CityAM 09/07/2010

Issue 1,173 Friday 9 July 2010

BUSINESS WITH PERSONALITY
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BANKING BY VICTORIA BATES AND DAVID HELLIER

BATTLE OF THE BANKS
(L-r) Bank raiders Walker, Levene and Virgin Money’s Gadhia Pictures: Micha Theiner/ CITY A.M, REUTERS [Gadhia, Virgin Money’s chief executive], our management team and business model were something he wanted to be a part of.” Though they aim to raise just £50m at IPO, Levene and Walker have already been able to use their influence to secure £2bn of funding from a group of 10-12 major City institutions, including Aviva Investors, F&C Asset Management and Invesco. Levene will take up the chairmanship of the new bank, while Walker will be a non-executive director. A raft of other respected City figures have also agreed to join the board. Levene is said to have been “extremely active” in the past three to four weeks in pursuing potential deals. But though talk in the City yesterday was that the new bank’s top team had not yet managed to secure meetings with either Northern Rock or Lloyds, a spokesman for the venture insisted the “calibre of the team and personalities mean there will be no problem with taking them seriously”. Levene and Walker are expected to explore bids for a host of retail bank assets. Investment bank Cenkos and boutique advisory firm Kinmont are both advising on the project. After the Aim listing, Cenkos will act as nominated adviser (Nomad) to the as yetunnamed firm, while Kinmont will be its broker.

BIKINIS FOR THE BEACH
SIZZLE IN SOME GREAT COZZIES
P26

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SOME OF the City’s most powerful names are gearing up for an almighty bidding battle over state-controlled banking assets including Northern Rock and parts of Lloyds Banking Group. Lloyd’s of London chairman Lord Levene and City grandee Sir David Walker will take on Richard Branson’s Virgin money in a fight to create a new nationwide high street banking giant. The high-profile pair are set to list a new vehicle on the Alternative Investment Market in as little as three weeks’ time, with a view to acquiring some or all of the state asset pile after the IPO. Sources close to Virgin Money yesterday said the firm would still be “very much in the hunt” for the assets despite the emergence of a fresh contender. But tensions between the rivals will be heightened by the revelation that Virgin’s former chairman, the late Sir Brian Pitman, had also played a key role in the setting up of Levene and Walker’s venture. City A.M. can reveal that Pitman, a former Lloyds Bank chief executive, was a senior consultant to the project prior to joining Virgin, with those at the heart of the discussions confirming that he had been instrumental in “reviewing and validating the business plan”. A Virgin Money spokesman played down talk of a conflict of interest between the ventures, but he confirmed that the firm had been aware Pitman was involved in other projects at the time of his appointment. “It makes absolute sense that someone of Sir Brian’s experience and stature would be consulted on a project like this,” he said. “But ultimately he decided that Jayne-Anne

Advisers will get a slice of the limelight
ADVISING on Lord Levene and Sir David Walker’s new retail bank is a particularly lucrative piece of business for Cenkos and Kinmont, who have already been hard at work preparing the team for what one insider described as “a pugnacious couple of months” ahead. Cenkos corporate broker Paul Hodges has so far been instrumental in leading the fundraising charge that has brought in around £2bn of investment from the institutions, aided and abetted by his counterpart Ian Soanes over in the firm’s corporate finance department. Hodges, a former composite insurance analyst, joined Cenkos in March 2005. He previously worked under Terry Smith at Collins Stewart. Gavin Kelly’s Kinmont has advised the new vehicle Kelly, a larger-than-life Scotsman famed for throwing some of the business world’s best parties, has offices near to Berkeley Square. His firm’s business spans public and private company, private equity and debt capital markets advisory services. Though small, the firm does have a track record in helping to establish new financial services ventures. It previously worked on setting up environmental exchange group Climate Exchange, bought out recently by US rival IntercontinentalExchange, and also advised on the setting up of London-listed insurance business Lancashire.
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Thrust into the limelight as the other half of the advisory team is Kinmont, a boutique set up by former UBS corporate financier Gavin Kelly in 2003.

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News

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

We won’t run out of oil any time soon
EDITOR’S LETTER

NEWS | IN BRIEF
Swiss central bank down €7.5bn
The Swiss National Bank has possibly suffered paper losses of up to SFr10bn (€7.5bn or £6.28bn) after interventions in the currency markets to restrain the value of the country’s currency. The central bank is expected to report a big loss in its second-quarter accounts, which come out in mid-August.

ALLISTER HEATH
THERE is only one rule when it comes to the availability of oil: experts are always convinced it will run out – but it never seems to. Brent crude is now at close to $75 a barrel, which is high but hardly excessively so by historical standards. There will be upwards price pressure in the aftermath of the BP disaster and the clampdown on new drilling, though if prices do rise enough the incentive to find more of the black stuff will increase commensurately, especially in countries with a more liberal exploration policy, and this ought to keep a lid on prices.

But one thing is clear: the peak oil theorists, who constantly predict that prices are about to explode, keep on getting it wrong but are never sufficiently held to account by a gullible media. As Mark Perry, a professor at the University of Michigan, reminds us, it was five years ago that Houstonbased Matthew Simmons (a leading peak oil man) and the unusually sensible New York Times columnist John Tierney bet $5,000 on the price of oil. The wager was based on the average daily price for 2010, adjusted for inflation. If the inflation-adjusted oil price averages $200 or more, Simmons wins $10,000, and if the average price this year is less than $200, Tierney wins. As Perry points out, average oil prices this year won't even be anywhere close to $100, and will probably average less than $70, far below the $200 price predicted by Simmons. Only a total catastrophe would ensure the price would average $330 per barrel for the rest of 2010 – which is what would be needed for Simmons to win

his bet. He will have to hand the cash over and eat humble pie. The oil industry is having to spend vast amounts to keep production at elevated levels; it is becoming harder to find new sources of oil. Demand has been low, thanks to the recession. But the biggest driver of prices over the next few years will be political factors – such as bans on drilling – rather than any inherent scientific or technological constraints.

ECONOMICS OF FOOTBALL
Freakonomics, eat your heart out. The latest issue of the London School of Economics’ CentrePiece contains some fascinating insights on the World Cup and football, from an economic perspective. Among the findings are that two-footedness – the rare ability to use both feet equally well to pass, tackle and shoot – commands a large wage premium. Research by Alex Bryson and colleagues finds a clear link between top performance and high wages among professional

football players. But are teams able to appropriate any of the returns to employing two-footed players? The answer, it seems, is no: the proportion of two-footed players in a team does not significantly affect the number of points the team gets at the end of the season. Here’s another fun stat. New salary contracts for Premier League referees have improved their performance as measured by the number of yellow and red cards issued per game. The research reveals that, since the introduction of the new contracts in the 2001/02 English football season, referees have issued half a card less per game. Other studies have shown a strong negative relationship between the number of cards issued and subjective assessments of referees’ performance by expert panels. On average, referees show three cards per game: this research finds that the new contracts have led to a reduction of around one sixth. Happy days. [email protected]

UKFI executive to step down
Sam Woods, the chief operating officer at UK Financial Investments, which oversees the government’s bank stakes, is to step down, making him the fourth person to leave the organisation in the past seven months. Woods is now working as secretary to the governmentappointed commission into whether retail and investment banking should be separated in the UK, he said in a telephone interview to Bloomberg. He refused to comment further.

Hamleys is back in the black
Hamleys has announced its first annual profit in six years. The famous toy store reported a £100,000 pre-tax profit in the year to 27 March, compared with a £4.1m loss a year ago.

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Editorial
Editor Deputy Editor News Editor Night Editor Associate Editor Lifestyle Editor Art Director Pictures Allister Heath David Hellier Ben Griffiths Katie Hope David Crow Zoe Strimpel Darren Soulsby Alex Ridley Jeremy Slattery Harry Owen Nick Owen

ECB reassures over Eurozone
ECONOMY BY EMMA SADOWSKI
EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) president Jean-Claude Trichet yesterday dismissed fears that the Eurozone could be faced with a double-dip recession after the bank held the bloc’s interest rates at one per cent. The ECB has held its main rate at one per cent for 14 months but Trichet said that he expects the Eurozone’s economic recovery from the crisis to be moderate and uneven in pace. The Eurozone economy would perform “much better” in the second quarter, according to Trichet, who suggested that the ECB might lean towards reducing a bond buying programme initiated in May to help deal with the sovereign debt crisis experienced by the 16-member European bloc. A double dip into recession “is not at all what we are observing”, argued Trichet, who said the decision to publish stress test results on European banks was a welcomed move and that action should only be taken where problems arise. “Sound balance sheets, effective risk management and transparent robust business models are key to strengthening banks’ resilience to shocks and to ensuring adequate access to finance,” Trichet said. MORE ECONOMICS: P10
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Spain’s Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said reform was important

Picture: REUTERS

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Spain to privatise banks
ECONOMY BY HARRY BANKS
THE SPANISH government will today approve an overhaul of savings-bank regulations, opening the door to private ownership of the mutually owned savings banks or “cajas,” Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said yesterday. “This is the most important reform ever of our banking system,” Zapatero said. The reforms enable Spain’s troubled savings and loans banks to sell up to 50 per cent of their equity to private investors. Under current rules, cajas are restricted to selling non-voting securities known as “participative quotas”, as well as normal shares in listed industrial holding subsidiaries. Zapatero, who has come under immense pressure this year to speed up economic reforms, said the new rules would also “strongly limit” the number of elected officials named to the boards.
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ECB president JeanClaude Trichet welcomed the move to publish Eurozone stress test results.

WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
MOD UNDER FIRE ON £20BN PROPERTY ESTATE
The Ministry of Defence has failed to make the most efficient use of its £20bn property estate and should consider selling more land to help reduce costs in the current economic climate, a report by the National Audit Office will say on Friday. The department raised £3.4bn from the sale of surplus property between 1998 and 2008, the report acknowledges. recovery has proved stronger than we had earlier expected, owing much to the authorities’ strong and effective macroeconomic response.”

RIO TINTO CONFIRMS MONGOLIAN MINE INTEREST
Rio Tinto has ended months of speculation by confirming plans to swap its shares in Ivanhoe Mines for a direct stake in Mongolia’s Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project, which is 66 per cent owned by the Canadian miner. Rio owns an indirect interest in Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits, through its 29.6 per cent stake in Ivanhoe.

DIRECTOR SAYS BBC IS COMMITTED TO RADIO 6 MUSIC AND DIGITAL CONTENT
The BBC says it will not renew its attempts to close 6 Music and has pledged instead to put the radio station “at the heart” of its digital portfolio. On the day that the Government set out a timetable for the switchover to digital radio — but did not set a specific date — Tim Davie the BBC’s director of audio and music, confirmed that the corporation was committed to the alternative music station in the long term.

IMF TELLS EUROPE TO INJECT MORE STIMULUS
The International Monetary Fund has called on the European Central Bank to prepare fresh emergency action to stabilise debt markets, throwing its weight behind calls for renewed monetary stimulus to offset budget cuts. The ECB has so far purchased €59bn of Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, and Irish bonds.

BURKLE, IN TESTIMONY, OBJECTS TO BARNES & NOBLE POISON PILL
Billionaire investor Ronald Burkle said the poison-pill plan that Barnes & Noble Inc. enacted to stop him from taking a larger share in the company has imposed draconian restrictions on his ability to wage a potential proxy fight against the Riggio family which controls the bookseller.

IMF WARNS OF CONTAGION THREAT TO US
The US economy has rebounded faster than expected but faces the threat of contagion from sovereign debt problems in Europe, the International Monetary Fund has warned. In an advance summary of its annual health check of the US economy, the IMF said: “While still modest by historical standards, the

CONRAD BLACK SEEKS BAIL AFTER FAVOURABLE US COURT RULING
Conrad Black, the former media magnate, is seeking bail after the US Supreme Court overturned part of the $6.1m (£4m) fraud conviction that saw him sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison in 2007. Lord Black has served his sentence to date at Coleman Federal Correctional Centre in Florida. The US Appeals Court will decide if the conviction is quashed.

BLOCKBUSTER CEO KEEPS PAY PACKAGE
Blockbuster’s chief executive, head of a company so strapped for cash it skipped a scheduled debt payment last week, will retain his previous salary and is in line for a bigger bonus. James Keyes’s new employment agreement, announced in a federal filing on Wednesday, will pay him a salary of at least $750,000 a year. The new agreement also looks to pay him a bigger bonus.

LATE OBR CHANGES SHRANK JOB LOSS FIGURE
The Office for Budget Responsibility made last-minute changes to its Budget forecasts that had the effect of reducing the impact of the emergency Budget on public sector job losses.

LAKELAND PROFITS FROM JAM TODAY
Politicians can no longer offer jam tomorrow, so people are making their own. Lakeland, the kitchenware business, has sold half a million jam jars already this year — and the preserving season has only just begun.

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

Politics

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Coalition tells top suppliers to cut the cost of services
POLITICS BY DAVID CROW
FRANCIS Maude, the minister for the Cabinet Office, yesterday hauled in the bosses of blue-chip companies and asked them to cut the cost of the services they provide to the government. Nineteen chief executives, from the likes of Serco, BT, Logica and Vodafone, were summoned to the Pensions minister Steve Webb favours the CPI measure Picture: PHOTOSHOT meeting and told to do their bit to reduce Britain’s budget deficit. Maude told the bosses to prepare for a round of tough negotiations, designed to reduce the amount the government pays to private suppliers and contractors. Cabinet Office officials said there would be some impact on suppliers’ profits, but added they hoped to minimise it by rooting out waste and inefficiency. The negotiations will be handled by Maude and Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury. Maude said: “I am laying down the challenge to major government suppliers to ask them what they can do to take costs out of contracts. “Some of this will come out of margins, but we will also invite ideas on how we can structure things differently to reduce complexity and cost.”
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Government cuts private pension costs
POLITICS BY DAVID CROW
THE government yesterday outlined plans that will shave billions of pounds off the private sector’s pension bill, by reducing the amount that pension payments must rise in line with inflation. In future, payments for those on final salary schemes will rise in line with inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), as opposed to the retail price index (RPI), which is historically much higher. Currently, private sector pension schemes must uprate their payments by either 2.5 per cent or the cost of living, depending on whichever is highest. Under existing arrangements, the cost of living is measured by the RPI, which includes housing costs like mortgage interest payments. That means it has been considerably higher as house prices have boomed. The coalition is making the move to reduce the cost of private sector pensions to the government, which must step in and help fund the schemes when they fall into difficulties. Treasury sources insist the CPI measure of inflation is better for working out the cost of living for pensioners, most of whom have no housing costs. The average gap between the CPI and RPI has been around 0.5 per cent a year over the last twenty years. Pensions minister Steve Webb said: “The government believes the CPI provides a more appropriate measure of pension recipients’ inflation experiences.” "We believe, therefore, it is right to use the same index in determining increases for all occupational pensions and payments made by the Pension Protection Fund.” Accountants KMPG said the move would, at a stroke, wipe £50bn from the pensions deficits of FTSE 350 companies. Employers’ group the CBI welcomed the change. “Statutory indexation is the biggest single regulatory cost borne by final salary schemes,” it said. But the Trades Union Congress hit out at the plans, claiming today’s pension payments would be 14 per cent lower if they had been increased in line with the CPI instead of the RPI. The move does not effect those on defined-contribution schemes, which have become more prevalent in recent years. Their pension will depend on the inflation arrangements of the annuity they purchase when they retire.
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Office For Budget Responsibility must be reformed, warns CEBR
POLITICS
LEADING think-tank the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) has today called for urgent reform of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), saying it needs to establish its independence from George Osborne’s Treasury. Doug McWilliams, chief executive of the CEBR, said “drastic change” was necessary after the “chequered beginnings” of the OBR. The government’s new tax and spending watchdog’s independence was called into question after the decision to bring forward publication of its employment forecast following reports of a leaked Treasury document indicating that up to 1.3m jobs in the public and private sectors were at risk from spending cuts. “Its chequered beginnings disappoint me,” added McWilliams.
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News

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

Obama’s bid to restore ban on deepwater drilling is rejected
ENERGY BY EMMA SADOWSKI
US President Barack Obama is creating a revised ban on deep sea drilling AN APPEALS court in the US has maintained a ruling made by a lower court to lift a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed by the Obama administration. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit made the decision only an hour after the arguments were made yesterday. The move comes as the Obama administration is preparing to issue a revised ban on deepwater drilling below 500 feet. It had inflicted the mortorium after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 people, so that it could launch an investigation into the incident. Officials from the interior department had said prior to the court’s decision that the government would not impose a new ban, if the court supported the original drilling moratorium. The ban was first lifted by the court after drilling companies like Hornbeck Offshore Services and Diamond Offshore Drilling claimed the moratorium was too broad and would have a severe financial impact. Interior secretary Ken Salazar said a stay on the ban was urgent because of the imminent hurricane season.
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BP is given a day to meet US demands
BP IN CRISIS
BY EMMA SADOWSKI
THE OBAMA administration ratcheted up the pressure on BP yesterday after Admiral Thad Allen sent a letter to the embattled oil giant demanding that he be notified of every move it makes in responding to the Gulf of Mexico spill disaster. Allen, who is leading the Gulf operations for the US government, told BP that it has to receive his approval “before any actions are taken on each of the decision points subsequently identified” to deal with the leaking well. The letter, which was addressed to BP spill boss Bob Dudley, demanded that Allen be notified of “steps and decision points involved, mitigation efforts to be implemented and contingency plans” before the group goes ahead with them. BP, which hasn’t responded to the letter, said that it will respond in due course. Allen has set BP a deadline of today to provide him with updated timelines of its response. The letter is part of a number of recent aggressive moves made by the Obama administration to gain control over the group, after assistant attorney-general, Tony West, wrote to BP earlier this week requiring the company to give the government 30 days notice of any moves that would affect the size and shape of its business, including any asset sales. A spokesman for BP confirmed the group had received the letter and that it would respond in due course. BP also sought to distance itself yesterday from a 27 July target date to have the first relief well completely drilled after Dudley said that in a “perfect world with no interruptions, it is possible to be ready to stop the well between 20 and 27 July”. “It is unlikely to happen by that date. It is more likely that the well will be drilled by mid-August. Our target still remains mid-August,” said a spokesperson for the group. BP is currently a few hundred feet away from tapping into the leaking Macondo well, with the last steps to complete the drilling expected to take more time, but possible stormy weather could pose a threat.

BMW revs up Nortel group is first half sales fined £2.1bn
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AUTOMOTIVE

PENSIONS

BMW, the world’s largest luxury carmaker, sold 13.7 per cent more BMW vehicles last month, outpacing more tepid growth at its Mini brand. The company sold 119,663 BMWs in June, bringing its first-half tally to 585,755 vehicles for a gain of 14.1 per cent. Mini only managed to sell 23,202 cars, or nearly 110,000 in the first half. “In some cases, the automobile markets are recovering much faster than expected. We had a successful first half-year with (group) retail growth of 13.1 per cent,” sales chief Ian Robertson said in a statement.

REGULATORS yesterday took the unusual step of ordering administrators of the insolvent Nortel group to provide up to £2.1bn in financial support to help bail out its 42,000 pension fund members in Britain. The Pensions Regulator issued a Financial Support Direction against 25 companies in the telecoms equipment group, which was put into administration in January last year. The regulator accused the Canadian parent company of squeezing its British subsidiary for years – to the detriment of the pension fund that it sponsored.

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

News

5

Banks to skip bonus curbs, experts warn
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Michel Barnier, the EU’s Internal Markets commissioner, says the bonus clampdown indicates that “there will be no return to business as usual.” Picture: GETTY

REGULATION BY OLIVER SHAH
BANKS will easily sidestep the European Union’s crackdown on bonuses by raising base salaries and restructuring performance-related awards, consultants and senior politicians believe. The European Parliament yesterday waved through a punitive regime capping the cash portion of bonuses at 30 per cent and forcing banks to pay the rest in shares and contingent capital, with up to 60 per cent staggered over three to five years. Although the British Bankers’ Association warned the tough measures – not matched in the US or Asia – would lead to an exodus of talent from Europe, insiders yesterday suggested institutions would be able to work around them. A study by Mercer, the business consultancy, found 70 per cent of banks and insurers had already hiked employees’ basic pay to compensate

for a cut to cash bonuses. Vicki Elliott, a partner leading Mercer’s financial industry rewards consulting, said City firms were planning to change their remuneration policies in line with the forthcoming rules, but were “trying to balance practicality with added complexity in the process”. A senior British politician, who asked not to be named, said banks could maintain high cash payouts simply by increasing the overall size of a bonus and linking the deferred element to impossible targets. “They’ll easily get around it,” he said. The EU measures on remuneration, contained in a wider bill, will come into effect at the start of next year.

CITY VIEWS: WHO IS BEST PLACED TO REGULATE BANKERS’ BONUSES?
Interviews by Marion Dakers and Daniella Farsiani

CHARLES PREWER | RFIB GROUP
“Ideally the banks would do it themselves. But some of them got too greedy and now it’s inevitable that someone else will step in, though they will never fully regulate bonuses. It should be the Bank of England overseeing this, not the EU. It’s the most undemocratic institution I can think of, and the rules have no grounding in the realities of banking.”

KEVIN WALKER | HW WOOD
“The bonuses are a completely commercial decision, and I don’t believe they should be regulated by anyone outside the companies. The EU’s decision to limit the amount of cash in a bonus isn’t a bad idea, but it’s one the banks should have come up with. They should be sensible enough to work something out themselves.”

