’S CREDIT CRUNCH
Gaming giant Gala Coral is trying to raise £200m of fresh funding to help it through a looming cash crunch.
The company, owner of a string of bingo halls and casinos as well as Coral, the bookmaker, wants to free up cash to invest in the business.
COMPANIES RAISE PENSION LONGEVITY ESTIMATES
UK companies are using much more realistic estimates of how long pension scheme members will live after they have retired, with the average company raising that estimate by three and a half years since 2004, according to a new Pensions Accounting Survey by KPMG.
COMPETITION CHIEF WARNS ON RESCUES
Rescue takeover deals in ailing industries such as carmaking will be blocked if they are judged anti-competitive, a senior officer has warned, dealing a blow to hopes that rules would be relaxed to help sectors hit by the financial crisis. Peter Freeman Competition Commission chairman said he would be “sensitive” but would not allow damaging mergers.
The Daily Telegraph
ITV MULLS SUING STV
ITV is considering legal action against STV Group after accusing the Scottish media company of failing to pay a £22m fee for being part of the ITV network. The accusation, which STV strongly disputes and is the size of the Scottish broadcaster’s market value, comes as STV has been opting out of a number of series in the ITV network.
CABLE & WIRELESS SAYS IT HAS INVESTOR SUPPORT
Cable & Wireless has insisted it has the backing of many of its leading shareholders despite news that the Association for British Insurers (ABI) is considering a red top alert ahead of the telecom company’s annual general meeting. The ABI is believed to be considering issuing a red-top on C&W’s plans to extend one long-term incentive plan and establish a follow-on scheme to retain top executives.
ABOUT 10,000 LAWYERS FACE LOSING THEIR JOBS
As many as 10,000 lawyers could be out of work in the UK in the next two years as the legal business faces its worst slump in decades. More than one in ten of the country’s 83,000 privately employed solicitors could lose their jobs, recruiters, consultants and senior law firm partners told The Times, and will struggle to find new jobs even as the economy emerges from the recession.
BA IN PENSION RESERVES CRISIS
British Airways has begun a tough set of negotiations with its pension trustees after dropping below the level of cash reserves agreed three years ago. It had agreed to pay a big one-off contribution help address the deficit, and to pay an extra £50m a year as long as it had £1.8bn of net cash.