They said Hochtief was the front-runner in the race for the pounds 1

They said Hochtief was the front-runner in the race for the pounds 1.8bn-turnover business, but warned that a deal was not imminent and could take up to two months to be completed.
The sources said that there were no other groups in the running for Bovis, but admitted that the company had had talks in the past with the rival construction group John Laing about a possible joint venture.Last week Sir Martin Laing, chairman of John Laing, said there were “no talks whatsoever” between the two companies at the moment. P&O, the transport giant, is in talks to sell Bovis Construction, its building subsidiary, to the German construction group Hochtief for up to pounds 350m. Sources closed to the company confirmed yesterday that the two parties were in “top-level” talks on the future of Bovis. The company designs and produces cartons, mainly for food manufacturers. Waddington said in June that its cartons operation would be offered for sale.Jim Heilig, Low & Bonar’s chief executive, said: “This acquisition, which is earnings enhancing in its first full year, provides an excellent opportunity for us to reduce our cost base, significantly strengthen our position in the UK folding carton market and establish a platform for expansion in continental Europe.”Martin Buckley, chief executive of Waddington, added: “We have concluded the sale of this least profitable part of the group quickly and at a good price.”.

Low & Bonar said it would close one of its plants at Speke, near Liverpool, and a machinery business in Swindon. The Speke site is dedicated to a contract with Kelloggs, which is not being renewed, and the company says it will struggle to find another owner. LOW & BONAR, the plastics and packaging company, has warned that it will close two of its UK plants with the loss of up to 225 jobs after the completion of the pounds 67.5m acquisition of Waddington Cartons, announced yesterday. It was also hit by higher staff costs and the decision to introduce larger, lined glasses.But like-for-like sales still grew by 2.2 per cent during the year, though this has slid to a 1 per cent decline in current trading.

Wetherspoon blamed the fall on a poor first two weeks in July.The shares closed 7p lower at 160.5p.. Analysts’ forecasts started the year at pounds 26m but had to be continually downgraded as Wetherspoon was hit by a series of problems.It suffered during the World Cup because its pubs did not have televisions. Many if these will be in suburban locations rather than busy city centres.Mr Martin also admitted that he is cautious about the outlook on margins as price rises would be difficult to achieve in the current environment.He was speaking as Wetherspoon reported a 15 per cent increase in pre- tax profits to pounds 20.2m for the year to 2 August. The profits rise was achieved despite a pounds 1.4m impact from the strength of sterling and weak demand for its child car safety seats.
The new emphasis on aircraft fittings and vehicle safety products has left Britax “well positioned to ride out any possible recessions, as people tend to keep spending on safety,” the company said.. The sale completed Hunting’s disposal of its aviation business, which has left it with pounds 50m earmarked for bolt-on acquisitions in the North American oil sector, according to the chairman, Richard Hunting..

Britax profits up

BRITAX INTERNATIONAL, the aircraft and car equipment group, which raised pounds 160m from disposals and reinvested it in manufacturing, yesterday reported a 21 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to pounds 26.8m in the first half of the year. Three Norwegian banks merge

THREE NORWEGIAN banks are to merge in a deal which will create the country’s largest bank with combined assets of around $40bn. Christiania Bank, Fokus Bank and Postbanken said the move would allow them to cut costs and widen their product distribution. The Norwegian government, which currently owns all of Postbanken and 51 per cent of Christiania, will hold just over 50 per cent of the new bank.. Hunting ahead

HUNTING, the international services group, yesterday unveiled a 9 per cent rise in profits before exceptionals at the halfway stage, after a strong performance from defence contracts helped to offset a 19 per cent fall in profits at its oil businesses.
Pre-tax profits in the six months to June fell to pounds 19.2m (pounds 20.9m), due to a one-off pounds 3.6m charge from the sale of its Cargo Airlines.

Deposits were up by 9 per cent to pounds 3bn.Bad debt provisions were up by 5 per cent to pounds 18.5m, reflecting the expansion of personal loans. The cost income ratio, traditionally a weaker area, improved by 4 percentage points to 68 per cent.. However, he believed that, with its investment in Internet banking, there was enough scope for the bank to grow organically and develop new business areas without succumbing to pressure to buy growth through acquisition.The aggressive targeting of personal business paid off with a 15 per cent rise in the value of personal loans to pounds 2.57bn, the bank announced. If it is successful, the machines could be installed at hundreds of Co-op stores in deprived areas around the country.The bank’s chief executive, Mervyn Pedelty, says the scheme, which follows the Co-op’s recent link with Post Office Counters, grew out of discussions between the various parts of the Co-op movement on how Co-op stores could be used to market Co-op financial services more effectively to their customers.The move runs counter to the trend elsewhere in the banking industry in which waves of bank branch closures have left large parts of the country without easy access to basic banking services.The C-op Bank, which now has 2 per cent of current accounts and 5 per cent of credit-card balances in the UK, is now seriously considering an entry to the mortgage market.Half-year pre-tax profits rose to pounds 40.2m from pounds 33m last year.Mr Pedelty, who took over as chief executive last year, said the bank’s ethical stance was continuing to win business, particularly among the better-off who make up the bulk of Co-op customers.He said the bank was now too large to be regarded as a niche player. Total completions soared 14 per cent to 3,010.Shares in Redrow firmed 2.5p to 145.5p.. THE CO-OPERATIVE BANK is planning to install cash dispensers in Co-op stores in a move to bring its services within reach of “unbanked” people left high and dry by the high street banks’ concentration on high turnover locations in city centres and shopping malls. The Government has made the reintroduction of basic infrastructure in sink estates a priority as part of its policy to combat social exclusion.
A pilot scheme covering 16 Co-op stores in the North-west and Leeds is under way.