FAST FACTS | EU BONUS LAW
● The restrictions on bankers’ awards are con-

RICHARD ELLISON | DEWEY & LEBOEUF
“I think it’s the place of governments to oversee any regulation. The banks have already had a chance to arrange something. The EU rules could be more effective, as they prevent competition between countries to attract companies with lax laws.”

tained in the third draft of the EU’s Capital Requirements Directive. ● The European Council is scheduled to ratify the legislation next Tuesday.

A Daimler Brand

One day. Could be tomorrow.
The C-Class.
Visit www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/today

The C180 K BlueEFFICIENCY Executive SE Saloon with Metallic Paint
Monthly payment* Customer deposit Number of payments £299 £3,699 36 Retailer deposit contribution** Optional purchase payment† Acceptance fee £1,335.52 £12,025 £180 On-the-road price Total charge for credit Amount of credit £25,300 £2,798.52 £20,265.48 Total amount payable by the customer‡ Total amount payable‡ Purchase activation fee† £26,763 £28,098.52 £95

Typical 5.9 % APR
Official government fuel consumption figures in MPG (Litres per 100km) for the C180 K BlueEFFICIENCY Executive SE Saloon with manual transmission: Urban: 32.8 (8.6), Extra Urban: 54.3 (5.2), Combined: 43.5 (6.5). CO2 emissions: 154 g/km. Model shown is a Mercedes-Benz C180 K BlueEFFICIENCY Executive SE Saloon manual with optional metallic paint at £630.00. Total price: £25,300.00 on-the-road (price includes VAT, delivery, maximum Road
Fund Licence, number plates, new vehicle registration fee and fuel). *Based on a Mercedes-Benz Agility agreement. **The Retailer contribution is only available with this finance offer. †Payable if you exercise the option to purchase the car. ‡Includes optional purchase payment and purchase activation fee. Example based on 10,000 miles per annum. Excess mileage charges may apply. Guarantees and indemnities may be required. This finance campaign is available for C-Class Saloon models, excluding special request engines, registered between 1st July and 30th September 2010. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other published offer from the Retailer and is subject to availability. Terms and conditions apply. Prices correct at time of going to print. Credit provided subject to status by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK Ltd, MK7 8ND.

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News

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

Quest: Shares in Ocado are overvalued by 46 per cent
RETAIL BY STEVE DINNEEN
ANALYSIS firm Quest has delivered another slap in the face to Ocado, as the grocery delivery firm attempts to justify its £1.1bn IPO valuation to investors. The Collins Stewart subsidiary says it values shares in Ocado at just 128p – a staggering 46 per cent under the mid-point put forward in its prospectus. It says Ocado must convince investors it can grow sales at 19 per cent a year for the next 10 years and sustain returns almost twice those of Tesco to justify a mid point valuation. Quest says Ocado, which is a capital intensive business, will never generate the same level of returns as its rivals. The analysts used complex models to reverse engineer the levels Ocado would have to hit to justify its monster valuation. The update concluded with the warning: “Unlike its chilled delivery vans, Ocado’s IPO is too hot to handle at a valuation of 200-275p.” Ocado embarked on a two week roadshow on Tuesday. The firm, which recently signed a 10-year contract to deliver Waitrose food, said it is hoping to raise £200m. Analysts have been lining up to take a swipe at the firm and it was dealt a further blow on Wednesday when Amazon launched a rival grocery delivery business.
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We rest our case

BA’s Willie Walsh remains upbeat about its future

Picture: Micha Theiner/City A.M.

BA will grow from Madrid, warns Walsh
AVIATION BY EMMA SADOWSKI
WILLIE WALSH, the British Airways chief executive, yesterday reiterated his warning that the airline would grow in future at Madrid instead of Heathrow if the government failed to build the infrastructure needed to cope with rising demand for air transport. Speaking at the Institute of Directors (IOD), Walsh said the UK could compete effectively for a few years but warned that in 20 years it could be bypassed because the country doesn’t have the existing infrastructure needed to support growing demands. The government’s decision to axe the expansion programme at Heathrow means the runways are now full, said Walsh. As a result, the airline’s planned Spanish merger could allow the airline to exploit Barajas Airport’s four runways, according to Walsh, who said that currently the airport operates only 80 per cent of its capacity. Walsh also hit out at the increasing rise in air passenger duty (APD) and argued that separate UK airline taxation should come to an end otherwise it could be damaging to the economy as commercial carriers leave the country. But Walsh remained upbeat about BA’s future, despite being faced with a possible third strike this summer, and said it was a possibility that the airline could buy or merge with more airlines next year. A planned joint venture with American Airlines is likely to receive clearance from competition bodies in Europe and the US relatively soon, while BA is awaiting six new Boeing 777-300 aircraft to its fleet. “But all such investment is dependent on reshaping our business. “That is why we have been pursuing structural change, which has lead to lower headcount and more efficient ways of working,” said Walsh.
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One way flight with one 20kg hold bag booked online*

In July and August this year it will cost over 3 times as much to book your 20kg hold bag online with Ryanair than easyJet.

Signs of life in global M&A space as hunger for dealmaking returns
M&A
THE global mergers and acquisitions market is awaking from hibernation, according to two surveys released yesterday. There were $881bn (£581bn) worth of deals in the first half of 2010, up 7.8 per cent on the same period a year earlier, Mergermarket said. Europe’s M&A recovery was even more pronounced, with first half deals up 24.1 per cent on 2009 to $240.3bn, with a 53.8 per cent lift in the second quarter. Mergermarket released the figures alongside its global league table of advisers, which was topped by Simpson, Thatcher and Bartlett. A second survey suggests the outlook for global M&A is also improving, with 78 per cent of practitioners expecting an increase in deal activity over the next 12 months. The survey of 160 dealmakers, carried out by IntraLinks, also found that 52 per cent of respondents thought improved market and financial conditions would be the principal driver behind an uptick in M&A.
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*Price based on a single item of hold baggage of more than 15kg and up to 20kg booked online one way. Prices vary depending on weight and number of hold bags. Prices applicable between 1 July and 31 August 2010. Prices correct as at 7 July 2010. See http://www.easyjet.com/asp/en/baggage for further details.

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

News
NEWS | IN BRIEF
OFT queries Rex sale to Getty

7

Private banks have £10.9 trillion but can’t beat stocks
PRIVATE BANKING BY MARION DAKERS
PRIVATE banking firms now manage assets worth £10.9 trillion, a rise of £1.3 trillion since last year, though many firms fall behind the stock market in the profit stakes, a report claimed yesterday. Assets under management (AUM) rose 17 per cent on last year, though performance markers on efficiency have fallen 35 per cent, according to a survey by consultants Scorpion. The top ten table remains largely static, with Bank of America firmly at the top with 10 per cent of all manageable assets under its control. Royal Bank of Canada is the only new entrant to the top ten, after it opened up its financial reports. Swiss bank Pictet returns to the list after two years outside. However, wealth managers have performed worse on average than the stock market. The MCSI world stock index rose 27 per cent in 2009, compared to annual returns of 17 per cent in the private banking industry. “The wealth management engine is still misfiring for many. There are strong signs of wealth creation even in these complex markets and yet new clients are holding back from opening accounts with the industry,” said Scorpion managing partner Sebastian Dovey. The research showed over 220 institutions currently offering a private banking service. “We feel it is time the fashion to retain the cottage industry perception is laid to rest,” said managing partner Catherine Tillotson. “Those businesses that cling on to the past are likely to be marginalised rapidly.”
▲ ▲ ▲

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) yesterday referred the anticipated acquisition by Getty Images of Rex Features to the Competition Commission for further investigation. Getty and Rex are two of the largest suppliers of photographic images for editorial use by UK publications. The OFT is concerned Getty would be free to increase prices if the merger went ahead because of lack of competition.

Boris calls for better transport
London mayor Boris Johnson yesterday called for an upgraded Tube and Crossrail, to boost the capital’s business. Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) yesterday he warned that cutting vital investment in London’s transport system would hurt London’s business and damage the UK economy. He said the government should protect vital improvements to the transport system.

Private banks manage £10.9 trillion of assets for clients

Picture: GETTY

TOP TEN GLOBAL PRIVATE BANKS BY ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT (SOURCE: SCORPIO) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bank of America UBS Morgan Stanley Wells Fargo Credit Suisse JP Morgan Royal Bank of Canada HSBC Deutsche Bank Pictet 2010 Benchmark AUM (USD bn) 1,740.51 1,593.74 1,508.00 1,218.00 775.43 636.00 379.00 367.00 272.38 243.21 2009 Benchmark AUM (USD bn) 1,501.00 1,393.48 522.00 1,000.00 611.96 522.00 New entrant 352.00 231.19 New entrant

TUC in bid to ban Cameron
The transport workers’ union has called on the Trade Unions Congress to withdraw an invitation to David Cameron, who is due to address the organisation’s annual conference in September. In a sign of escalating tensions between the government and public sector workers, the RMT said the Prime Minister was launching the “biggest attack on the trade union movement since Thatcher.”

Man told to improve flagship hedge fund
HEDGE FUNDS BY OLIVER SHAH
MAN Group needs to focus on the “baffling” lack of performance from its flagship hedge fund, analysts said yesterday, after the asset manager revealed another quarter of outflows. The listed behemoth reported a 2.2 per cent net slide in assets under management to $38.5bn (£25.3bn) in the three months to 30 June as clients pulled money out amid choppy markets. Investors’ disappointment at the seventh consecutive quarter of declines in Man’s asset base was tempered by the fact the torrent of outflows seen last year appeared to have slowed to a drip. AHL, Man’s main quantitative fund run by a legion of PhD graduates, has gained 3.1 per cent this year until the end of June after slumping 16 per cent last year. It generated 0.9 per cent in the turbulent second quarter, despite wobbles in the Eurozone, a result chief executive Peter Clarke described as “pleasing”. “However, given the continued market uncertainty, sales in the quarter have, as anticipated, remained subdued,” Clarke said. Keith Baird at Oriel Securities said cranking up AHL’s returns would be crucial to improving sales. He said: “Man’s sales figures are weak. The two things they need are better investor confidence and better performance from AHL. It’s baffling as to why it can’t make more money.” Man’s asset base will grow to around $63bn after it takes over rival GLG Partners. The acquisition is due to close at the end of September.

@
@

ANALYSIS l Man Group
280 260 240 220 200 12 Apr 30 Apr 21 May 11 Jun 1 Jul

p

218.40
08 Jul

@

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Failed $400m RidgeWorth deal hits Henderson’s profits
FUND MANAGEMENT BY HARRY BANKS
FUND management group Henderson said yesterday its failed takeover of US fund manager RidgeWorth had made a sizeable dent to its profit forecasts. In a trading update, Henderson said recurring profits for the six months to end-June will be between £47m and £49m – six per cent lower than expected. That compares with the £27m recurring profit haul the company posted last year. “This is after recognising deal costs of £3m in connection with the potential acquisition of RidgeWorth Capital Management,” Henderson said. Last month, Henderson pulled out of a deal to acquire the fund management arm of banking group SunTrust for a reported price of up to $400m (£264.5m). Last month a Henderson spokesman said the firm is still on the lookout for acquisitions in the US. Gross performance and transaction fees for the first half of the year will be about £41m, versus £18.7m in the same period last year. “Markets have remained volatile as governments begin to repair their finances with fiscal tightening leading to a fragility in confidence,” said Andrew Formica, Henderson’s chief executive. On Wednesday, Henderson said it had transferred its international property fund over to Aviva Investors following a strategic review of the fund’s prospects. The fund only reopened to daily dealing in February this year, having previously been closed for over a year when redemptions snowballed during the credit crunch. Aviva will combine the fund with the £223m of assets in its own European and AsiaPacific real estate funds.

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8

The Capitalist
The 11-page illustrated presentation reminded employees that “ecommunications are a powerful investigative tool for US federal prosecutors, state attorneys general, regulators, plaintiffs’ lawyers and other. International enforcement agencies are expanding their use of email to build cases and investigations are increasingly going global…” In case warnings like these weren’t enough to deter naughty staff, the bank also included a smattering of photographs and quotations for effect, including a stern-looking shot of the aggressive senator Carl Levin, the man who grilled Lloyd Blankfein, and a reminder of one of the trader emails that turned Goldman faces red, explaining “Boy, that…was one sh**ty deal”. Not getting at all nervy, are we?

EDITED BY VICTORIA BATES
GOT A STORY? EMAIL [email protected]

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

GOLDMAN CASE STRIKES FEAR INTO HEARTS OF PRUDENT COMPETITORS
THE SEC’S fraud case against Goldman might have proved an almighty headache for the bank’s own staff, but at least it’s spawned a valuable lesson for rivals. Citi took the opportunity to send employees a missive in the wake of the accusations, imperiously titled “Think Before You Write: Avoiding Improper Electronic Communication”.

Emails can be treacherous little blighters

Pictures: REX in the shops before the month is out, you mark my words.

NEIGHBOURLY LOVE Panmure Gordon’s corporate broking
big man Adam Pollock was basking in the celebrity limelight yesterday after a practical joke landed him a mention on Capital FM’s breakfast show. Pollock is currently in the process of moving house but found his removal van blocked in yesterday by a car belonging to his Wandsworth neighbour – none other than Capital’s resident funnyman Johnny Vaughan. Cue a text from our broking chief to Vaughan while he was on air, telling him the car was about to get towed away… and a moment of fame

FIT FORthe golden oldies, attenA QUEEN Speaking of
tion-seekers in the City are going to love a new charity initiative set up by one of their own. Liz Swanton, who works at foreign exchange risk reduction specialist CLS Bank, had the brainwave last year of raising money for charity by dressing as legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury for the day. This year, she’s decided to go one bigger and launch a nationwide “Freddie For the Day” initiative to take place on 3 September and raise much-needed funds for the Mercury Phoenix Trust HIV Aids charity, originally set up in Freddie’s memory. Like dress-up days at school, only better now that we’re all supposed to be grown up...

LAP OF VICTORY ahead of A cunning ploy, this, coming
Vaughan fell victim to a City boy prank as Vaughan relayed the message to his listeners. Very droll. the British Grand Prix at Silverstone at the weekend – and playing on the innate competitiveness of the City boys and girls. Foreign exchange broker FxPro, fresh from signing up to sponsor Aston Villa football club for the next three years, has struck a deal with the Virgin Racing Formula One team to launch an online game which intertwines the worlds of racing and currency trading. Bizarre, you might think, and so is the result – you choose your car based on a currency comparison and the performance of the currency determines whether or not you end up on the podium or crashing into the barriers. Most importantly, though, winning credits from race victories will put you in line for F1 and Premier League tickets. Time to put all that forex knowledge to good use, eh?

IDENTITY CRISISpeople Is there no end to the lengths
will go to these days to avoid looking like they’re spending any money? I only ask after the winning bidders for billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s annual charity lunch auction yesterday pulled out of revealing their identities, despite stumping up a combined $2.6m for the privilege. The amount set a new record for steak with the Sage of Omaha, beating Zhao Danyang of Pureheart Asset Management into second place with his 2008 bid of $2.11m.

FESTIVEofFROLICSmissive HIGH FLIERday award goes to Is it that time year again? A Finally, wally of the
pops into The Capitalist’s inbox from technology giant Microsoft, containing an invitation to the group’s annual “Showcase Event” at the Saatchi Gallery. “You’ll get to play and experience the very latest musthave Christmas gifts,” spout the organisers, excitedly. They’ll have Wham! blasting out of the speakers Astaire Securities’ Ruari McGirr, for arriving at the airport for his partnerin-crime Seb Wykeham’s stag do with a whole lotta luggage… and no passport. What’s more, I hear it’s far from the first time that the supposed “high flier” has turned up without the elusive little booklet when travelling. D’oh.

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

News

9

Lupus dodges housing woes to raise sales
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Three insurance fraudsters hit with FSA ban
INSURANCE
▲

MANUFACTURING BY OLIVER SHAH
BUILDING products firm Lupus Capital shrugged off concerns over the state of the US housing market yesterday to reveal first half sales of £133m, up 14 per cent year-on-year. Shares in Lupus, which manufactures parts for doors and windows, bounced 7.28 per cent to 81p on the news. They had traded at a depressed level of around 74p for a fortnight after falling heavily on poor new home sales data from America, one of Lupus’ key markets. In a trading update, the company said the effect of weaker new home starts on both sides of the Atlantic had been outbalanced by demand for repair and maintenance work to properties. Lupus said it also managed to pass on the increased cost of materials to its customers and concentrate its UK sales force. The group added that its oil services arm, which supplies marine break-

away couplings to the exploration industry, was seeing better trading conditions than in 2009. Last year, Lupus was rocked by a £7.5m charge for breaching its loan covenants, which resulted in the departure of executive chairman Greg Hutchings. Hutchings tried and failed to regain control of the business twice. Lupus crashed to a £650,000 loss for the year. Finance boss James Brotherton said the firm was well positioned despite ongoing hikes in raw materials prices.

Trading king John Paulson saw one of his favourite portfolios slide

Picture: GETTY

Paulson suffers 9pc loss on star Advantage fund
HEDGE FUNDS BY OLIVER SHAH
JOHN Paulson, the hedge fund boss who made billions of dollars shorting sub-prime mortgages in 2007, has seen one of his portfolios fall nearly nine per cent this year. Paulson Advantage, an arbitrage fund geared to benefit from mergers and acquisitions, lost 6.9 per cent in June and 8.8 per cent in the first half, according to Bloomberg. Paulson was hit by his bullish position in financial stocks during market nervousness over banks’ Eurozone sovereign debt exposure and disappointing US economic data. The news will surprise the industry as Advantage was one of Paulson’s star performers throughout the darkest days of the financial crisis. It gained 37.6 per cent in 2008 and ended 2009 in positive territory. Paulson’s firm, which runs around $35bn (£23bn), declined to comment.
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ANALYSIS l Lupus Capital
95 90 85 80 75 12 Apr 30 Apr 21 May

p

81.00

8 Jul

11 Jun

1 Jul

THREE insurance professionals were banned from operating in financial services by the City regulator yesterday for taking part in a £2m fraud over an extended period. Timothy Higgins, Clifford Felstead and Ralph Brunswick were involved in a scam to cheat the Market International Insurance Company (Markel), QBE Insurance and Amalfi Underwriting, which exposed the victims to heavy losses, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said. Higgins – with the help of Felstead – ran Surety Guarantee Consultants (SGC), a company established in 2005 to write surety bonds. SGC held arrangements with Markel and QBE through its agent Amalfi to issue the bonds but secretly exceeded its authorised limits, leaving them open to greater liabilities than previously agreed. SGC pocketed a secret £2m profit which should have been paid to the insurers. Brunswick provided false documents to help hide the arrangement from auditors. Margaret Cole, FSA director of enforcement, said: “All three of these men fell woefully short of the standards expected of them.” Higgins would have been fined £600,000, but is bankrupt. Brunswick was also struck off as a director.

10

Economic News

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

Insolvencies set to escalate
UK ECONOMY BY KATIE HOPE
UK insolvencies are forecast to rise next year as austerity measures start to bite, with more than 127,000 companies continuing to suffer “significant” financial distress, restructuring specialist Begbies Traynor warned yesterday. In total the struggling companies owed £69.5m at the end of the second quarter – a rise of 26 per cent compared to the £55bn owed for the first three months of 2010, according to Begbie’s latest Red Flag Alert report covering the second quarter. Averages debts of trouble companies have surged 60 per cent to £545,000 over the quarter – a statistic Begbies believes suggests that the post-recession stress is migrating out of the SME sector to larger businesses. Ric Traynor, executive chairman of Begbies Traynor Group, warned that once the coalition government’s fiscal tightening measures kicked in from the first half of 2011 the number of insolvencies would rise. “The levels of distress can be expected to remain pronounced for a number of successive quarters in line with the experience of recessions over the past 35 years, when the level of insolvencies grew strongly for two to four years after GDP stopped shrinking,” he said. Begbies, which helps salvage struggling companies, issued the report at the same time as raising its final dividend by 12 per cent to 1.9p, giving a total payout of 3.1p for the year. The company said activity levels for the first two months of the new year were slightly ahead of the last year. Begbies maintained its outlook for the current year. In the year to the end of April, Begbies reported an adjusted pre-tax profit of £10.4m, compared with £9.8m a year ago.
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Sovereign debt fears drag business confidence down
UK ECONOMY
ONGOING fears about the impact of the sovereign debt crisis dragged businesses confidence down in June, according to the latest Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets Business Barometer. The survey – a snapshot of businesses’ views on their own performance and wider economic prospects – shows that firms are far less optimistic about the economic outlook than last month, largely as a result of the continuing worries over the European sovereign debt crisis. The number of firms saying that they are “more optimistic now than three months ago” has slipped 13 points to 47 per cent, while the percentage that are more pessimistic has edged up three points to 27 per cent. This has resulted in an overall confidence balance of 20 per cent – a 16 point drop on the previous month. Despite this, the balance of firms that believe their business activity will pick up over the coming year has risen four points to 35 per cent.
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Solid second quarter for UK economy
UK ECONOMY BY JESSICA MEAD
BRITAIN’S economy roared into life in the second quarter of 2010, fuelled by stronger than expected industrial production data. Leading think-tank The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) forecasts that the economy grew by 0.7 per cent in the three months to June. It also revised up its estimate of GDP growth in the three months to May to 0.9 per cent from 0.6 per cent as a result of revisions to official industrial production data published yesterday. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics yesterday said that industrial output rose 2.6 per cent in the three months to May, its fastest growth rate in more than 20 years. The narrower manufacturing activity measure rose by only 0.3 per cent on the month, following a revised fall of 0.8 per cent in April. David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “May’s small increase in output confirms that the manufacturing recovery is on the right track. The new figures leave manufacturing firmly in positive territory when compared with a year ago.” Economists said this was consistent with robust expansion in economic activity in the second quarter. BNP Paribas’ Alan Clarke said: “It will require an absolute collapse in output in June to prevent industrial production from providing a substantial addition to GDP growth during the second quarter.” But he warned that leading indicators have begun to fall, suggesting that the pace of expansion is unlikely to be maintained much beyond the middle of the year. “Hence although second quarter GDP growth is likely to be pretty good, that is about as good as it is going to get.” The Niesr also forecasts slower growth ahead. “The UK economy does face headwinds. Fiscal consolidation both in the UK and the euro area will restrict growth in the short-term and there is clearly a risk that this rate of growth will not be maintained through the rest of this year,” it said. House prices slipped in June for the third month in a row, according to Halifax

UK house prices fall 0.6 per cent in June Annual rise in property prices 8.7 per cent
Picture: REUTERS

House prices tumble 0.6pc in June to mark third consecutive fall, says Halifax
PROPERTY BY JESSICA MEAD
HOUSE prices in the UK unexpectedly fell by 0.6 per cent in June for the third month in a row, trimming the annual rise in property prices to 8.7 per cent last month. The Halifax data comes just days after rival mortgage provider Nationwide reported that the rise in house prices slowed to just 0.1 per cent in June from 0.5 per cent in May. This pattern is in line with our view that house prices will be broadly unchanged over 2010 as a whole, Halifax said. The drop in prices disappointed analysts, who had expected a 0.2 per cent rise. Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight, said the fall added to a recent flurry of soft data on the housing market and stokes our relative pessimism over the housing market. “Indeed, we increasingly suspect that house prices will be only flat over the rest of this year. We had previously thought a small rise was possible.” The Halifax survey provided evidence that the increase in supply of property to the market is exerting some downward pressure on prices, said RICS’ chief economist Simon Rubinsohn. He added: “The flatter trend in pricing is consistent with our own analysis which indicates that the second half of the year is likely to prove more challenging as the supply of properties on the market begins to catch up with demand.”
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BNP Paribas’ Alan Clarke said that strong second quarter growth would be as good as it was going to get

Threadneedle Street keeps monetary IMF warns of contagion policy unchanged again this month threat to the US economy
UK ECONOMY BY JESSICA MEAD
THE Bank of England this month held interest rates, keeping monetary policy ultra-loose. Interest rates remained at their historic low of 0.5 per cent and the stock of asset purchases was held at £200bn. Economists had expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to hold fire this month and said it would have been an enormous surprise had the committee chosen to do anything else. For now, it appears that concerns about growth and fiscal austerity measures have outweighed the issue posed by sticky inflation. Commerzbank’s Peter Dixon said: “Although there are indications that some members are increasingly concerned about a pick-up in inflation, we expect that the sharp tightening of the fiscal stance outlined in the June budget will act to keep rates on hold for many months to come.” More interesting will be the minutes released on 21 July, which will show whether any other members joined Andrew Sentance in the hawkish camp. He was the lone dissenter in calling for a rate hike in June. Simon Hayes at Barclays Capital said: “We would expect Sentance to have dissented once more. It is also possible that one or more other MPC members may have joined Sentance in the hawkish camp. But our assessment is that a majority of members remains sufficiently concerned about the robustness of the recovery that a near-term rate hike is unlikely.”

WORLD ECONOMY

HIGH unemployment and a moribund housing market have increased risks to the US economic recovery, while the public debt looms large and needs to be cut, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday. In a statement after annual consultations with US authorities, the IMF raised its US growth forecasts slightly to 3.3 per cent for 2010 and 2.9 per cent for 2011, but said unemployment would remain above nine per cent for

both years. The lofty jobless rate, coupled with a large backlog of home foreclosures and high levels of negative home equity, posed risks of a “double dip” in the housing market, it said. But the IMF said it did not think a renewed recession was likely. “The outlook has improved in tandem with recovery, but remaining household and financial balance sheet weaknesses -- along with unemployment -- are likely to continue to restrain private spending,” it said.

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CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

News

11

Connaught to lose CEO and finance chief
▲

Carlyle buys up £671m of White Tower buildings
PROPERTY
▲

PROPERTY BY MARION DAKERS
THE CHIEF executive and financial director of Connaught resigned yesterday, in another blow to the troubled social housing group. Mark Tincknell, who has been chief executive for six months, stood down immediately to recover from health issues, but will remain with the company. Tincknell will assist chairman Sir Roy Gardner to find a successor, and the firm has appointed head of compliance Ian Carlisle to act as interim chief executive. Gardner has also initiated an independent review of the group’s accounting policy, following a surprise profit warning last month that led to Connaught shares shedding two-thirds of their value. “The firm has been using the same accounting practice for long-term contracts for ten years on the advice of its accountants, but critics would say it does not give shareholders the

clarity they want, so that’s why the review is happening,” said a company spokesperson. Financial director Stephen Hill will leave Connaught in October after four years with the company. Gardner said the outlook for Connaught nevertheless remains positive. “The cost reduction programme will realise significant savings whilst providing a solid platform from which we can achieve further growth,” he said. Analysts were less hopeful about the firm’s future. Oriel Securities told its clients: “This all leaves the group in limbo. We’d be inclined to stay on the sidelines until we have better clarity of precisely what is under there.”

Clockwise from top: chief exec Mark Tincknell, finance director Stephen Hill and non-executive chairman Sir Roy Gardner

FAST FACTS | CONNAUGHT
● The social housing maintenance firm started trading in 1982 as a concrete repair company. ● Its current order book stands at £2.6bn, though the firm said last month revenues would fall by £80m following public sector cuts.

AMERICAN private equity group Carlyle has snapped up six central London properties for a total of £671m, its first major purchase since 2008. The properties were part of a portfolio owned by entrepreneur Simon Halabi, which was used to secure the failed White Tower commercial mortgage-backed securities vehicle. Carlyle said yesterday the properties generate around £62m in annual rent from 1.6m sq feet of floor space. The portfolio includes JP Morgan’s offices at 60 Victoria Embankment and Alban Gate, UBS offices at Millennium Bridge House, Sampson House and Ludgate House on the South Bank and BSI Tower. Robert Hodges, managing director at Carlyle European Real Estate, said: “This acquisition is a further example of our strategy in Europe of making long-term investments in landmark assets in strategically important European centres.” The properties were put up for sale in March, following the winding up of White Tower in September, The value of the properties had almost halved by the time the securitisation folded. CBRE is overseeing the ongoing sale of White Tower assets.

12

Consumer News

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

Wiseman boosted by loyalty
CONSUMER BY JOHN DUNNE
ROBERT Wiseman Dairies yesterday said first-quarter sales volumes rose 11.6 per cent over the last year – fuelled by growth in business from existing customers. Alan Wiseman, who retired yesterday, said: “Given our volume gains in the previous year were concentrated in June 2009, we would anticipate reporting lower like-for-like growth in volumes in subsequent periods this year.” Wiseman said its financial performance had been satisfactory in the first three months. Although bulk cream returns had remained stable as expected, plastic and fuel costs were higher than last year. “The recovery of these additional costs, and the objective to rebuild our underlying operating margins, remains of primary importance. “Competition in the middle ground sector is intense; however, the company has been successful in retaining volumes and will continue to look to preserve its market share in this area”, he said. Plans to increase capacity to 500m litres a year at the Bridgwater dairy from November are on track, he said. The company was also progressing an £8m investment to double its fresh filtered milk capacity and expected the project to be completed by next summer. An increase of 0.4p per litre for Wiseman Milk Group supplies was triggered on 1 July.
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William Hill celebrates as punter loses £417,000 bet on Germany
LEISURE
A BRITISH gambler placed the biggest World Cup bet of all time on Germany to beat Spain in the World Cup semi-final – and lost. The £417,000 wager – was placed with William Hill’s telephone betting service at odds of 10/11, meaning the punter would have walked off with just under £800,000 if Germany had won. William Hill spokesman Graham Sharp admitted before the match that a German win would be a disaster, with the nation having received huge backing. After the game he said: “Not only did the £417,000 bet lose, but so did others for Germany to win the tournament.” Meanwhile one Spanish punter has bet £50,000 on Spain lifting the trophy on Sunday. The World Cup has proved a massive boost for betting companies with record amounts of money wagered. Primark has been the star performer for AB Foods Picture: Micha Theiner/CITY A.M.
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AB Foods sees a sales surge from Primark
RETAIL BY HARRY BANKS
PRIMARK owner Associated British Foods gave an upbeat update yesterday saying its third quarter sales jumped 13 per cent and that it expected very strong growth in annual earnings, driven by its fashion discount retailer. Its 198-strong Primark chain reported sales in its spring quarter rose 15 per cent, outperforming many of its rivals and helped by a strong line of floral print dresses, court shoes and accessories in its key markets of Britain, Ireland and Spain. The food and retail group, which also owns household brands Kingsmill, Silver Spoon and Twinings, did not give a like-for-like figure for its 16 weeks to 19 June, but house broker Panmure Gordon calculated Primark sales growth at seven per cent, just off from its first half eight per cent likefor-like growth. The Primark stores have coped with the downturn better than most as its cheap designer clothes have proved a hit with cashstrapped shoppers. However, group finance director John Bason urged caution over the tough economy.

A rare growth story in these gloomy times
RECEIVED wisdom tells us that shoppers flock to quality in times of hardship. With less cash to spend, punters buy fewer items that are more likely to last. Primark’s performance would suggest otherwise. Sales in the last sixteen weeks have climbed nine per cent at constant currencies, and Shore Capital estimates like-for-likes are up seven per cent (ABF doesn’t list them in its third quarter update). It is also continuing to open new outlets, even launching two new stores in recession-strapped Spain, where it hopes to pinch customers from more upmarket rivals like Zara and H&M. And thanks to its high operational gearing, margins are getting better despite higher fixed costs, climbing 50 basis points to around 11.5 per cent. Sales growth will now slow down some, as the company battles against tougher comparatives. With that in mind, its valuation of around 13 times estimated 2011 earnings looks fair. Hold.

ANALYSIS l Associated British Foods p 994.50 1,040
08 Jul
1,000 960

920 12 Apr 30 Apr 21 May 11 Jun 1 Jul

BOTTOMLINE

Analysis by David Crow

JJB Sports on the up despite England Tiso group goes back in World Cup flops coming home early the black with IT move
RETAIL
SALES at JJB Sports have soared in recent weeks, despite England’s early exit from the World Cup. Like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of new store openings, rose 22.3 per cent for the six weeks to 4 July compared with a year ago. JJB, which sells England replica kits, said that profit margins over the same period had also increased 43.9 per cent. England lost 4-1 to Germany in the first knock-out stage of the World Cup on 24 June, but sales have still performed well. JJB came close to going into administration last year but a successful £100m rights issue in October allowed the retailer to pay off its debts. The board has undertaken a massive shake-up of the business to address the problems. JJB also revealed yesterday that sales at its newly-refitted Slough store had increased by nine per cent above the company average. However, the group’s figures are flattered by weak comparatives after it was hit by a stock crisis when suppliers became reluctant to deal with the firm as it struggled with financial woes.

RETAIL

OUTDOOR equipment specialist Tiso Group has reported an increase in profit driven by a new IT system which improved its supply chain. The Scottish retailer – which also includes the Alpine Bikes and George Fisher brands – saw turnover fall slightly to £27m for the year to 31 January. However a pre-tax loss of

£100,000 was turned into a profit of £1.2m. During the period the company completed its two-year strategic and operational review. As well as a new IT system it refurbished a number of stores and paid down £1.6m of bank loans to leave debt at £5.9m. Chris Tiso, chief executive officer, said: “This has been a strong performance for the group.”

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CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

Technology News
NEWS | IN BRIEF
More job cuts at Microsoft

13

News Corp denies plans to offload troubled MySpace
TECHNOLOGY BY STEVE DINNEEN
NEWS Corp has denied suggestions it is trying to offload its $580m (£383m) social network MySpace. The firm’s digital chief Jonathan Miller said there have been no discussions to sell the site, claiming reports to the contrary were “fabrications”. He said: “We are definitely not in any ongoing talks for a sale of MySpace.” Miller said News Corp is planning another reinvention of the beleaguered site with a relaunch expected later this year. A year ago News Corp executives talked about relaunching it as an entertainment hub. MySpace has fallen from being one of the internet’s fastest growing sites to an anachronistic weight around Rupert Murdoch’s neck in just five years. Speculation abounds it will go the same way as Bebo – also a once promising social network – which AOL is close to selling for a fraction of the $850m it paid in 2008. MySpace has also lost several top executives including co-president Jason Hirschhorn last month. Hirschhorn, with fellow co-president Mike Jones, replaced former chief executive Owen Van Natta just four months earlier. Its fate has been in stark contrast to rival Facebook, which exceeded 500m users this year. • Will Lewis, the former Daily Telegraph editor who earned plaudits for breaking the expenses scandal, is set to join News Corp as group general manager. He will coordinate editorial spending across the Times, Sunday Times, Sun and News of the World.
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Microsoft is set to lay off more staff just days after humiliatingly laying to rest its Kin phone. The software giant plans to cut more jobs as early as this week. The losses will be on top of 5,000 announced last year. Sources close to the company say only a small number of jobs will go, in line with past reductions in numbers. However, there are fears that hundreds of staff have been axed. The company said the internal team working on the Kin phones would be combined with the group working on Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows Phone 7 software.

Apple Mac sales rise 37 per cent
New research shows sales of Apple’s Mac computers have been buoyed by the release of the iPad and a new version of its iPhone. Some analysts had speculated the devices could cannibalise Apple’s existing product range but sales in the US of its laptop and desktop computers are up 37 per cent year-on-year for the three months to May. The rise has been credited to the buzz surrounding the brand after the roaring success of both launches. The iPad has already surpassed 3m sales in as many months. The iPhone has also sold out despite apparent problems with its radio antenna that can stop the phone from receiving a signal if held “incorrectly”.

News Corp digital chief Jonathan Miller says MySpace is not being sold

Picture: GETTY

BT and TalkTalk to fight piracy laws
TECHNOLOGY BY STEVE DINNEEN
BT AND TalkTalk will fight controversial new anti-piracy laws in the courts, they revealed yesterday. The internet providers say the Digital Economy Act, which was rushed through parliament earlier this year, will unfairly target their users and could hurt their businesses. The “draconian” act could force ISPs to disconnect users suspected of repeatedly downloading copyrighted material, and BT and TalkTalk argue it could affect innocent internet users. They say the bill received “insufficient scrutiny” as it was passed during “wash-up” – the period of time between an election being called and parliament being dissolved. It was passed by 189 votes to 47 after a two hour debate despite public outcry over its possible implications. The two companies jointly filed papers to the High Court on Tuesday and hope to fix a date for a hearing by late autumn. Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT Retail, said: “It’s disappointing that we feel the need to take action but we feel we have no choice. We have to do this for our customers who otherwise run the risk of being treated unfairly.” Charles Dunstone, chairman, TalkTalk, said: “The Digital Economy Act’s measures will cost the UK hundreds of millions and many people believe they are unfair, unwarranted and won’t work. Innocent broadband customers will suffer and citizens will have their privacy invaded.” The act was designed to promote Britain’s digital economy and protect the rights of content creators such as musicians. The government is standing by the law, claiming it is in line with EU legislation. Sky and Virgin have both backed the act, which they say could help them to curb piracy.

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BT Retail chief exec Gavin Patterson says his firm is taking the issue to court to protect customers

Love Beauty, Love QVC
Commuters at Liverpool Street station today can take advantage of free makeovers and giveaways courtesy of QVC, one of the world’s leading online and TV shopping channels.

Phorm issues £2m of new shares for expansion in Brazil and China
▲

Q

TECHNOLOGY

PERSONALISED advertising firm Phorm yesterday announced it will issue 1m new shares to institutional investors to provide a £2m warchest for its push into Brazil and China. The share placing was made by Mirabaud Securities. Advising on the placement – which will amount to 6.4 per cent of all shares after the issue – was Canaccord Genuity. Phorm, which tracks people’s internet habits in order to provide tailored advertising, has recently

gained more contracts in Brazil and was confident it would secure funding to develop the business. The company, whose software has faced opposition from privacy groups, has focused its efforts on Brazil, where in March it signed up a string of internet service providers and content providers to roll out its service across the country. Similar attempts to expand in the UK failed after meeting stiff opposition. Phorm said new contracts in Brazil were pending, in addition to those already signed with telecoms

company Oi, newspaper publisher Estado, ISPs UOL and iG and media publisher Terra. Phorm’s Chairman and chief executive Kent Ertugrul said: “We expect the pace of deployment in Brazil to increase rapidly during the second half of 2010 from the existing modest coverage of subscribers, and to begin serving revenue-generating ads in the coming months.” The company reduced operating losses to $29.7m (£18.4m) in the year ending December 31 2009, from $49.8m in 2008.

VC is celebrating a beauty month throughout July and tomorrow (Saturday 10 July) is one of QVC’s renowned beauty days, showcasing beauty products all day long. Tune in for all the best brands at fantastic prices including Bare Escentuals, Decleor, OPI and L’Occitane to name but a few. Be the first to get your hands on brand new exclusive products as well as receiving

expert advice on application, trends and techniques from industry experts. QVC allows you to see products in action, without having to face the dreaded counter assistant, so you can be a savvy beauty shopper and make sure you stay looking gorgeous all summer long. £10 off* voucher - *QVC are offering £10 off your first order, simply call 0800 50 40 30 and quote 0907JULYBEAUTY. This offer is available to new customers only, valid for one order only and expires on 8th August 2010. For full T’s & C’s please visit www.qvcuk.com/0907julybeauty

QVC is available on air: Freeview channel 16, Sky channel 640, Virgin TV channel 740, Freesat channel 800 Online: www.qvcuk.com Or call: 0800 50 40 30

14

News

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

Maersk lifts 2010 guidance
SHIPPING BY HARRY BANKS
DANISH group Moller-Maersk upgraded its earnings guidance for the fullyear, yesterday saying its container shipping business had rebounded faster than expected. “The upgrade is due to a combination of (freight) rates and cost reductions,” chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen said. “We have taken $3bn out of the cost base on an annual basis, and that makes us more competitive.” After diving to its first loss on record in 2009, the group – which includes the world’s biggest container shipping company Maersk Line – said in early March it expected a “modest profit” in 2010. “The improvement of especially the container business has since then been greater than envisaged and the company now expects that the profit for 2010 will exceed the profit for 2008 (which was $3.5bn corresponding to 17.6bn Danish crowns at the time), provided that freight rates, oil prices and the US dollar exchange rate remain stable at current levels,” it said. Andersen added: “We know the development in the second quarter, and have a degree of certainty about how the third quarter is going, and there are prospects for good utilisation (of the fleet) in the peak season.” The upgraded expectation includes an accounting gain from a previously announced sale of shares in the Yantian port terminal in China which has been closed, Maersk said. The conglomerate’s sale of its Netto Foodstores in Britain is still subject to approval from competition authorities, and a possible gain from that sale has not been included in the new estimate, Maersk said. In May, it announced plans to sell Netto UK to Asda, a unit of US retailer Wal-Mart.
▲ ▲ ▲

HSBC runs the rule over potential Nedbank deal
BANKING
HSBC is mulling the strategic sense of making a bid for South Africa’s Nedbank, majority owned by insurance group Old Mutual, it emerged yesterday. HSBC has appointed investment bank Lazard to advise on a possible takeover, Sky News reported. The emerging markets-focused group is likely to have to stump up several billions of pounds to buy out Old Mutual’s 54 per cent stake in Nedbank, the fourth largest bank in South Africa. However, it is thought Old Mutual would be reluctant to come to the negotiating table. Nedbank is a strong generator of profits, while Old Mutual has already expressed a desire to offload parts of its business elsewhere in the world. The group said earlier this year that JP Morgan had been appointed to oversee a sale of its US life insurance arm. HSBC and Old Mutual both declined to comment.
▲

Hays has seen City jobs rise since Easter
Hays chief executive Alistair Cox has seen growth in the private sector Picture: REX

Babcock to benefit from budget cuts
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW IS HAYS COPING WITH THE CHANGES IN THE JOBS MARKET? by Marion Dakers Interviews
DEFENCE services group Babcock International Group yesterday said it had started the 2010/11 fiscal year well and expected outsourcing opportunities to increase as Britain looks to cut its budget deficit. Babcock, which maintains Royal Navy submarines, said it had a healthy bid pipeline and its order book had remained stable at £8.3bn. “As the government seeks to address the fiscal deficit in the UK, we believe there will be an increase in outsourcing opportunities in our chosen markets,” the group said in a statement yesterday. Babcock, close to completing a takeover of rival VT Group, said it had begun work with VT’s management team “in planning a speedy and efficient integration process”. “We believe our major markets remain attractive with significant long-term growth opportunities in both the UK and overseas and that these opportunities are considerably enhanced by the increased scale and capabilities we expect the acquisition of VT to bring to the group,” it added. Babcock said that its proposed acquisition of VT has received all the necessary competition and regulatory clearances, in both the UK and US. Shares in Babcock closed yesterday at 62p, valuing the business at around £1.5bn.
▲

DEFENCE

RECRUITMENT BY MARION DAKERS

PRIVATE sector growth is offsetting cuts to public sector jobs, according to recruitment giant Hays, though fees earned in the UK fell six per cent in the last three months to to 30 June. The firm said the private sector had seen a 10 per cent growth in net fees since the last quarter, with strong growth in City, pharmaceutical and corporate accounts recruitment. The company’s operations in Asia have seen a more pronounced recovery, with like-for-like net fees up 28 per cent, boosting performance to pre-recovery levels in all Asian offices. This growth helped lift overall net fees by eight per cent, with increases in Germany, Australia and Brazil also contributing. Worldwide growth meant the company has predicted year-on-year growth for the first time since 2008. Finance director Paul Venables said: “Candidate confidence has increased. The acid test for us is often accounting and finance. The strongest areas globally have been in the banking sector. “Even so, we continue to see good levels of recruitment in education

and healthcare,” said Venables. In the UK, London still offers the bulk of opportunities, but Venables said growth had spread elsewhere in the last quarter. “The recovery has gone across the whole of the home counties. The only weaker areas in the recovery are in the north of England and Scotland,” he said. The firm has nevertheless cut consultant numbers by two per cent in Britain, and spent £14m on redundancies and restructuring its back offices. The company now has just under 4,500 consultants across 28 countries. It said yesterday that non-UK business now makes up 59 per cent of net fees earned.

ANALYSIS l Hays
120 1100 100 90 12 Apr 30 Apr 21 May 11 Jun 1 Jul

p

95.15
8 Jul

“ “ “

DAVID O’BRIEN | ALTIUM SECURITIES

The downturn in the public sector continues to offset improvements within the private sector. Cash flow remains strong, with the level of nebt debt ahead of our estimates (although our forecast included the recent OFT fine). We have not changed our estimates, target price or ‘hold’ recommendation.

CAROLINE DE LA SOUJEOLE | SEYMOUR PIERCE

The return to year-on-year growth is clearly a good sign. However growth rates achieved are slightly disappointing compared to that reported by peers such as Robert Walters on Wednesday. From a valuation perspective, there is better value in small cap stocks such as Harvey Nash. ‘Hold.’

IAN JERMIN | MERCHANT JOHN EAST SECURITIES

Hays has taken longer to exploit the move out of recessionary conditions due to its focus on temp business and as such, together with its weaker balance sheet, should be selling at a discount to Page and Walters at this stage. But with visibility and confidence still very fragile, Hays' star could yet rise.

Bidders begin to circle ING’s coveted property investment management unit £250k for heart checks
FINANCIAL SERVICES BY HARRY BANKS
ING Group may need to break up its world-leading real estate investment management unit to conclude a timely sale, with its bankers understood to have begun flushing out prospective buyers. Morgan Stanley is thought to have received a slew of expressions of interest to take over ING Real Estate Investment Management, just weeks after the Dutch bancassurer mandated the bank to evaluate a sale as part of a restructuring in the wake of its €10bn (£8.4bn) state bailout. The adviser is believed to have asked for letters from potential bidders confirming they were bidding for the whole and you could demonstrably show they could fund the bid. About 10 letters are understood to have been received. Some of the world’s biggest fund managers and institutional investors are expected to log an interest to buy the ING unit, the largest real estate investment manager in the world with around €66bn of assets under management. AXA Real Estate, part of Europe’s second-largest insurer AXA and currently the second-biggest real estate investment manager, told a Reuters Summit last month it was mulling a possible bid. Other interested parties include Allianz, asset managers Pramerica and Henderson Global Investors, Ameriprise Financial’s Threadneedle, Blackrock Investment Management and China Investment Corp. HEAD of transport group Stagecoach, Brian Souter, waived £250,000 of his pay packet to fund health check-ups for its staff in its UK Bus division, according to the firm’s annual report issued yesterday. Souter was awarded £762,000 for the last financial year. Though he was entitled to a performance-related cash bonus, after a bonus freeze in 2009 was lifted, his donation to fund heart-checks for bus workers means
▲

” ” ” boss provides Stagecoach
BANKING

his overall pay has fallen more than 30 per cent. Fellow executive director Martin Griffiths takes home £852,000 in cash, benefits and deferred shares, around £1,000 less than last year. Non-executive salaries remained frozen, taking total boardroom pay to nearly £2m, representing a 14 per cent annual drop. The firm also said in the report its pension fund lost £138.7m last year, due to investment losses. The pensions deficit stands at £201.1m.

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

News

15

Ryanair to cut Dublin flights as passenger traffic declines
AVIATION BY HARRY BANKS
IRISH airline Ryanair said it would cut its Dublin winter capacity by 15 per cent as passenger traffic falls, and again called for a tourist tax to be scrapped and airport charge increases to be reversed. Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier will cut its Dublin base to 12 aircraft from 14 aircraft this winter and will operate less than 850 weekly flights from the airport compared to 1,000 last winter. The airline said it will switch these aircraft to other EU countries, which it said have reduced airport charges and scrapped government tourist taxes. Ireland imposed a €10 tourist tax last year. The Dublin cut comes after Ryanair said last month it would cut UK winter capacity by 16 per cent from November, blaming the UK government’s Air Passenger Duty and adding the move would lower its costs and boost profits. Speaking at a news conference, chief executive Michael O’Leary also said Ryanair would “hang on” to its shares in rival Aer Lingus, in which it has a 29.8 per cent stake. “Unless somebody comes along and makes us a very generous offer for the Aer Lingus shares, we have every intention of holding on to them,” he said. Ryanair has said it could still bid for Aer Lingus despite losing a legal challenge to a 2007 veto by EU regulators against its second attempt to buy its rival.
▲ ▲

Temasek sticks with Asia after portfolio rises 43pc
ASSET MANAGEMENT
SINGAPORE sovereign investment company Temasek yesterday said its portfolio rose 43 per cent year-on-year to S$186bn (£88.6bn) at the end of March, but has slipped since then in line with soft global markets. The eighth-largest sovereign wealth fund in the world said 78 per cent of its portfolio was in Asia as of the end of March, up from 74 per cent a year previously, and that it planned to remain overweight on the region for the forseeable future. “Notwithstanding global re-adjustments, the growing middle income populations in Asia and other growth markets continue to offer significant investment prospects in the longer term,” Temasek said in its 2010 annual report. The closely guarded state agency said it planned to allow financial institutions to invest in wholly-owned investment company SeaTown within three to five years, the first step in allowing public participation in Temasek. Earlier this month it emerged Temasek has hired former minister Baroness Vadera as a consultant.
▲

Stewarts Law signs merger with Masseys
LEGAL BY EMMA SADOWSKI
LITIGATION specialist Stewarts Law has acquired City banking disputes boutique firm Masseys. The merger, which is set to go live next month, will see Massey’s founding partners Jane Colston and Sean Upson alongside, Fiona Gillett and Fiona Stewart move their team to Stewarts to create a new 35 partner law firm. Massey’s, which was launched six years ago by a group of former Baker & McKenzie lawyers, is known for its banking litigation practice in the City and recently acted for Forum Global Equity in its litigation against Bear Stearns. The two will merge financially next month, with Massey’s lawyers joining Stewart’s commercial litigation department. Upson said: “We are proud of what we have achieved at Masseys and are now excited to be joining Stewarts Law to help them build their litigation only brand.” Stewarts advises on commercial litigation, antitrust and employment and is currently representing brokers suing Commerzbank over unpaid bonuses. The City based firm has doubled the number of partners in the last two years, while revenue at the firm has increased £11m to £20m over the same period. Managing partner John Cahill at Stewarts said: “We are delighted that Masseys will be joining us, they have a fantastic reputation and will add further strength and depth to the services we are able to offer to our commercial litigation clients. During our discussions we were struck by the extent of our shared values and vision. We will work together to establish Stewarts Law as a leading litigation brand”.

BEST OF THE BROKERS
920 p 900

ANALYSIS l Provident Financial
850.00
8 Jul

ANALYSIS l Total
46 € 44 42

38.14

8 Jul

390 p

ANALYSIS l Marks & Spencer
348.00
8 Jul

370

860

40 38

350

820 12 Mar 30 Apr 21 May 11 Jun 1 Jul

36 34 12 Mar 30 Apr 21 May 11 Jun 1 Jul

330 12 Mar 30 Apr 21 May 11 Jun 1 Jul

PROVIDENT FINANCIAL
Numis has issued a “buy” recommendation for Provident Financial and with the interim results coming up it details what it expects from the two core divisions: consumer credit and Vanquis. Overall, despite the current tough market conditions, Numis said it expects the group interim profits to be broadly flat.

TOTAL
UBS has raised its rating on Total to “buy” noting that the oil group has stepped up acquisition activity recently. Says its purchase of a 20 per cent stake in the Fort Hills project adds to Total’s critical mass in the oil sands. Belives this is an important improvement, although it has some reservations in terms of the quality of the assets.

MARKS & SPENCER
Citigroup has given Marks & Spencer (M&S) a “hold” rating and said in general merchandise, M&S looks to be the beneficiary of trading up activity with its exposure to a more confident older customer. However, Citi notes that this older customer was the first to enter the demand slowdown in Apr to June 2008.

To appear in Best of the Brokers email your research to [email protected]

PT’s golden shares ruled illegal by EU
TELECOMS
THE European Court of Justice ruled yesterday that Portugal’s golden share in Portugal Telecom (PT) broke EU rules, opening the way to a possible conclusion of PT’s sale of its Brazilian unit to Telefonica. Portugal stunned investors last week by using its golden share to block a shareholder vote overwhelmingly in favour of selling PT’s stake in Vivo, Brazil’s top cellphone company, to joint venture partner, Spanish peer Telefonica, for €7.15bn (£6bn). The Portuguese government said it respects the court’s decision but will look at ways to comply with EU law that also safeguard national interests. Some analysts interpreted the statement as indicating the government was likely to attempt to wring concessions from Telefonica. European Commission (EC) president Jose Manuel Barroso, who is Portuguese, said the ruling confirmed the Commission’s view that golden shares distort the single market. The EC has been on a drive to abolish golden shares in the last five years because it says they act as a barrier to cross-border investment. Tim Daniels, an analyst at Olivetree Securities in London, said that Telefonica would have to change its offer, favouring the government.
▲

Stewarts Law managing partner John Cahill will see the firm’s banking disputes business soar.

CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS
Jones Lang LaSalle
The property-focused financial and professional services firm has appointed James Brown from Grosvenor as its new head of retail research and consultancy for the EMEA region. Brown is currently UK director of research at Grosvenor, where he is responsible for property market forecasting and analysis of demand, supply and values, local market and catchment and retail performance. He was previously head of retail research at DTZ and Donaldsons. In addition, Mark Dynes and Kieran Mullaley have also joined the practice as directors. Mullaley was also from Capco, while Dynes worked as a director in financial services strategy consulting at Deloitte.

Edited by Victoria Bates UniCredit Group
The German banking group has appointed Peter Schaede as head of German equity capital markets, effective immediately. Schaede joined the firm in 2005 as global head of execution and documentation in the equity capital markets team. Prior to that, he had worked as a capital markets lawyer at Clifford Chance. Arnold & Porter as a partner in 2004 after 18 years as a partner at Denton Wilde Sapte in London.

Talaris
The cash management solutions firm has appointed a new chief executive in the form of Tim Robinson. Robinson, 46, was most recently chief executive of private equity-backed pensions and financial services group Xafinity. He started his career at IBM, where he spent 11 years progressing through the ranks to director in the UK. At Talaris, he replaces Tracey Graham, who has led the business since September 2005, including the Carlylebacked management buyout from De La Rue.

Mizuho International
Mizuho’s London-based securities and investment banking arm has hired Shu Yang, Elliot Blair and James Godfrey to its fixed income business. Yang has become a government rates trader, having previously worked for Lehman Brothers. Blair joins in August as a euro SSA trader from Incapital Europe, while Godfrey will join the team in September as a credit trader from Daiwa Capital Markets.

Reynolds Porter Chamberlain
The City law firm has hired intellectual property partner Clive Thorne from its rival Arnold & Porter. Thorne, who joins RPC’s IP, technology and outsourcing group, has over 30 years of legal experience. He joined

Ernst & Young
Dai Bedford and Keith MacDonald have been appointed as partners in the accountancy firm’s EMEIA performance improvement practice.

Both join from Capco. Bedford will be responsible for building and leading the banking and capital markets operations in the division, while MacDonald will help build up the operations and customer side.

To appear in CITYMOVES please email your career updates and pictures to [email protected]

16

Markets&Investment
Closing Price Price Change 52wk High (p) (p) (p) 52wk low (p)

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

LONDON’S TOP 250
Company Name Company Name
Closing Price Price Change 52wk High (p) (p) (p) 52wk low (p)

Trade these shares from £1.50 with Interactive Investor - www.iii.co.uk
Company Name
Closing Price Price Change 52wk High (p) (p) (p) 52wk low (p)

Company Name

Closing Price Price Change 52wk High (p) (p) (p)

52wk low (p)

3i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277.40* 3i Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.80* A.B. Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .995.00 Aberdeen Asset Man . . . . . . . . . .128.50 Admiral. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1468.00 Aegis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106.40 Afren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87.45 African Barr Gold . . . . . . . . . . . .593.50 Aggreko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1545.00 Alliance Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313.00* AMEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .859.50 Amlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .408.00 Anglo American . . . . . . . . . . . .2412.00 Antofagasta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .851.50 Aquarius Platinum . . . . . . . . . . .299.70 ARM Holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290.40 Arriva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .767.00 Ashmore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253.10 Astrazeneca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3184.00 Atkins(Ws) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .685.50 Autonomy Corp . . . . . . . . . . . .1900.00 Aveva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1240.00* Aviva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338.30 Babcock International . . . . . . . . .624.50* BAE Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320.50 Balfour Beatty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246.40 Barclays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .302.00 Barratt Development . . . . . . . . . .102.10 BBA Aviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191.10 Beazley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118.90 Bellway. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .624.00 Berkeley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .833.00 BG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1086.50 BHP Billiton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1819.00 BlackRock Mining . . . . . . . . . . . .543.00 Booker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41.27* BP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .367.00 Brit Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .907.00* British Airways . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205.40 British Amer. Tob . . . . . . . . . . . 2211.00 British Empire Tst . . . . . . . . . . . .422.10 British Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .456.60* Britvic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .501.00 Brown(N.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251.70* BSkyB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .694.50 BT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136.00 Bunzl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .691.00 Burberry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .787.00* Cable & Wire Comms . . . . . . . . . .60.00* Cable & Wire Wwide . . . . . . . . . . .87.65* Cairn Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .453.80 Caledonia Invs . . . . . . . . . . . . .1610.00 Capita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .744.00 Capital & Counties . . . . . . . . . . . 110.00 Capital Shopping Centres . . . . . .320.50 Carillion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318.20 Carnival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2200.00 Catlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .361.20 Centamin Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . .157.00 Centrica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308.20 Charter Intl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .657.00 Chemring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3011.00 Chloride Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . .371.50* Close Bros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .689.50 Cobham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226.30

+4.80 +1.60 +14.50 +3.20 +23.00 — +0.95 +7.00 +83.00 +8.10 +12.00 +3.20 +46.50 +28.00 +5.50 +9.80 +1.50 +9.30 +65.00 +11.50 +52.00 +41.00 +5.20 +5.50 +2.80 +4.20 +10.40 +3.30 +2.30 +1.50 +24.00 +15.00 +11.00 +30.00 +4.00 +0.21 +4.95 –18.00 +6.40 +38.50 +7.90 +3.50 +3.00 +3.10 — +1.10 +16.50 +28.50 +1.00 +0.05 +12.40 +10.00 +8.00 +1.10 +6.90 +4.00 +18.00 +6.20 +4.40 +0.70 +15.00 +50.00 +2.00 +3.00 +2.50

314.80 115.00 1045.00 155.60 1483.00 137.30 111.00 685.00 1545.00 352.70 891.00 428.50 3015.50 1100.00 490.00 362.40 782.50 311.20 3262.00 747.00 2012.00 1248.00 474.00 660.50 389.90 328.85 394.25 193.31 220.00 124.80 927.50 989.50 1248.00 2346.00 654.50 49.50 658.20 975.00 255.80 2335.50 467.90 532.00 505.00 284.30 732.00 151.00 784.50 815.50 150.00 94.80 460.50 1759.00 829.50 125.40 580.00 361.90 2937.00 380.50 174.75 320.00 855.50 3711.00 390.50 806.50 278.60

216.75 89.35 752.00 111.00 863.50 81.50 48.50 520.50 492.50 260.25 603.50 291.00 1557.50 568.50 172.75 116.00 378.50 183.25 2644.00 532.50 1121.00 666.50 274.75 448.50 294.20 228.60 253.40 89.10 110.00 95.25 580.50 735.00 966.90 1274.50 346.00 33.00 296.00 709.00 117.30 1676.00 338.50 353.00 286.25 204.80 464.50 99.50 510.00 403.25 53.00 68.60 306.80 1495.00 643.50 99.60 300.10 244.00 1574.00 284.75 77.86 212.50 406.50 1993.00 129.00 623.00 173.20

COLT Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125.40 Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .539.00* Cookson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .423.60 Croda Intl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1091.00 CSR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .376.50 Daily Mail ‘A’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .457.50* Dana Petroleum . . . . . . . . . . . .1415.00 Davis Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .374.10 De La Rue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .927.50* Debenhams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62.25 Derwent London . . . . . . . . . . . .1305.00 Dexion Absolute . . . . . . . . . . . . .139.00 Diageo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1085.00 Dimension Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93.90 Domino’s Pizza . . . . . . . . . . . . . .399.40 Drax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .390.00 DSG Intl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27.18 Dunelm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .343.50 Easyjet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .409.50 Edinburgh Inv Tst . . . . . . . . . . . .394.10* Electrocomponents . . . . . . . . . . .222.20* EnQuest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101.90 Essar Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .448.30 Eurasian Nat Res . . . . . . . . . . . .865.50 Euromoney Inst Inv . . . . . . . . . . .586.50* Experian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .597.00* F&C Comm Prop . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93.25 Ferrexpo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269.30 FirstGroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .381.90 Foreign & Col Inv Tst. . . . . . . . . .270.90 Fresnillo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1060.00 G4S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266.00 Genesis Emerging Mkts Fd . . . . .456.00 GKN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127.00 GlaxoSmithKline . . . . . . . . . . . . 1142.00* Great Portland Estates . . . . . . . .300.30 Greene King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .436.50 Halfords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .523.50* Halma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283.30 Hammerson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .357.70 Hargreaves Lansdown . . . . . . . .335.00 Hays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95.15 Henderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125.70 Heritage Oil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .430.00 Hikma Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . .712.00 Hiscox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349.00 Hochschild Mining . . . . . . . . . . .318.10 Home Retail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226.80* Homeserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2104.00* HSBC Hldgs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .623.20* Hunting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .481.70 ICAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .420.00 IG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .470.00 Imagination Tech Gp . . . . . . . . . .308.70 IMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .719.50 Imperial Tobacco. . . . . . . . . . . .1884.00 Inchcape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267.50 Informa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .364.90 Inmarsat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .735.50 Intercontl Hotels . . . . . . . . . . . . 1114.00 Intermediate Capital . . . . . . . . . .264.20 Intertek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1575.00 Intl Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314.90 Invensys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258.80* Investec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .465.30

+0.40 +12.50 +17.10 +22.00 +2.40 +6.20 +6.00 +6.10 +7.50 +2.25 +38.00 +1.10 +24.00 –1.10 –0.60 +0.20 +1.23 +2.90 +5.30 +5.60 +5.70 — –5.90 +13.50 +11.00 +8.00 +0.25 +15.40 +7.20 +6.60 +28.00 –1.00 +2.50 +5.70 +24.50 +11.30 +7.60 +10.00 +6.10 +10.30 +9.50 +4.60 +3.80 +5.00 –3.00 +0.70 +3.60 +0.90 +29.00 +8.50 +17.70 +5.00 +7.60 +16.80 +22.50 +2.00 +11.60 +8.80 +4.50 +14.00 +5.00 +54.00 +4.90 +6.40 +11.20

144.20 574.50 616.00 1095.00 524.00 539.00 1549.00 442.30 1021.00 91.95 1490.00 148.00 1176.00 105.00 404.70 496.50 39.75 438.40 499.90 412.40 245.00 112.70 475.90 1276.00 630.00 664.50 96.80 396.20 448.80 297.20 1115.00 285.70 484.00 155.00 1347.00 332.10 504.00 562.50 287.40 460.30 387.00 119.00 157.80 587.00 730.00 369.30 370.60 336.50 2190.00 766.80 659.50 478.30 473.00 311.60 756.50 2159.00 347.00 439.40 831.00 1244.00 332.00 1585.00 354.00 350.30 565.00

106.75 307.75 220.00 535.00 338.75 279.00 968.50 311.25 808.50 51.95 844.00 117.00 857.00 54.75 203.50 321.50 19.25 202.50 260.00 298.50 134.25 87.35 358.50 632.00 218.25 437.50 73.50 112.00 322.75 210.25 438.00 208.50 370.00 71.75 1064.50 203.75 372.50 307.00 184.00 277.00 197.25 80.00 87.75 368.70 430.00 279.50 220.00 208.50 1336.00 487.00 377.00 291.70 261.25 132.50 275.25 1575.00 235.00 217.75 491.00 584.50 170.25 1024.00 231.00 212.25 324.25

ITV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50.80 Jardine Lloyd Thompson. . . . . . .554.00 Johnson Matthey . . . . . . . . . . .1542.00* Kazakhmys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1061.00 Kesa Electricals . . . . . . . . . . . . .126.70 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220.00 Ladbrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132.40 Lancashire Hldgs . . . . . . . . . . . .515.50 Land Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . .587.50* Legal & General . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83.85 Lloyds Banking Gp . . . . . . . . . . . .60.70 Logica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107.10 London Stk Exchange . . . . . . . . .586.00 Lonmin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1459.00 Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218.40* Marks & Spencer. . . . . . . . . . . . .348.00* Meggitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316.30 Melrose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225.50 Mercantile IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .893.00* Michael Page Intl. . . . . . . . . . . . .385.80 Micro Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .437.00 Millen & Copthorne . . . . . . . . . . .430.00 Misys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244.20 Mitchells & Butlers . . . . . . . . . . .295.60 MITIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217.60* Mondi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .399.80 Monks Inv Tst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287.40* Morrison Wm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281.10 Murray Intl Tst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .846.50 National Express. . . . . . . . . . . . .231.40 National Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .502.00* Next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2070.00 Northumbrian Water . . . . . . . . . .322.60 Old Mutual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.10 Partygaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236.20 Pearson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .907.00 Pennon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .573.00 Persimmon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .388.00 Petrofac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1246.00 Petropavlovsk . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1215.00 Premier Farnell . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235.00 Premier Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1415.00 Provident Financial . . . . . . . . . . .851.00 Prudential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .518.00 PZ Cussons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347.50 Qinetiq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125.30 Randgold Resources. . . . . . . . .6245.00 Reckitt Benckiser . . . . . . . . . . . 3116.00 Reed Elsevier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .516.50 Regus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73.05 Rentokil Initial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110.80 Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70.00 Rexam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305.40 Rightmove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .628.00 Rio Tinto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3073.50 RIT Capital Partners . . . . . . . . .1210.00 Rolls Royce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .581.50 Rotork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1367.00* Royal Bank Of Scot . . . . . . . . . . . .44.36 Royal Dutch Shell A . . . . . . . . .1741.50 Royal Dutch Shell B . . . . . . . . .1667.00 RSA Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124.00 SABMiller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1946.50 Sage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235.70 Sainsbury(J) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .341.00*

+1.55 +16.00 +17.00 +23.00 –0.90 +1.70 +1.40 — +10.50 +3.05 +2.51 +0.60 +12.00 +33.00 +1.30 +4.60 +5.90 +7.30 +3.00 +17.20 +4.30 +12.30 +5.60 +5.10 +2.10 +13.80 +4.40 +1.40 +11.50 +7.40 — –5.00 +4.30 +3.80 +5.90 +25.50 +1.50 +13.40 +37.00 +21.00 +12.00 +12.00 –7.50 +16.50 –3.50 +1.10 –40.00 +6.00 +6.50 +2.15 +3.70 — +9.60 +11.50 +37.50 +6.00 +15.50 +37.00 +1.53 +62.50 +64.00 +1.50 +53.50 +4.30 –3.30

71.75 604.50 1814.00 1634.00 162.00 255.00 174.29 540.00 743.50 94.40 75.58 149.10 949.50 2198.00 373.60 412.70 331.00 251.50 1002.00 461.50 550.00 496.30 281.70 343.90 281.70 488.00 321.20 306.30 893.50 256.80 607.65 2360.00 326.10 127.20 339.70 1069.00 582.00 534.50 1294.00 1370.00 252.60 1437.00 986.00 665.00 356.40 179.10 6600.00 3667.00 548.00 125.50 140.20 99.15 331.20 729.00 4104.00 1215.00 631.50 1482.00 58.95 2068.50 1997.50 142.00 2090.00 260.50 373.00

31.75 399.00 1108.00 574.50 98.45 179.90 114.60 416.70 415.25 49.37 40.42 74.50 540.50 950.00 199.60 303.75 151.75 90.00 726.00 231.75 300.90 227.75 165.25 228.30 198.70 187.50 222.00 241.00 593.50 135.99 469.37 1501.00 219.90 74.60 205.80 574.00 434.40 340.20 633.50 516.50 122.25 984.00 763.00 350.25 198.00 113.90 3351.00 2686.00 403.75 61.00 82.25 58.45 222.50 334.00 1822.00 890.00 346.50 779.50 28.25 1431.00 1437.00 113.10 1210.00 167.20 307.60

Schroders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1230.00 Schroders N/V. . . . . . . . . . . . . .1019.00 Scot. & Sthrn Energy. . . . . . . . . 1181.00 Scottish Mortgage. . . . . . . . . . . .569.50 SEGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274.20 Serco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .564.50 Severn Trent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1273.00* Shaftesbury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .383.30 Shire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1428.00 SIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104.50 Smith & Nephew . . . . . . . . . . . . .584.00 Smiths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1112.00 SOCO Intl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .412.00 Spectris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .791.50 Spirax-Sarco Eng . . . . . . . . . . .1514.00 Spirent Comms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115.20 Sports Direct Intl . . . . . . . . . . . . .108.80 SSL Intl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .861.50 St James’s Place . . . . . . . . . . . . .234.80 Stagecoach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182.90 Standard Chartered . . . . . . . . . .1694.50 Standard Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186.90 SuperGrp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .820.00 TalkTalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120.40 Talvivaara Mining . . . . . . . . . . . .388.00 Tate & Lyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .480.00* Taylor Wimpey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27.38 Telecity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .393.90 Templeton Emrg Mkts . . . . . . . . .536.50* Tesco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .393.95* Thomas Cook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189.10 Tomkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230.30 Travis Perkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .783.00 TUI Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221.10 Tullett Prebon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .343.00 Tullow Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1130.00 UK Commercial Prop. . . . . . . . . . .80.00 Ultra Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . .1571.00 Unilever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1827.00 United Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . .548.00* Utd Business Media . . . . . . . . . .517.00 Vedanta Resources . . . . . . . . . .2264.00* Victrex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1158.00 Vodafone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143.30* VT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .795.00† Weir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1159.00 WH Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .414.90 Whitbread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1405.00* William Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175.70 Witan Inv Tst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .433.00 Wolseley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1385.00 Wood Group (John). . . . . . . . . . .342.20 WPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .647.00 Xstrata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .936.00 Yell Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26.92
* Ex-Dividend † Suspended

+38.00 +35.50 +4.00 +10.50 +5.20 +5.50 +23.00 +12.30 +47.00 +4.50 +6.00 +33.00 +4.80 +29.50 +36.00 +1.00 –1.40 +29.50 +5.80 +1.50 +1.00 +4.50 +15.00 +0.20 +9.90 –4.10 +0.57 +16.90 +5.50 +1.80 +7.80 +4.50 +12.00 +4.80 +10.40 +22.00 — +7.00 +29.00 +9.50 +15.00 +46.00 +22.00 +1.40 — +31.00 –2.10 +35.00 +2.00 +6.20 +26.00 –2.10 +17.50 +26.60 +0.72

1450.00 1185.00 1206.00 623.50 403.10 656.50 1310.00 426.50 1526.00 146.60 700.50 1186.00 444.60 928.00 1591.00 127.80 134.00 893.50 296.90 204.90 1847.00 237.00 825.00 147.10 501.50 509.00 54.90 455.00 598.00 454.90 277.20 261.10 915.00 313.90 436.20 1375.00 84.90 1678.00 2024.00 575.00 579.50 2967.00 1193.00 153.80 799.00 1183.00 551.00 1645.00 217.80 487.00 1742.00 411.70 744.00 1344.50 86.00

764.00 643.50 357.50 376.00 244.00 394.30 921.00 285.25 818.00 86.75 435.25 677.50 380.60 512.50 809.00 54.50 72.50 522.50 172.25 123.50 1119.00 170.00 499.00 106.60 321.50 284.75 24.29 298.00 349.50 347.60 172.30 141.75 539.00 202.30 261.20 834.50 62.25 1094.00 1422.00 429.00 364.75 1264.00 555.50 111.90 416.00 437.50 396.00 778.50 160.50 329.50 1026.00 231.25 380.50 555.10 21.00

LONDON TOP 250 BY MARKET CAPITALISATION

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Bidding war for state’s banking assets Wall Street up for third boosts FTSE 100 as financials rally day as retail sales cheer
THELONDON REPORT

B

ANKS lifted Britain’s top shares yesterday, with Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group top performers on reports that a new bid vehicle will seek to buy British banking assets. The FTSE 100 index was up 90.63 points, or 1.8 per cent, at 5,105.45, rising for a third consecutive day. It closed up 49.82 points, or one per cent, on Wednesday. Banks were among the biggest

gainers, led by state-backed Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, up 4.3 and 4.0 per cent respectively after reports that two senior British banking figures have joined forces to back a new bid vehicle which will list on the London stock market and look to purchase British banking assets. Lloyds was also helped by a Bank of America Merrill Lynch note, which reiterated its stance that the Lloyds share price would double over the next two years. Fears over the bank sector’s exposure to Europe’s sovereign debt crisis were also soothed as European supervisors shored up some confidence in the stress tests they are imposing on

lenders. “A number of factors have combined to improve risk appetite over the past few days,” said Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets. “As far as the UK is concerned there is little concern about UK banks as they have already passed much more stringent tests, which had been previously done by the UK authorities some time ago.” Meanwhile, Credit Suisse raised its weighting on European banks to benchmark from 10 per cent underweight in a global equity strategy note on Wednesday. Adding to bullish sentiment, US peer State Street increased its profit forecast on Wednesday.

THENEW YORK REPORT

W

ALL STREET rose for a third straight day yesterday as investors were encouraged to see jobless claims fall and a handful of large retailers report solid sales. Stocks have regained their footing after a slew of poor data had raised fears of a double-dip recession. But low market volume suggested investors are still skeptical, and few expect to see a sustained rally.

The Dow rose more than one per cent, bolstered by late-day buying. Consumer staples were the S&P’s best-performing sector, with Costco Wholesale rising 2.6 per cent at $55.71. The sector gained 1.5 per cent. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 120.71 points, or 1.20 per cent, at 10,138.99. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 9.98 points, or 0.94 per cent, at 1,070.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.93 points, or 0.74 per cent, at 2,175.40. About 8.1bn shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, well below last year’s estimated daily average of 9.65bn.

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

Investment | Personal Finance
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS
BY VERITY PUGH
MILLIONAIRE PROPERTIES ARE BACK

17

Safeguard your possessions

According to new research from Santander Mortgages, Britain has seen a 393 per cent increase in the number of property millionaires since 2000. While 43,000 homes lost their value to take them under the £1m mark during the credit crunch, the numbers have risen again to nearly 147,000, the level they were during the peak in early 2008. The research also uncovered that around 78 per cent of these homes worth over £1m are in Greater London. While SW postcodes unsurprisingly claimed the largest percentage of the nation’s millionaire properties, SE postcode areas also showed a promising 23-fold increase in property millionaires in the last decade. Most positive for the property market is that the number of prospective buyers for these properties has risen 20 per cent.

AEGON LAUNCHES SIX PROTECTED FUNDS
Six new protected funds have been launched by Aegon Ireland. The funds aim to provide equity exposure while retaining a level of capital protection. Aegon offers exposure to equity markets such as Japan, Asia and North America as well as emerging markets worldwide. All six funds include constant proportion portfolio insurance (CPPI), meaning the equities and cash that are being invested in are constantly shifted, providing a minimum level of protection. Aegon’s David Aaron says the fund would be aimed at customers who seek returns from equity investment, but who are reassured by the security of capital protection.

Don’t underestimate how much your possessions are worth, says Jessica Mead

Keep your home well protected Picture: GETTY

F

ROM “an Englishman’s home is his castle” to “keeping up with the Joneses”, there are plenty of old adages evoking Britons’ love for their houses and their possessions. Combine this with our customary practice of preparing for the worst and you might think that we would be rather conscientious about insuring our homes and their contents. Not so, according to a recent study conducted by online comparison website Moneysupermarket.com. In fact, it reckons that nearly 1.5m homeowners are putting their properties at risk with inadequate cover and 250,000 have no cover at all for their homes. The survey also shows that London and the South East are the least protected areas. Julie Owens, head of home insurance at moneysupermarket.com says that not hav-

ing any cover at all is taking a huge unnecessary risk – problems such as subsidence, burst pipes, personal liability and even boiler breakdown in some cases could land you with a bill well into the thousands of pounds, she warns. Most mortgage providers require you to take out buildings insurance as a condition of your loan but there is no legal requirement to take out contents insurance. The vast majority of people – 80 per cent – who buy insurance take out a combined buildings and contents policy, says Darren Black, head of home insurance at Confused.com. In the event of a burst pipe, which would require claims on both buildings and contents policies, it is vastly easier to deal with just one insurer. But how much should you insure your home and its contents for? Most buildings insurance policies ask you to estimate the cost of rebuilding your home – a question which baffles most. Confused.com estimates that 90 per cent of people put in the market value of their homes, usually a gross overestimate. On its website, there is a calculator which can help you value the rebuild costs more accurately. In contrast, most people really underestimate how much their contents are worth. Black says that about 60 per cent of

people will value their possessions at around £20,000-£25,000. In reality, the average house has around £50,000 worth of contents, of which £8,000 is stored in the wardrobe alone. Contrary to popular opinion, most claims are because of flooding or water leakages rather than theft. This can damage hardwood floors, soft furnishings and possessions, which would be included in your contents insurance. If you have a number of expensive high risk items – ie, those that an insurer deems likely to either get broken or stolen – you must make sure you list all your high-risk items such as an entertainment system when you apply for the policy. For example, men’s watches are rarely listed but can be very expensive. It is also worth asking prospective insurance providers about individual single item limits. This can vary, says Black who notes that Hiscox is the premium provider: “It has an excellent claims experience and customer account management but it would be one of the more expensive providers out there.” Other wellregarded insurance providers include Lloyds TSB and Saga (which does quote for everybody, not just for retirees). If the worst does happen, having insurance provides at least some comfort.

SUCCESS OF FUNDS OF HEDGE FUNDS
Standard & Poor’s Fund Services’ latest review has found that funds-of-hedge-funds (FOHFs) managers have built on the absolute performance in the second half of 2009 and continued to improve liquidity in portfolios. S&P Fund Services’ lead analyst Randal Goldsmith said he thinks that the success is down to limiting investment to the more liquid strategies and Ucits III-regulated products. On the back of this, S&P Fund Services has launched a new fund group within its FOHFs’ Directory, which contains five Ucits III-regulated funds-offunds as well as a UK-authorised fund-ofalternative-investment-funds (FAIF).

BRITONS FUNDING HOLIDAYS WITH DEBT
Britons are choosing to stretch their wallets to go on holiday this summer with a third racking up debt to fund their getaway, a survey from Bright Grey has found. Over half do not have the money readily available to repay their debtors straight away, meaning they could face additional interest payments. Nearly one in seven people said that they have to have a holiday every year, irrespective of their current financial situation.

Store up your miles to jet off on holiday
Verity Pugh looks at some of the best airmiles credit cards on offer

ness, there are great opportunities to store up airmiles to be redeemed on flights for your next holiday. Here are three of the best at offering air travel rewards.

LLOYDS TSB AIRMILES DUO CARD
The bonuses with this card are that it has the lowest APR rate of the three on this page, at 15.9 per cent. Other benefits include the 0 per cent fee on balance transfers for six months, however this comes on condition that you spend at least £100 in the first three months. After the six month period, this balance transfer fee also hikes up to 3 per cent, so is not as convenient for flexibility. The duo card system means you receive one Mastercard which gives one airmile for every £50 spent and one American Express card which gives one airmile for every £10 spent. While this may seem a bit excessive to have two cards, the idea behind the scheme is that when spending in places that do not accept Amex cards, you can continue to reap your airmile rewards with the Mastercard. There is also currently a prize draw run-

ning until September for account holders, offering the chance to win 1m airmiles.

AMERICAN EXPRESS BRITISH AIRWAYS CARD
This card almost seems too good to be true, with one BA Mile for almost every £1 spent and no annual fee. Unfortunately, it is. While there are great benefits with this card – including 1,000 bonus BA Miles if you spend £500 in the first three months and a companion voucher for any flight you redeem your miles on if you spend over £20,000 on the card in one year – there are also catches. The card comes with a 27.9 per cent charge when making cash withdrawals, a high typical APR of 19.9 per cent and no introductory offers on balance transfers. This card would therefore suit those who are frequent fliers with BA and are organised in clearing their balance every month, as failure to do so incurs hefty interest rates.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC WHITE CARD
This card offers the reward of 3000 Flying Club Virgin miles on your first purchase, You then get one Flying Club mile for every £1 spent using the card. Also, when you spend more than £15,000 in one year, there are companion reward flights available. The drawbacks are that there are no introductory offers on purchases, there is an interest rate of 17.9 per cent on all purchases and balance transfers from MBNA cards are not allowed. However, if you are organised with your payments then you can receive 46 days worth of interest free credit on purchases.

C

REDIT cards can offer a whole range of rewards, from shopping vouchers to money off your bills. For City workers who are frequently jetting off on busi-

18

Living

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

| Conversions

Go back to school... this time in style
There is no need to settle when hunting for old converted properties, writes Juliet Samuel

E

STATE agents love taking on “conversions” – it allows them to market the “authenticity” of a property. But what does a conversion actually offer buyers? One of the advantages, says Anup Pankhania of Jaspar Group, a property conversions business, is that “you’ve got a spectacular spaces you’d never get anywhere else”. He’s referring to features like high, vaulted ceilings and original craftwork found in old chapels and Victorian-era schools. But you need to make sure the developer that took over the building knew what they were doing: “The buildings are almost ill when they come to us and we've got to give a lot of TLC to get them back up to scratch,” he says. One should also remember that converted properties still exist in their original setting and style. A brochure for a “warehouse conversion” might sound classy but if you don’t like retro industrial-style architecture, it might actually look like little more than a drab brick building. Buyers of conversions need to be prepared to revel in the quirky aspects of living in one, like mezzanine bedrooms and exposed brick walls. Conversions without

these features are unlikely to hold their value as historical buildings. Simon Stone, of estate agent Davey Stone, says: “There’s nothing more soul-destroying than going to see a conversion and finding that it has fully-plastered walls. When a developer doesn’t give any character, it’s a bit of a letdown. If you’re going to go for a conversion, definitely make sure you’ve got some original brick-work and floorboards.” And though it might take some searching, there is no need to settle: England has no shortage of beautiful old buildings.

Price: £250,000 to £499,950 These Grade II listed Victorian hospital buildings have been converted into a collection of high quality apartments. Each has a bespoke kitchen featuring integrated stainless steel appliances. Contact: 01277 202 122. www.the-galleries.net

THE GALLERIES, BRENTWOOD

OLD COACH HOUSE, TOWER BRIDGE

Price: £1.6m This 1,912 sq ft coach house conversion retains all its original character but with modern fittings. The freehold property retains beautiful vaulted wooden ceilings. Contact: 020 7407 3173. www.hamptons.co.uk

CONVERSIONS | TIPS
l Be aware that heating costs can be high in older conversions – all that exposed brick can have its price. l Even more than with other buys, it is important to have a full survey done on a converted property to make sure there are no nasty maintenance surprises. l In particular, check the roof is watertight.

Price: £1,299,950 This converted chapel, lovingly restored by specialists Jaspar Group, features a mezzanine bedroom with its bed set against the old church organ and modern fittings built around the original pews. It also has a private patio garden. Contact: 020 8946 0026. www.knightfrank.com

THE CHAPEL, WIMBLEDON

ARCADIAN PLACE, PUTNEY

Classic
A Modern
The Galleries offers a wealth of period features complemented by beautiful courtyard gardens and all within commuting distance of the City. 1, 2 & 3 bedroom conversion apartments priced from £250,000 to £525,000 Call: 01277 202122 Open daily 10am – 5pm Virtual Tour: www.the-galleries-net
The Galleries, Pastoral Way, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 5GF

Price: £575,000 Previously Wandsworth Boys' School, this 1930s building was refurbished to comprise a series of stunning two-bedrooms maisonettes split over two floors, with access to courtyard gardens. Contact: 020 8780 0077. www.hamptons.co.uk

OLD SCHOOL HOUSE, LONDON FIELDS

Price: £449,995 This apartment in a Victorian school conversion features a mezzanine bedroom that makes the most of the high ceilings and huge windows. The exposed brickwork and feature radiators add to the charm. Contact: 020 7275 7505. www.daveystone.com

Yes, you can afford to live here
The Square
Rifle Street, E14
A new perspective on London living, this imaginative scheme offers a selection of 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments located over 5 floors.
Viva Apartments

Arcola Street
Dalston E8
A selection of stunning 1 & 2 bedroom apartments in this new, mixed tenure development in the heart of Dalston.

1 beds from £81,400* 2 beds from £99,000* 3 beds from £118,800*

Nearest Station Langdon Park Station

*Based on a 40% share. Viewings by Appointment only

Viva Apartments

1 beds from £94,600* 2 beds from £108,800*

Nearest Station Dalston Kingsland

Arbour Square

Mastmaker Road, Canary Wharf E14
This stunning selection of 1 & 2 bedroom apartments located in the very heart of Docklands.

*Based on a 40% share. Viewings by Appointment only

Arbour Square

West Arbour Street, E1
Just 3 apartments remaining. Available for immediate occupation.
Nearest Station Lime House

1 beds from £94,600* 2 beds from £120,400*

Nearest Station South Quay

*Based on a 40% share. Viewings by Appointment only

4 beds from £152,000*

*Based on a 40% share. Viewings by Appointment only
Prices correct at time of going to print July 2010. *Based on a 40% share of the open market value of the apartments advertised. To buy one of these homes you need a household income of at least £27,627 and an allowance for a deposit and legal fees. Your home is at risk if you fail to keep up repayments on a mortgage, rent or other loans secured on it. Please make sure you can afford the repayments before you take out a mortgage.

For more information, please call

020 8502 5758
www.site-sales.co.uk
a fro on pa Fa m ly rtm nt C 10 e as an m nt tic ad in s to a s w le Sq a t ua lk re

PAN PENINSULA
CANARY WHARF E14

FEATURES INCLUDE: • private cinema • 24 hour concierge • 50th floor cocktail bar with stunning panoramic views • lavishly equipped health spa and fitness complex • a wealth of amenities nearby with many restaurants and bars – all within walking distance
TO ARRANGE A VIEWING CALL LISA-JANE STRATTON:

EXCLUSIVE STUDIO 1 & 2 BEDROOM, 1 & 2 BATHROOM APARTMENTS TO RENT IN A GREAT LOCATION!
This outstanding new development is located in the heart of Canary Wharf and offers unparalleled city living with many sophisticated on-site facilities.

STUDIO APARTMENTS FROM £260 PW 1 BEDROOM APARTMENTS FROM £345PW 2 BEDROOM APARTMENTS FROM £500PW

020 7038 8057
[email protected]

Letting Agents

www.brlets.co.uk
London | Hong Kong | Singapore | Dubai

20

Living | The Knowledge
very different than if you want to create a proper study space that can be turned into a bedroom on the odd occasion. Think about what you need from the study space as well. Is it essential that you have a desk or do you just need a quiet space and a comfortable chair for reading? Well thought-out storage is essential and you should be ruthless with your clutter. High-level shelves are a good way to keep the floor clear for furniture and your files out of direct sight. If you do need to have your storage on display, try to organise it to ensure the room looks ordered when being used as a bedroom. Consider the services you need in the room – is a telephone line required, do you need power sockets for a computer? In terms of office furniture, there are some off-the-shelf solutions. For example, Study Bed provides furniture with an integrated desk and bed that converts in a matter of seconds – this is a good option if space is limited. Alternatively, if the room has an alcove, you could situate the office space there – have a desk between the walls, shelves above and use floor-to-ceiling doors to hide the office when you aren’t using it. Any desk will need a good quality chair – don’t think you can just use one from the dining room when needed. As you are going to spend a few hours sat at your desk, consider purchasing a good quality, supportive office chair. If your priority is more office than bedroom, use a daybed rather than a fullsize bed. The daybed can be covered with cushions to provide additional seating during the day but secretly houses another mattress underneath to provide a double bed when needed. Decorate the room in subdued colours – a bright interior does not tend to induce a calm working mood. But hang nice artwork and decorate it with care – remember that the workspace has to be somewhere you want to spend time.

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

INTERIORS
Andrew Dunning
HEAD DESIGNER, APD INTERIORS

First, consider how you want to use the room. If you regularly have guests staying and need a study space away from the main bedroom or living room, your needs will be

Q. A.

Dear Andrew, we have a spare room and I would like to turn it into a home office. Can you give me some advice?

Start by making a plan of your existing bathroom. This includes measuring the space and noting where the services are – ie, water inlet and waste pipes. While the new layout does not need to be the same, bear in mind that moving the existing plumbing and drainage can significantly add to the cost of the project even if it does open up new possibilities. Bathrooms are often one of the smallest rooms in the house so think carefully about the fittings and their practicality. Many compact fittings are now available, so consider a smaller sink if space is tight. If you do have the space to be indulgent, then choosing a larger bath adds a sense of luxury. The standard size is 170cm but larger ones are available and a double-ended one would make it ideal for sharing. If the bath is also to be used for showering then you can buy ones that have more room at one end. A wall-hung WC is a good option if you are concerned both about space and cleanliness. It should be installed using a purpose-built frame and strong bolts – the cistern will be hidden in the frame, making the room appear more spacious. But remember, you will need to access the cistern from time to time.

Q. A.

Dear Andrew, I am thinking about replacing my bathroom, which is looking rather old and tired. How do I go about this?

Good storage is essential in a bathroom and if you have the budget, then bespoke cupboards offer the best solution. If the walls allow, consider creating niches to store some of your toiletries in the bath area. But think about what you want to store – toiletries are obvious but what about towels and cleaning products? Having storage will ensure the bathroom is less cluttered and a calmer room. When it comes to tiling, there is a huge selection available. As a rule, large tiles will help to make a small space look bigger and mosaics work well if used in small quantities. If you choose a natural stone tile, ensure it is sealed before use. Don't feel like you have to tile the whole room – using bathroom-rated paint on a couple of walls creates a softer look. Good lighting is essential and often one fitting is not enough – you will probably need lighting that illuminates you when stood in front of the mirror. But remember that all lighting needs to meet building regulations. If you are planning from absolute scratch, then underfloor heating is a great thing to consider, especially if you have a tiled floor. For an average sized bathroom, an underfloor heating kit will cost less than £200 with running costs of a few pence per day. This is often sufficient heating but can be supplemented with a heated towel rail. Try to include one with a summer heating element since you can then use the rail even when the heating is turned off. Finally, adding a heated mirror is another affordable but very effective luxury. The heating pad can be placed behind most mirrors – have it wired in by a qualified electrician – and the glass won’t steam up after a hot shower. Andrew Dunning is head designer at APD Interiors, an interior design consultancy, www.apdinteriors.com. Follow his design tips on Twitter: @andrewdunning

Q&A

FOCUS ON: CHISWICK, W4

BY VERITY PUGH

Price: £830,000 This is a four-bedroom house with a kitchen/dining room, reception room, two bathrooms (one en-suite) and a garden. Chiswick Park, South Acton Tube and rail stations are a 10 minute walk. It is just a short distance from Acton Green common. Contact: Savills on 020 8987 5550, www.savills.co.uk

PRIORY ROAD

Price: £649,950 This two-bedroom flat is well-located on a residential avenue. It has a reception room with bay window, a modern kitchen and a private patio. Nearby are Chiswick Rail and Kew Gardens Tube stations. The river is also close, as are several shops and restaurants. Contact: Foxtons on 020 8996 6000, www.foxtons.co.uk

DEVONSHIRE GARDENS

Price: £495,000 A first-floor flat in a converted Edwardian house, it has two bedrooms. It has been fully refurbished, but retains a period feel. It is near to Chiswick Park Tube and Chiswick mainline station – about 45 minutes from the City. Contact: Winkworth on 020 8994 7096, www.winkworth.co.uk

SUTTON COURT ROAD

AWARD-WINNING NEW HOMES ACROSS EAST LONDON
Greenwich Creekside, SE8 Stadia, E10

Flagship development of 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments in West Greenwich. Six minutes walk to DLR and rail stations. Reserve now! Ready for move-in from October 2010.

Five minutes walk from Leyton Central line tube station. Fabulous views over Coronation Gardens towards Stratford City & the 2012 Olympic Park beyond.

VISIT US AT CREEKSIDE THIS WEEKEND FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN O2 CONCERT VOUCHERS*
Sales centre open Monday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm

TWO BEDROOM SHOW APARTMENT NOW AVAILABLE, FULLY INTERIOR DESIGN FURNISHED
Sales Centre open daily - call now or check website for times

Price £300,000** Call: 020 8539 8214
(including secured parking - reasonable offers invited!)

Prices from £240,000** Call: 020 8694 8186

Queen Mary’s Gate, E18

Kinetica, E8

Luxury 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments in the heart of South Woodford. 24 hour concierge service, landscaped gardens, secured parking and just ten minutes walk from Central line tube station.

END OF SEASON SALE EVENT 22ND - 25TH JULY.
PLUS 3 LUCKY BUYERS WILL WIN A £2500 LIFESTYLE PACKAGE*** Sales centre open Monday - Saturday 10am - 6pm & Sunday 11am - 5pm

Now ready for move-in. These contemporary 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments in Hackney are just five minutes walk from the new East London line station at Dalston Junction. Six minutes journey time to Shoreditch for The City. Viewing strictly by appointment only

Prices from £249,950** Call: 0800 032 0077

Prices from £197,500** Call: 020 8506 1955

0800 032 0077 www.telfordhomes.plc.uk
*Terms, conditions and timescales apply. Registered applicants only are eligible to enter the prize draw. Offer valid until 30th July 2010. **Prices correct at time of going to press. ***Package content may vary, subject to change without notice. Maximum package value £2,500. Terms, conditions and timescales apply. Reservations must be made by 30th July. CGI of Adagio apartments and Queen Mary’s Gate. Photographs of Stadia and Kinetica.

22

City Focus

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

| Going it Alone
INSURANCE
What are the basic kinds of insurance required of a small business?

Bringing panache to lunchtime
Mark Lilley made the jump from corporate financier to feeding the City. Kathleen Brooks meets him.

Q. A.

Q&A

T

HE eureka moment for a new business idea can strike at any time. For Mark Lilley it was while he was eating fresh sushi with his wife in downtown Sydney in the middle of a round-the-world trip in 2002. The result was a ticket home and opening Abokado, a cross between a sushi bar and a European sandwich shop, in Drury Lane in 2004. “For a week in Sydney we ate these sushi rolls that had western fillings. You just couldn’t find anything like that in London,” says Lilley. Abokado’s speciality is the Shwrap – a western filling in a handheld rice roll. The shops are an abundance of health: fridges are stocked full of salads, edamame beans, boxes of fresh sushi and, of course, Shwraps. Before embarking on Abokado, Lilley worked in the corporate brokerage division of what was Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Abokado’s emphasis on healthy eating was part of a change in lifestyle for Lilley: “I worked 14-18 hour days in the City, between eating badly and having no time to go to the gym I found myself getting a little weighty.” This typical predicament has helped Abokado ride the wave of greater health consciousness over the last decade. Setting up any business is hard, but a takeaway lunch shop is notoriously tough due to paper-thin profit margins. Lilley started his first branch of Abokado (he now has six) with £10,000 of his own money: “I would get the first tube at 4.30am and then stay in the shop until four or five, before going home and doing the books.”

Mark Lilley, the founder of Abokado Picture: Micha Theiner /City A.M.

A lack of experience in the food business helped to cushion the blow when it only made £100 on its first day: “I didn’t know if that was good or bad, really. But I did know that we would never break even.” There are now six branches of Abokado and it employs 60 people. The latest branch recently opened in Euston station. Shops three, four and five were opened with the help of two angel investors. Earlier this year, Abokado’s business plan stepped up a gear when it received private equity funding from Kings Park Capital for another 20 branches of Abokado across London. And what about the relationship with his new backers? “They are fairly hands off. They eat in the shops, so they know what we are doing and are forthcoming about any good or bad experiences they had.” This is a pivotal year for Abokado. Annual turnover is £2.5-£3m across all branches and net profits are expected to be

£0.5m this year. Lilley’s advice to fellow entrepreneurs is to go for it: “The worst that can happen is that you fail, but persistence is key, we could have packed up, but we kept going.”

CV | MARK LILLEY
Age : 37 Lives : Twickenham, with his wife and three young children. Drives : Honda 4x4 Book you are reading : “Let My People Go Surfing, by Yvon Chouinard. It was written by the founder of clothing company Patagonia and struck a chord with me. I like people to work hard, but I encourage them to have a life outside of work too. I certainly do.” Places you like to eat: “I think Wahaca is fantastic and it’s so innovative. People are moving toward a more tapas style of eating, and Wahaca has outstanding freshness.” www.abokado.com

Business insurance requirements depend on the firm’s type, but at the bare minimum you will require public liability insurance, business motor insurance and liability insurance for any employees. While public liability insurance isn’t necessarily legally mandated, most serious businesses cover themselves for situations in which public customers injure themselves through using your goods or services, and some companies won’t do business with firms that aren’t covered. Business motor insurance is necessary to cover any use of a vehicle by employee or employer for business purposes. And if you employ anyone outside your immediate family, you are required to take out liability insurance to cover the cost of anyone you hire getting hurt through work, whether they trip over cables or become too stressed; the policy has to cover at least £5m worth of damages. Additional insurance might also be mandated depending on your line of work: any company that offers advice, whether it is to individuals or institutions, needs to take out indemnity insurance, which covers damages resulting from mistakes in your advice. It is required of a wide range of professions, from hedge fund advisors to architects. But apart from the legal requirement, Duncan Philpott of indemnity specialists Prime Profession says: “It makes good business sense because you’re protecting your biggest business asset – which is you.” What additional insurance is it advisable to buy?

Q. A.

Is the age of small businesses ending?
An era of tight credit could see micro start-ups gain in popularity, writes Kathleen Brooks
GROWING divide is emerging between the fortunes of the UK’s large and small businesses. While UK Plc has seen strong profits and is sitting on record high cash piles, life has been harder for small businesses and entrepreneurs. According to a survey from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta), venture capital has been hit by a slump in funding, which is threatening the prospects for start-up companies. This only added to the misery after news that Aim, the exchange for smaller companies, saw 15 companies drop out of the index in June and only one company join. So what is fuelling the gulf between small and large firms? Garrath Marshall, director of entrepreneurial business at Deloitte, says that larger firms were able to react quickly to changing conditions during the downturn, which has left them well-placed to benefit during the recovery. However, small businesses are less adept at reacting so quickly. “Entrepreneurs can be closer to their businesses, which actually makes it harder to make those tough deci-

A

sions during the bad times,” says Marshall. Credit is the life-blood for growing firms, but there is no sign that banks are loosening their lending conditions. Data recently published also found that lending to small businesses by the government’s flagship small business loan scheme fell by more than 20 per cent in the six months leading up to the general election. And private equity and angel investors can only go so far in providing support. So what does this mean for the future of small businesses? Stephen Alambritis, chief spokesman for the Federation of Small Business (FSB), says that this could lead to an influx of micro-businesses instead of small firms that have ambitions to grow. “Combined with the public sector job cuts, I think we will see more and more people set up businesses from their homes in the coming years. They are cheaper to set up, but it could reduce the number of small firms aspiring to become big companies.” But is this bad for the economy? Yes and no, says David Scott, managing partner at Vestra Wealth. “For the individuals behind one-man-band businesses they can be very

It is a good idea to have insurance beyond the legal requirements not only because it hedges your risks, but because it also makes other companies confident that you are a reputable firm with which to trade. This could include building and contents insurance as well as computer insurance, which might need a separate policy. It is also wise to take out business interruption insurance, which will protect your income and overheads if unexpected catastrophe disrupts your ability to trade. With interruption cover, it is important to be sure you are insured for an adequate period – rebuilding a customer base or setting up your office after a disaster can take longer than you think. Credit insurance, meanwhile, covers the firm’s balance sheet against bankrupted debtors, while income protection insurance ensures that if an employee goes off work sick you aren’t on the hook for their long-term salary. Legal insurance can cover your firm’s non-compliance with the mountain of regulations and legislative requirements. And on top of all these policies, there are numerous others that might make sense depending on how your firm is structured: “key man” insurance, for example, covers earnings if an employee central to the company’s value is lost through unexpected death or incapacity. Where should I buy all this insurance?

Q. A.
Small firms are finding it harder togrow into big businesses Picture: GETTY

successful, but it could be detrimental for the overall economy. If small firms find it harder to grow then they won’t provide the employment they used to.” If economic conditions continue to erode the viability of growing firms, the UK’s economy will be the one to suffer.

There are several large firms with departments that specifically cater to small businesses, including Aviva and Lloyds TSB. Information is available from the Federation of Small Businesses, but the most common way to find the right insurance is to use a broker. Brokers work on a commission based on the cost of the premium you buy (which means that, in theory, they are incentivised to get you an expensive policy) so make sure you do your research beforehand and seek out a reputable broker. Juliet Samuel

Lifestyle
The ugly aliens with a yen for human bloodsport are back, but they haven’t brought new ideas Film
PREDATORS
Cert: 15

| Arts

DISCOVERING PORTUGAL

23

IN MONDAY’S TRAVEL SECTION

A franchise hunted to extinction

hhhii
IT’S 23 years since Arnold Schwarzenegger first did battle with one very ugly extraterrestial hunter, during which time there’s been a slew of spin-offs ranging from poor to dreadful. On paper the latest attempt to revamp the franchise seems encouraging, produced as it is by action whiz Robert Rodriguez, and with Predators battling men (rather than Aliens) again – and this time on their own turf. A motley crew of tough guys (and one tough girl), headed by Adrian Brody, find themselves dumped into an unfamiliar jungle which, it soon emerges, is the Predators’ home planet. The stranded team work out that they’re hunting prey for the creatures, having been selected to represent the very best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) of human ruthlessness and cunning. A battle of wits emerges as they try to work out an escape plan while the Predators stalk them through the jungle – cue lots of gory action. It’s all put together solidly enough but there’s nothing new here, and the case for whether there’s still life in this franchise is going to face an up-hill struggle. Brody – who won his best actor Oscar for Roman Polanski’s Holocaust film The Pianist – is better as a vigilante tough guy than one might assume, but the real problem with Predators is that it’s a bit dull. With the film unable to really deliver the shock value that it obviously intends, it seems all too clear that this franchise’s power to thrill is mostly gone. Rhys Griffiths

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE
Cert: 12a

hhiii
THE third film in the saga about a teenage love triangle between a human, a vegetarian vampire and a werewolf marks the midway point in the series. Unless you’re the kind of young lady who goes wild for

Robert “R-Patz” Pattinson in his guyliner, it’s just tiring to think there’s another two movies of such slow-burning blood-sucking dullness to go. For the uninitiated, Bella (Kristen Stewart) is a moody goth teen living in Washington State’s wet and windy nowheresville, who’s in love with moody goth vampire Edward (R-Patz). She wants to be turned into a vampire, but he’s getting jealous of the time she spends with moody, muscly and frequently shirtless teen werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner). Meanwhile a new gang of vamps has been assembled by villainess Victoria, who wants to kill Bella, something she’s failed to do in two films and, considering how far there is still to go, no prizes for guessing how successful she is this time. Eclipse is so slow-moving it’s stagnant. Director David Slade keeps it visually stylish, with the odd tasty vampire-on-werewolf fight scene, but let’s face it, the film’s goal is to tread water for two hours. It’s mostly filler, which in Twilight terms means a lot of brooding atmosphere and melodrama spread over a paper-thin screenplay. You’ll find yourself rooting for the baddies, hoping they finish Bella off and put us all out of our misery. RW

Adrian Brody, Alice Braga and some big guns in Predators.

Preview:

SARGENT AND THE SEA Royal Academy
HE’S always had his detractors, but John Singer Sargent, the American artist who made his career on this side of the Atlantic in the Victorian era, is a painter who never goes completely out of favour. He’s too much of a crowd favourite with his perceptive, tender portraits of glamorous Belle Epoque society, rendered with a painterly touch redolent of Manet, Van Dyke and even Velazquez. Sargent may have been given to whimsy, and rarely troubled by any need to answer the big artistic questions, but his paintings are seldom less than gorgeous to look at. So it should be with the Royal Academy’s latest exhibition of Sargent’s works, opening tomorrow, which focuses on his marine paintings – a lesser-known part of his oeuvre. As a young man in the 1870s Sargent spent several summers on the Normandy and Brittany coasts, producing seascapes and rustic beach scenes displaying his remarkable talent for capturing light and form. The exhibition features over 70 works drawn from these expeditions and Sargent’s other travels to the Italian island

Boats II, an 1879 watercolour.

of Capri and various Mediterranean ports, as well as a selection of boating watercolours painted in Venice later in his career. It should offer illumination on the blossoming of the artist’s career, and act as something of a light-filled counterweight to what is a rather dreary Summer Exhibition in the RA’s main galleries. Timothy Barber Sargent and the Sea opens tomorrow at the Royal Academy of Arts, and runs until 26 September. www.royalacademy.org.uk

ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND
ENTERTAINMENT

FILM
LEAVING Kristin Scott Thomas gives a typically powerful performance in this French romantic thriller. LONDON RIVER Moving drama set in the aftermath of
the 7/7 bombings, with Brenda Blethyn.

DVD
PERCY JACKSON & THE LIGHTING THIEF Fantasy fun
a little too much in the Harry Potter mould.

MUSIC
KYLIE Album number 11 from Australia’s most successful pop export, titled Aphrodite. FEEDER Brit-rock also rans release another album, Renegades, to put in your CD player player player... I AM KLOOT Talented, if a bit miserable, Manchester songwriters put out new album Sky at Night.

GAMES
CRACKDOWN 2 (X360) Open world, third-person
shooter sequel set in a city overrun by anarchy.

ASHES TO ASHES SERIES 3 The final outing for one of
the most memorable TV detectives, Gene Hunt.

PRO CYCLING MANAGER SEASON 2010: LE TOUR DE FRANCE (PC) Try to win the tour without doping. ELEVEN LEGACY COLLECTION (PC) Expansion pack
for the fantasy game.

WENT THE DAY WELL Rerelease for the classic wartime propaganda movie.

GENERATION KILL, COMPLETE HBO SERIES Terrific
series about US soldiers in Iraq.

24

Lifestyle | TV& Games BBC1
6pm BBC News 6.30pm BBC London News 7pm High Street Dreams; BBC News 8pm EastEnders 8.30pm QI 9pm My Family: New series. Ben pretends to be disabled. 9.30pm CHOICE The Old Guys 10pm BBC News 10.25pm Regional News 10.35pm Friday Night with Jonathan Ross 11.35pm The National Lottery Friday Night Draws 11.45pm FILM Down in the Valley 2004; Weatherview
1.35am Sign Zone 4.35am-6am BBC News

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

TERRESTRIAL

BBC2
6pm Eggheads 6.30pm Antiques Road Trip 7pm Coast: The team explores Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 8pm Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2010 9pm Dive 10pm How Not to Live Your Life 10.30pm Newsnight; Weather 11.05pm Golf: The Scottish Open 12.05am FILM Confessions of a Dangerous Mind: Fact-based comedy drama, starring Sam Rockwell. 2002.
1.50am FILM The Hitch-Hiker: Thriller, starring Edmond O’Brien. 1953.

ITV1
6pm London Tonight 6.30pm ITV News 7pm Emmerdale 7.30pm Coronation Street 8pm Dickinson’s Real Deal 8.30pm Coronation Street 9pm Doc Martin 10pm ITV News at Ten 10.30pm London News 10.35pm FILM Smokin’ Aces: Premiere. Comedy crime drama, starring Jeremy Piven. 2006. 12.35am The Zone; ITV News Headlines
2.35am FILM All That Heaven Allows: Romantic drama, starring Jane Wyman. 1955. 3.55am Touching Evil 4.50am-5.30am ITV Nightscreen

CHANNEL4
6pm The Simpsons 6.30pm Hollyoaks 7pm Channel 4 News 7.25pm 4thought.tv 7.30pm CHOICE The Playboy Murderer: New series. Documentary about murderer Thanos Papalexis. 8pm A Place in the Sun: Home or Away 9pm Big Brother 10pm The IT Crowd 10.35pm Big Brother 11.25pm Stand Up for the Week 12.15am Music on 4
1.15am Big Brother: Live 3.35am This Week’s 4Music Top 20 5.25am-6.10am Countdown

FIVE
6pm Home and Away 6.25pm Live from Studio Five: Topical reports. 7.30pm Zoo Days; Five News Update 8pm Nature Shock: A spate of deaths among Ugandan hippos; Five News at 9 9pm The Mentalist 10pm CSI: NY 10.55pm CHOICE Grey’s Anatomy 11.55pm Cops in Crisis 12.10am SuperCasino
4.05am Motorsport Mundial 4.30am House Doctor 4.55am Rough Guide to Islands 5.10am The New Tomorrow 5.35am-6am Michaela’s Wild Challenge

TV PICK
THE OLD GUYS
BBC1, 9.30PM New series. Tom and Roy are determined to win a pub quiz. Comedy, starring Roger Lloyd Pack, Clive Swift, Jane Asher and Cherie Lunghi.

SATELLITE & CABLE

SKY SPORTS 1
5.30pm Live Twenty20 Cup Cricket 9pm Premier League World 9.30pm Football’s Greatest 10pm World Cup Report 10.30pm World Sport 11pm Twenty20 Cup Cricket 1am Super League 2.30am Friday Fight Night 4.30am6am Super League

BRITISH EUROSPORT
7pm Eurosport Flash 7.05pm Soccer City Live 7.40pm Eurosport Flash 7.45pm World Superbikes 9.30pm Cycling: Tour de France 10.30pm Soccer City 11pm Cycling: Tour de France 12am Planet Armstrong 12.05am-12.35am Soccer City

2am So You Think You Can Dance 3am The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 3.50am Maury 4.40am Nothing to Declare 5.30am-6am Home Shopping

12.25am-6am Big Brother: Live

DISCOVERY HOME & HEALTH
7pm Babes in the Wood 8pm Jon and Kate Plus 8 9pm 17 Kids and Counting 10pm Last Chance Surgery 11pm Mystery Diagnosis 12am 17 Kids and Counting 1am Last Chance Surgery 2am Mystery Diagnosis 3am Jon and Kate Plus 8 4am Baby Tales 5am6am Mum + One

HISTORY
7pm How the Earth Was Made 8pm Decoding the Past 9pm Mountbatten: Death of a Royal 10pm The Cosmos: A Beginner’s Guide 11pm Goering: A Career 12am Decoding the Past 1am How the Earth Was Made 2am Egypt 3am Pawn Stars 4am5am Decoding the Past

BBC THREE
7pm Top Gear 8pm T: Editors and La Roux 9pm T: Florence and the Machine and Faithless 10pm EastEnders 10.30pm T: Muse and Calvin Harris 12am Family Guy 12.45am Lee Nelson’s Well Good Show 1.15am Mongrels 1.45am Special 1 TV 1.50am World Cup’s Most Shocking Moments 3.50am Lee Nelson’s Well Good Show 4.20am Mongrels 4.50am-5.20am The Real Hustle on Holiday

THE PLAYBOY MURDERER
CHANNEL4, 7.30PM Documentary about Thanos Papalexis, who went from hosting parties for Bill Clinton to murdering a man because he stood in the way of a deal.

SKY SPORTS 2
7pm World Sport 7.30pm Live Super League 10pm Live Friday Fight Night 12am NFL: Total Access 1am Tight Lines 2am Ocean Ride 2.30am World Sport 3am Twenty20 Cricket 5am-6am NFL: Total Access

ESPN
7pm ICC Cricket World 7.30pm Australian Rules Football 10pm The Ultimate Fighter 11pm MMA Live 11.45pm UFC All Access 12.15am Talk of the Terrace 12.30am Press Pass 2010 1.30am ICC Cricket World 2am The Ultimate Fighter 3am5am Live Friday Night Fights

DISCOVERY
8pm How Do They Do It? 8.30pm How It’s Made 9pm The Cumbrian Murders 10pm How the Universe Works 11pm Battlefield Mysteries 12am Deadliest Catch 1am Bear Grylls 2am Chris Barrie’s Massive Machines 3am World War Two in HD Colour 3.50am Raging Planet 4.40am Days That Shook the World 5.30am6am How Does That Work?

SKY1
7pm The Simpsons 8pm Missing Children: Lorraine Kelly Investigates. The case of 15-year-old Vicky Hamilton. 9pm Bones. A competitive gamer is murdered. 11pm Lie to Me 12am Oops TV 1am Road Wars 1.50am Justin Lee Collins: West End Star 2.40am Road Wars 3.30am Shear Genius 4.20am Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style 5.10am-6am Are You Smarter Than a 10 Year Old?

SKY SPORTS 3
7pm Tight Lines 8pm Live US Women’s Open Golf 12am Live PGA Tour Golf 2am European Tour Golf 3.30am Golfing World 4.30am FIFA Futbol Mundial 5am World Sport 5.30am6am Football’s Greatest

LIVING
7pm Four Weddings 8pm Passport Patrol 9pm Criminal Minds 10pm CSI: Miami 11pm Criminal Minds 12am CSI: CSI

E4
7pm Hollyoaks 7.30pm Friends 9pm Supernanny 10pm Supersize vs Superskinny 11.05pm Rude Tube 11.20pm Big Brother’s Big Mouth

GREY’S ANATOMY
FIVE, 10.55PM Addison returns to the hospital to perform an unusual operation, and Alex is forced to face his responsibilities when Rebecca announces she is pregnant.

Place the numbers from 1 to 9 in each empty cell so that each row, each column and each 3x3 block contains all the numbers from 1 to 9 to solve this tricky Sudoku puzzle.

SUDOKU

COFFEE BREAK
Copyright Puzzle Press Ltd, www.puzzlepress.co.uk

QUICK CROSSWORD
10 19 16 3 35 20 15 16 29 17 11 20 21 34

KAKURO

4 45 24

15

Fill the grid so that each block adds up to the total in the box above or to the left of it. You can only use the digits 1-9 and you must not use the same digit twice in a block. The same digit may occur more than once in a row or column, but it must be in a separate block.

12 24 26 23

12

11 41

14 13 30 26

29

45 16

10 13 21

7

20 8 11

18

8 22 9

9

ACROSS

WORDWHEEL
LAST ISSUE’S SOLUTIONS
QUICK CROSSWORD
3 1 2 4 8 9 6 2 1

KAKURO
6 9 8 9 5 2 3 6 9 9 1 4 7 8 8 9 8 4 5 7 6 3 1 4 5 8 6 5 2 3 7 9 1 1 2 3 7 9 7 8 8 8 2 3 9 4 8 6 1 5 2 2 3 1 6 9 3 9 7 2 7 5 9 4 7 1 1 6 2 7 8 5

Using only the letters in the Wordwheel, you have ten minutes to find as many words as possible, none of which may be plurals, foreign words or proper nouns. Each word must be of three letters or more, all must contain the central letter and letters can only be used once in every word. There is at least one nine-letter word in the wheel.

U A D S E

A
R

T T

SUDOKU WORDWHEEL
The nine-letter word was MATERNITY

1 Children’s outdoor toy (6) 6 Herbivorous lizard of tropical America (6) 7 Relatives by marriage (2-4) 8 Hold and move repeatedly (6) 10 Forbidden (5) 13 Take off clothes (7) 16 Captivate (5) 18 Unwell (6) 20 Public speaker (6) 21 Alloy of copper and tin (6) 22 Arm covering (6)

Down 1 Garment hanging from the waist (5) 2 Ms Stone, aka Catherine Tramell in the Basic Instinct films (6) 3 Specific feeling of desire (4) 4 Fine particles of wood (7) 5 Desert animal (5) 9 Actor, ___ Baldwin, former husband of Kim Basinger (4) 11 Mass of precious metal (7) 12 Chief Norse god (4) 14 Barbaric, violent (6) 15 Young sheep (5) 17 Large group or crowd (5) 19 Departs (4)

26

Lifestyle | Fashion

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

S
I

le in your izz swimwear
very cool, perfect for posing in Ibiza at daytime parties, but not very good for getting a sensible tan line. And you need to be lean.” But on the whole, it’s a good summer for the flabbier-stomached lady – as Nash King says: “One-pieces haven’t been in for ages. Now you can go crazy with them: animal prints, sequinny detail and other exotic patterns are popular.”
l If you’re lean, you’ll look great in an extreme cut-out costume. Just be sure to have a decent base tan, and to lather up well with cream to avoid odd tan lines. l If you’re curvy but slim, go for a bandeau-style top and a string-tie bikini bottom. l If you’re curvy: go for the 1950s style big pants bikini. l Cover-ups are all the rage: go for a tyedie kaftan or a playsuit. l Fashionistas accessorise their swimwear, so get jewelled up for a glam Ibiza look. l Great websites for swimwear are Clickini (www.clickini.com), and Lie Low (www.lielow.co.uk); a good high street shop is Oasis, as it lets you mix and match tops and bottoms.

3

The season’s cozzies flatter curves, says Zoe Strimpel
T was reported last week that women spend more on their swimwear than they do on their holidays. This either means that their holidays are very cheap or that their swimsuits are amazingly expensive, but the upshot is that swimwear is in the fashion spotlight and it just won’t do to, err, skimp. Yet it’s not easy choosing swimwear – women’s bodies are a constant challenge when it comes to looking good in lycra. And this summer there are so many trends about, it can all be rather confusing. The main looks are cut-out costumes and 1950s-style big pants – oh, and everything in between. But what can real women wear? Tara Nash King, founder of fashion brokerage Chic and Seek (chicandseek.com), says: “For the more curvy woman, I am a massive fan of the 1950s big pants look. They are super flattering for holding the stomach in. As for the cutout costume look, it’s

1 2

NEED TO KNOW: BEACHWEAR

6 5 4

9 7 8

1 Solid cut-out swimsuit, Calvin Klein, £79, www.calvinklein.com 2 Phuket cut-out swimsuit, Melissa Odabash, £275, www.netaporter.com 3 Beige and black swimsuit, Pistol Panties, £180, www.apartment-c.com 4 Angola knit strapless tankini, Missoni, £424, www.netaporter.com 5 Halterneck swimsuit, Shan, £229, www.harrods.com 6 Orange bikini, Lacoste, £70, www.lacoste.com 7 Underwired bikini with medium waist, Jill Sander, £220.45, www.clickini.com 8 Polka dot bikini top and shorts, Toast, top £32, shorts £30, www.toast.co.uk 9 Star one-piece, Tomas Maier, £287, www.clickini.com

TREND WATCH: UNDERWEAR AS OUTWEAR
ZOE STRIMPEL

Hooray: a bra with straps you actually want to flaunt
NLESS you happen to have the figure of Kate Moss, going bra-free – or even strapless – is not usually an option. Fuller-chested women need proper bras, straps ‘n’ all. Problem is,when it comes strappy top season, it’s hard to get dressed without showing your bra straps – and that look is dubious at best. Until now, I’ve merely accepted that summer equals unseemly strappage. But along came Brazelle, an ingenious yet

U

simple idea that has changed the way I regard my underwear. Brazelle is essentially a company that makes bra straps. But instead of being nasty synthetic ones that gleam hideously, they’re made of silk and satin, embellished with gemstones and in gorgeous colours. Mine is pale turquoise and sports green gems. It’s a showstopper. You hook them up to one of vari-

ous points on a bra – the company supplies very firm, reducing cups – and suddenly you have a stunning halterneck that looks like a brilliant bikini. Unlike most lingerie, sexiness does not come at the expense of practicality: the support is fantastic. You can play around with them too. One day it’s a halterneck; the next, why not loop the strap from the centre and outwards around the neck? You can also

use it as a belt or a hair ribbon. Now that is what I call added value. Satin lycra straps cost £34.99 and come in lots of luscious colours: I recommend buying a few, good for all seasons and looks. Or ramp it up to full-blown glam, with the Murano collection, which features clusters of Murano glass plated with 18k gold – these straps cost £387 but are exquisite. After all, if you’ve got it: flaunt it. www.brazelle.com

Punter
FOOTBALL TRADER BEN CLEMINSON TAKES A LOOK AT SUNDAY’S WORLD CUP FINAL

27

Picture: ACTION IMAGES

Spain can hold their nerve to lift the title
HOLLAND SPAIN
SUNDAY - 7.30PM BBC 1 AND ITV 1
MOST football purists would have been purring at the start of the tournament if I’d said it was going to be a Netherlands v Spain final in Johannesburg on Sunday 11th July. However, the Dutch have taken a far more pragmatic approach to this year’s competition, while Spain have only made it to the final thanks to three 1-0 victories in the knockout stages. Remarkably, neither of these countries have ever won a World Cup and for Spain this is their first ever appearance in a final. Similarly strange is that these two great footballing nations have never met at a World Cup or European Championship, so this is truly history in the making. There is nothing to split them in terms of previous meetings with both teams winning four of nine contests, the last being a 1-0 friendly win for Holland in 2002. No team has ever won the World Cup having lost their opening game, but Spain are just one game away from rubbishing that stat. They have yet to hit full stride, but are packed full of quality and their performance against Germany in the second half on Wednesday night underlined their position as the best side in the competition. The way they pass and move is a joy to watch and with Xavi and Andrés Iniesta pulling the strings in the middle and David Villa providing the killer finish they have the potency to unlock the stingiest of defences. There is no doubt that Spain are a wonderful side going forward, but it’s been their work ethic and defensive organisation that have particularly impressed me in the past few games. Look back at the Portugal and Germany games and it’s a real struggle to even remember a chance for either of their opponents. Barcelona form the backbone of the team and Carles Puyol and Gerard Piqué have been immense throughout, conceding just two goals in their six games. Holland haven’t won as many fans as they normally do at these tournaments as, to be honest, they play more like a traditional German side than the typical Dutch ‘Total Football’ one we’ve come to know and love. That said, they have been clinical, winning all six games so far, and their performances against Brazil and Uruguay showed just how much confidence is running through the side. Wesley Sneijder has had an unbelievable season with Inter Milan and he has been the Oranje’s star player by a mile. Arjen Robben, who came into the tournament with injury troubles, has also stepped up to the mark in the past two games and with Robin van Persie on the scene as well this is a side full of goalscoring potential. The hope is that both of these teams peak at exactly the right time to make it a final to remember, but I can’t see either side losing their discipline and just one defensive mistake could prove incredibly costly. Holland have scored two or more goals in five of their six games, but crucially they have conceded in all of their last four and they won’t want to take on Spain in a passing game. I have no doubt that the Dutch are going to prove a stern test for the Spanish, but their display against Germany showed me that they are ready to notch another major trophy and I’ll be backing them to win in 90 minutes at 11/10 with William Hill. The opening period could be quite cagey, as it has been in all of Spain’s last three games, so I’d also be tempted to back the draw HT / Spain FT market at 4/1 with Paddy Power. It’s hardly ‘boring, boring Spain’ syndrome, but the 1-0 victory has become something of a pattern and with their 2008 European Cup final win against Germany also coming by that scoreline, I’ll have a go at that at around the 11/2 mark with Starsportsbet.co.uk. There have been two or fewer goals in four of the last World Cup finals and in five of Spain’s six games here, so spread bettors should sell goals at 2.1 with Sporting Index.

POINTERS...
Spain to win in 90 minutes at 11/10 with William Hill Draw HT / Spain FT at 4/1 with Paddy Power Spain to win 1-0 at 11/2 on Starsportsbet.co.uk Sell total match goals at 2.1 with Sporting Index

28

Punter

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

RACING TRADER BILL ESDAILE, OUR RACING EXPERT, TAKES A LOOK AT THIS WEEKEND’S RACING ACTION

Flying filly Fleeting Spirit to take July Cup for second year running
T
HERE is an international flavour to today’s July Cup at Newmarket with speedsters from Australia, the US, France and Ireland taking on the home contingent. However, I think the prize will stay in Newmarket and Jeremy Noseda’s FLEETING SPIRIT can become the first horse since Right Boy in 1959 to win the race back-to-back. This is one gutsy filly who has run consistently well at the highest level for the past three seasons. I was deeply impressed by the way she put this race to bed 12 months ago, despite hanging badly in the closing stages. She holds her form very well and her reappearance fourth in the Golden Jubilee was excellent, as she was drawn on the wrong side of the track. That run will have put her spot on for this and with Frankie Dettori in the saddle, I think she will win. Starspangledbanner is a worthy favourite following his power-packed performance at Royal Ascot, but he’s been on the go since August and has only registered consecutive wins once in his 13-race career. Golden Jubilee winners also have a poor record in this race and I’d be willing to lay him on Betdaq at 6/4 or shorter. Of the others, Equiano and Nicconi look doubtful stayers, Kingsgate Native is inconsistent, Marchand D’or ran a shocker last time and US-based Kinsale King has had a long, hard season. There have been five winning three-year-olds in the past 13 years and the classic generation are represented by Society Rock and SHOWCASING (e/w) this time. The former ran a stormer to finish second in the Golden Jubilee, but it may just be that he is better suited to Ascot. John Gosden’s Showcasing is a highly promising sprinter, but was immensely disappointing in the same race. However, I’m always willing to forgive a horse a bad run at the Berkshire track and with first time blinkers he looks overpriced at 20/1

I GET THREE £10 BETS FREE.
WORLD CUP FINAL
Sunday 7.30pm Live on BBC TV.

EXCLUSIVE TO NEW TELEPHONE/ONLINE CUSTOMERS* Simply stake £10 today and we will give you 3x£10 Free Bets. Quote WORLD30

6/5 Spain

11/5 Draw

Holland 13/5

All football prices quoted are phone/net, different odds may apply in retail. Extra time does not count.

GET THE BEST PRICE ANYWHERE!

6/5 SPAIN
TO WIN IN 90 MINS

with William Hill. Andrew Balding has already been in Newmarket’s winner’s enclosure this week and I expect him to be there again after today’s opener (1.30pm). He won this race last year and has a great chance of taking it again with HIGHLAND KNIGHT, who won his maiden impressively at Lingfield last time. The fillies’ maiden at 3.45pm can go to Godolphin with their highly regarded RAGSAH. She was backed as if defeat was out of the question on debut here last month, but will have learnt a lot from finishing second to Sweet Cecily. The 32Red Trophy (2.35pm), known as the Bunbury Cup to you and I, looks as difficult as ever and Jeremy Noseda runs Captain Brilliance, who was narrowly denied by top weight Plum Pudding last year. PALACE MOON tops the ratings this time and on his third to Laddies Poker Two in the Wokingham, he must have a massive chance. Kieren Fallon is in the saddle and his draw in stall five looks good. Tomorrow’s highlight is the John Smith’s Cup at York (3.05pm) and I’ve narrowed the field down to two: Imposing and WIGMORE HALL. Ryan Moore arguably gave the former too much to do at Royal Ascot last time, but he was might-

Kelly Harrison (left) and Kirsty Milczarek are riding in this evening’s Breast Cancer Care Pink Mile Picture: ACTION IMAGES

ily impressive at this track the time before. However, Michael Bell’s Wigmore Hall ran really well at the Royal meeting as well and he seems to come into his own in these big-field races. He has to carry just 8st 5lbs and with Martin Lane taking off another valuable 3lbs, he looks a cracking each-way bet at 6/1. Finally, Racing for Change and Chester Racecourse have combined for tonight’s Breast Cancer Care Pink Mile (6.10pm). It’s the world’s first ever pink horserace with female horses and jockeys, all of whom will be wearing specially designed pink silks. The race is free-to-air on Racing UK and the channel is also donating £5 of every subscription made today to the charity. Finding the winner doesn’t look easy, but I’ll be having a small each-way bet on MANY WELCOMES who has won over course and distance.

POINTERS...
HIGHLAND KNIGHT PALACE MOON e/w FLEETING SPIRIT SHOWCASING e/w RAGSAH MANY WELCOMES e/w WIGMORE HALL e/w 1.30pm Newmarket (today) 2.35pm Newmarket (today) 3.10pm Newmarket (today) 3.10pm Newmarket (today) 3.45pm Newmarket (today) 6.10pm Chester (today) 3.05pm York (tomorrow)

INSIDER

the

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All the latest odds and £100s of bookie freebets

I
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haven’t had too many two-yearold bets so far this season but I’ll be changing that tomorrow with a hefty wager on MAJOR CONQUEST (8%) in the nursery at Ascot (2.20pm). John Hills’ runners often improve and this son of Librettist has been going the right way. The form in the book is very strong with his fourth to Crown Prosecutor looking very hot. He has now got his head in front and I

think an official rating of 79 is very helpful. He might be one to back until he gets beaten, which will hopefully not be tomorrow! THRUST CONTROL (2% e/w) might be running out of the weights in tomorrow’s Scoop6 Handicap at Ascot (1.45pm) but I think Cathy Gannon should be able to steer this son of Fath into the winner’s enclosure. At York tomorrow 22 go to post

for the John Smith’s Cup. Based on his last run at the track I’m going to take on Forte Dei Marmi and have a few shillings on a rank outsider. Mark Johnson is in cracking form right now, his TARTAN GUNNA (2% e/w) is possibly more exposed than some of the competition but he should be there or thereabouts and merits consideration. Tonight, TAGSEED (3%) should be able to clinch his fourtimer in the 7.35pm at Chepstow.

Sport

WILL VILLA BECOME A WORLD CUP MATCH-WINNER?
TREVOR STEVEN LOOKS AT THE KEY BATTLES IN SUNDAY’S FINAL: P31

29

Match-winner Bell was playing his first one-day international since November 2008. Picture: ACTION IMAGES

Results
CRICKET
1ST ODI England v Bangladesh TRENT BRIDGE: England beat Bangladesh by six wickets BANGLADESH T Iqbal lbw Broad........................................................................................28 I Kayes c Morgan b Anderson................................................................14 J Siddique lbw Yardy..................................................................................51 R Hasan run out ............................................................................................76 S Al Hasan c Anderson b Broad............................................................20 M Rahim c Wright b Bresnan ................................................................22 M Mahmudullah lbw Anderson................................................................4 F Hossain not out............................................................................................8 M Mortaza c Bell b Anderson ..................................................................5 A Razzak b Bresnan ......................................................................................3 B1 lb7 w11........................................................................................................19 Total (9 wkts., 50 overs) ......................................................................250 Fall: 40, 70, 136, 186, 222, 234, 236, 243, 250. Bowling: Anderson 10-0-74-3, Bresnan 10-0-40-2, Broad 10-143-2, Tredwell 3-0-18-0, Wright 3-0-20-0, Collingwood 9-1-32-0, Yardy 5-0-15-1. ENGLAND A Strauss run out ........................................................................................50 C Kieswetter c Hossain b Al Hasan......................................................32 I Bell not out..................................................................................................84 P Collingwood c Siddique b Al Hasan ................................................33 E Morgan c Islam b Razzak ....................................................................23 M Yardy not out ............................................................................................10 B5 lb4 w10 ......................................................................................................19 Total (4 wkts., 45.1 overs) ....................................................................251 Fall: 75, 93, 173, 213. Bowling: Mortaza 6-0-30-0, Islam 5-0-46-0, Razzak 10-0-64-1, Al Hasan 10-0-35-2, Mahmudullah 8-0-41-0, Hossain 6.1-0-26-0. Umpires: A Rauf & N Llong. LV COUNTY CH’SHIP - DIVISION ONE (Headingley Carnegie); Yorkshire 425 (G L Brophy 103, A Lyth 84, A McGrath 57, N M Carter 4-87) and 200-4 (J A Rudolph 80, J M Bairstow 64no) v Warwickshire 253 (I J Westwood 66, A U Rashid 4-71, S A Patterson 4-57) and 371 (R Clarke 127no, A U Rashid 5-137). Yorkshire (23pts) beat Warwickshire (4pts) by 6 wickets. DIVISION TWO (Arundel); Gloucestershire 307 (C G Taylor 89, Kadeer Ali 58) v Sussex 314-6 (88.0 overs), V Banerjee 4-84).. FRIENDS PROVIDENT T20 - SOUTH DIVISION (Brit Insurance Oval); Surrey 120-8 v Middlesex 121-3 (N J Dexter 62no). Middlesex (2pts) beat Surrey by 7 wickets.

Steely Bell chimes again as England cruise to easy win
CRICKET BY JON COUCH
IAN BELL marked his return to the one-day side with a match-winning knock as England cruised to a sixwicket victory over Bangladesh in the first of their three-match series. The Warwickshire batsman, making his first ODI appearance since November 2008, followed up his 158 for the Lions against India A on Tuesday with a splendid 84 not out as England cruised to their victory target of 251 with 29 balls to spare. It signalled yet another impressive comeback for the 28-year-old, who has now worked his way back into the Test and one-day fold with gritty displays. Captain Andrew Strauss, who has also had his suitability questioned for 50-over cricket in the past, added a quickfire 50 from 37 balls. But for Bangladesh, it capped a rather forgetful day as wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim and batsman Raqibul Hasan suffered injuries which could rule them out for the remainder of the series. Rahim was taken to hospital after being struck in the eye by a turning delivery from Faisal Hossain, while Raqibul was struck on the foot by a James Anderson yorker before going onto top-score with 76. His knock helped Bangladesh to 250-9, although at 222-4, the Tigers might have expected to set their hosts a bigger target. As it was, Anderson took 3-74, while Stuart Broad, just 24 hours after the death of his stepmother, and Tim Bresnan, claimed two wickets apiece. England never looked in danger as they chased down the target. Strauss and Craig Kieswetter (32) piled on an opening stand of 75 off 66 balls, leaving Bell and Paul Collingwood to take charge after their work was done. Collingwood added 33 before topedging a sweep off Shakib Al Hasan before Eoin Morgan took England beyond 200 with a lofted drive for six and then a trademark reverse-sweep for four in his enterprising 23. But supported to the end by Michael Yardy (10no), Bell deservedly took the plaudits, smashing six fours in a measured 101-ball knock to hand England a 1-0 series lead going into the second one-dayer at Bristol on Saturday.
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CYCLING
TOUR DE FRANCE (Epernay - Montargis, 187.5km)—Stage S 5: 1 Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Team HTC - Columbia 4hrs 30mins 50secs, 2 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram at same time, 3 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team at same time, 4 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne at same time, 5 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test T eam at same time, 6 Sebastien Turgot (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom at same time. General classification: 1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 22hrs 59mins 45secs, 2 Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Sky Professional Cycling Team at 0.23, 3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team at 0.39, 4 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions at 0.46, 5 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step at 1.01, 6 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank at 1.09.

TODAY’S DIARY
CRICKET
Friends Provident T20 - North Division: Northamptonshire v Warwickshire (Northampton), Worcestershire v Durham (New Road), Lancashire v Yorkshire (Old Trafford). South Division: Somerset v Hampshire (Taunton), Glamorgan v Surrey (The SWALEC Stadium), Kent v Essex (Brit Insurance Oval).

CYCLING
Tour de France - Stage 6 ( Montargis-Gueugnon; 227.5 km).

RUGBY LEAGUE
engage Super League (8pm):: Harlequins RL v Bradford, Hull K R v Leeds, St Helens v Catalans Dragons, Wigan v Salford.

SPORTS EDITOR JON COUCH email [email protected]

Injury has robbed us of a legend in Harry Ellis, says a saddened Johnson
RUGBY UNION BY JON COUCH
MARTIN JOHNSON believes England have lost a future legend in Harry Ellis, who was forced to retire yesterday at the age of 28 with knee problems. The Leicester and England scrumhalf underwent reconstruction surgery on his left knee in 2007, then saw his brief comeback thwarted with a similar injury last season, eventually prompting him to hang up his boots. England team boss Johnson was a former team-mate of Ellis for the Tigers and the national side and says the game has been robbed of a potential star. “Harry has been an excellent player who always gave everything for Leicester Tigers and England,” he said. “From the first time he was involved it was obvious to everyone in the Tigers squad that he was a special talent and that he’d make a big impact. I’m sure that if he’d been fit Harry would have continued to make a huge contribution to his club and country for many years to come. On behalf of the England squad I’d like to wish Harry all the best for the future.” Ellis, who won 27 caps for England and one for the British Lions in 2009, consulted highlyrespected orthopaedic surgeon Andy Williams before making his decision. “All last season I was taking a hell of a lot of painkillers and I was constantly having blood and fluid drained from my knee,” he said. “I have had so many operations on my knee I knew it was time to retire. I was gutted and really upset when I found out and it took a while to get used to.”

SPORT | IN BRIEF
Cavendish claims 11th stage win
CYCLING: Mark Cavendish recovered from his recent setbacks to claim his 11th Tour de France stage victory after a sprint finish in Montargis. The Manxman crashed out of the first stage and finished a disappointing 12th in Wednesday’s fourth stage, but showed his class to hold off German Gerald Ciolek and Team Sky’s Edvald Boasson Hagen. “It is an incredible feeling. All that emotion and pressure that has built up all year has finally come to an end,” the HTC-Columbia rider said. Swiss Fabian Cancellara retains the yellow jersey, while Brit Geraint Thomas stays second and keeps the young riders’ white jersey. Mickelson needs to finish first or second at Loch Lomond to leapfrog Woods ahead of next week’s Open, but struggled with a level-par round. Ulsterman Darren Clarke leads on sixunder-par, ahead of England’s Graeme Storm, Italy’s Edoardo Molinari and Ireland’s Damien McGrane.

Sir Frank steps down

FORMULA ONE: Sir Frank Williams handed over his role as team chairman to Adam Parr yesterday – but insisted he is not ready to retire. The 67-year-old remains as team principal, while Parr, who has been acting chairman since March, will take over the day-to-day running of the team with the experienced Patrick Head moving over to the technical side. Slow start for Mickelson Williams, however, reiterated: “This is GOLF: Phil Mickelson suffered a disapnot notice of my impending retirement. pointing opening round 71 at the Barclays Scottish Open as he attempts to Time is evolving. There are a few more years in me yet.” overhaul Tiger Woods as world No1.

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Sport

CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

MCLAREN: IS IT TRUE BROMANCE?
It’s all smiles between Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button now, but will things boil over at Sunday’s British Grand Prix?
FORMULA 1 2010
British pair Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button race in front of their home fans at Silverstone on Sunday as one and two in the drivers’ standings. Picture: GETTY

HAMILTON’S RECORD | BRITISH GP
YEAR POSITION 2007 – 3rd (McLaren) 2008 – 1st (McLaren) 2009 – 16th (McLaren)

BUTTON’S RECORD | BRITISH GP
YEAR POSITION 2000 – 5th (Williams) 2001 – 15th (Benetton) 2002 – 12th (Renault) 2003 – 8th (BAR) 2004 – 4th (BAR) 2005 – 5th (BAR) 2006 – Ret (Honda) 2007 – 10th (Honda) 2008 – Ret (Honda) 2009 – 6th (Brawn)

BY JON COUCH

IT’S been played down as friendly rivalry thus far, but if it comes down to a sprint finish to take the chequered flag in the British Grand Prix on Sunday, rest assured they’ll be no pleasantries in the McLaren cockpits of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. One-two in the drivers’ championship, all eyes are on the British pair to fight it out for their third victories of the season in front of their home fans at Silverstone. Nine races into the season, it’s still all love and happiness in the Wokingbased garage as Hamilton and Button go about their business of establishing McLaren a lead in the constructors’ championship. But as the season enters its second half and the title race hots up, it has been suggested that cracks are beginning to appear beneath the surface as the world champions of the last two years desperately try to reclaim their crown. Another former British world champion, Damon Hill, believes the relationship may “boil over” for the season run-in, starting Sunday, while Red Bull’s Mark Webber believes a rift is “inevitable” given what is at stake.

BRITISH GP | HOME WINNERS
5 – Jim Clark (1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967) 4 – Nigel Mansell (1986, 1987, 1991, 1992) 2 – Stirling Moss (1955, 1957) Jackie Stewart (1969, 1971) David Coulthard (1999, 2000) 1 – Lewis Hamilton (2008) Damon Hill (1996) John Watson (1981) James Hunt (1977) Peter Collins (1958) Tony Brooks (1957)

Hamilton leads Button by just six points at the top of the drivers’ championship with two wins apiece. But with the new points system, which gives 25 for a win, and the likes of Webber, his team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso all in close attendance, every win is vital. Button is yet to claim a podium finish in 10 years racing at Silverstone, but insists the pressure of racing in front of a home crowd doesn’t faze him. “I don’t feel under pressure going into my home race – I feel very relaxed, and Lewis is the same,” he said. “It’ll be a lovely atmosphere. We’ve both been here and had a rubbish result, yet you still get the support. For us it’s a case of going there and looking forward to it, more than feeling under pressure. Winning at home, you celebrate with your home crowd. I‘ve never even been on the

podium here, and I’m going to change that this year.” Hamilton, on the other hand, won here two years ago and is desperate to experience that feeling again. “The feeling of winning your home grand prix is unique and very special – it’s almost as good as winning the world championship.”

SILVERSTONE Laps: 52 Length: 5.891 km Race Distance: 306.747 km Lap Record: 1:18.739 - M Schumacher (2004)
Club Vale Abbey Luffield Woodcote Wellington straight Village Start Brooklands Aintree Hanger straight Chapel Becketts Maggots Copse

F1 2010 | SEASON SO FAR
RACE Bahrain Australia Malaysia China Spain Monaco Turkey Canada Europe HAMILTON 3rd 6th 6th 2nd 14th 5th 1st 1st 2nd BUTTON 7th 1st 8th 1st 5th DNF 2nd 2nd 3rd
Farm Curve The Loop Stowe

Spurs net £20m sponsor in league and cup split deal
FOOTBALL BY JON COUCH
TOTTENHAM last night announced an innovative sponsorship proposal which will see them wear different branded shirts for league and cup matches. The move came after software infrastructure firm Autonomy announced a £20m deal over two years to become title sponsors for Premier League games only. Now, Spurs are looking to agree a deal with a separate company to sponsor shirts worn in the FA Cup, League Cup and European competitions. A FTSE 100-listed company, Autonomy is the UK’s largest pure software company, and becomes only the fifth brand to appear on the famous lillywhite shirt, replacing Mansion.com whose four-year deal ended this summer. Holsten (twice), Hewlett Packard and Thomson Holidays are the others. “We are delighted to have Autonomy as our new global partner,” said Spurs chairman Daniel Levy. Levy is thought to be the brainchild behind the dual-sponsorship idea and the club are now in discussions with several brands to sponsor their cup shirts. The deal could land the north London club an additional £20m depending on their number of appearances – boosted by the fact they have qualified for the Champions League this year. Harry Redknapp’s Spurs will wear their new Autonomy-branded shirts for the first time on their tour of the USA when they play San Jose Earthquakes on 17 July.
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Tottenham ready to mount a league title challenge – Bale
FOOTBALL BY FRANK DALLERES
TOTTENHAM flyer Gareth Bale believes Spurs are ready to take another step up and mount a challenge for the Premier League title next season. Harry Redknapp ended years of frustration in May when he led the White Hart Lane outfit to fourth place and a first ever shot at the Champions League. And Wales star Bale (right) is convinced they can raise the bar by challenging Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal – if Redknapp opens his chequebook. He told City A.M.: “We’ve got a good team and I think if we invest in a few more players I don’t think there’s any reason why we can’t go a little bit further. I’d say challenging for the title is the main aim for every single team and I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t mount a challenge.” Spurs only ended five points behind Arsenal last season and Bale, 21, is desperate to finish ahead of their north London rivals for the first time since 1995. “I hope this is the year we finish ahead of them,” he added. “We’ve got just as good a squad as them and there’s no reason why we can’t beat them in the Premier League this year.” Among the Gunners’ squad is Theo Walcott, who grew up alongside Bale in the Southampton youth set-up, and was left out of England’s World Cup squad – much to his old team-mate’s amazement. “It was a big shock to me,” said Bale. “I honestly think that with his pace he adds a different element to any team. It’s a shame he didn’t go.” Gareth Bale is part of the launch of Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 on BT Vision. Find out more at www.bt.com/sport
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CITYA.M. 9 JULY 2010

Sport | Football KEY AREAS

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OUR MAN IN SOUTH AFRICA

TREVOR STEVEN
HOLLAND versus Spain going head-tohead in the biggest showpiece of them all throws up the prospect of a feast of free-flowing football and a number of fascinating individual battles. For the purists, it’s the ultimate final as, arguably, the two most successful nations never to have won a World Cup lock horns. But where will the game be won and lost and who will contest the key battles. Let’s take a look.

THE VILLA EFFECT
Spain’s Xavi (left), has won seven major honours, while Mark van Bommel is Holland’s most experienced campaigner. Pictures: ACTION IMAGES, GETTY

Johnny Heitinga

David Villa

Spain’s diet of success
HOLLAND SPAIN

NUMBER OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MEDALS IN STARTING XI

WORLD CUP 2010
BY FRANK DALLERES
WHEN Holland take on Spain in Sunday’s World Cup final in Johannesburg they will come up against not just a highly accomplished team, but a whole culture of success. The Dutch are not short of players who have plied their trade across Europe, while the national team boast a 25-match unbeaten run. But in terms of claiming the very biggest prizes in the game, Vicente del Bosque’s men are in a different liga; winning silverware is in their blood. Spain are, of course, reigning European champions and eight of the team likely to start at Soccer City were in the team that triumphed two years

ago. Then consider that 10 of Del Bosque’s likely final XI play for either Barcelona or Real Madrid – who have a duopoly on the Primera Division and are both European behemoths – and the honours really start to add up. Eight of the Spain side have scaled the heights of club football by winning the Champions League. Five have won it more than once and in total the starting XI have accumulated 14 winners’ medals. Eight more have won a domestic title, all more than once. Holland, by comparison, have just

three Champions League winners in their first team – Wesley Sneijder, Mark van Bommel and Giovanni van Bronckhorst – and only five have won more than one league title. Defender Joris Mathijsen has never won a major honour, while forward Dirk Kuyt has only an FA Cup to his name. Spain have proven they know what it takes to succeed, even on the biggest occasions, and that is sure to stand them in good stead in their first world final. Holland – consistent, gifted and gritty – may have met their match.

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Heitinga has had a fantastic World Cup, leading a Dutch defence which was questioned by many before the tournament. Villa is on top form and the main threat, but often lacks support.

PLAYMAKERS

3
Wesley Sneijder Xavi
The key area. Both are huge influences and in magnificent form. Xavi is a pass master with a great work ethic, Sneijder cute with tremendous vision. Whoever comes out on top could tip the balance.

TOTAL NUMBER OF MAJOR HONOURS AMONG STARTING XI

58 48
final – ironically to Holland – in the opening minute of their defeat to West Germany. Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said: “It is great to see their fantastic season topped off with the ultimate appointment.”

DUTCH THREAT

Webb gets the nod to achieve lifelong World Cup dream
HOWARD WEBB will achieve a boyhood dream on Sunday when he becomes the first English referee to officiate a World Cup final in 36 years. The 38-year-old from Rotherham will take charge of the showpiece between Holland and Spain at Johannesburg’s Soccer City with Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey as is assistants. Webb becomes the first Englishman to referee a World Cup final since Jack Taylor in 1974 when he became the first referee to award a penalty in the

Arjen Robben

Gerard Pique

Robben is a huge threat, cutting in from the right flank with pace and can expose Pique, who showed against the Germans he has a habit of drifting wide and leaving holes in the centre of defence.

Dutch ace Sneijder snubs £30m Man United transfer
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Hodgson expects Gerrard stay after intitial talks
PREMIER LEAGUE BY FRANK DALLERES
LIVERPOOL manager Roy Hodgson has declared himself confident Steven Gerrard will stay at Anfield after holding talks with the unsettled captain for the first time. Gerrard, 30, is wanted by Real Madrid and is thought to be weighing up his future after more than a decade at Liverpool. But Hodgson, who succeeded Rafael Benitez as manager last week, has made it his priority to hold onto key men Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano, and has been encouraged by his initial soundings. “Obviously Steven and Jamie are the playing heartbeat of the club and it’s very important we keep people like that with us,” said the well-travelled former Fulham boss. “I anticipate there might be a situation where other big clubs will try to sign Steven but he gave no indication that he wanted to leave. “Nobody at the club wants him to go so I will be doing my utmost to make sure he stays. I am confident he will.” Hodgson has not had a chance to talk to Torres due to his continued involvement at the World Cup, but hopes the Spain striker will buy into his vision. He added: “If he sees progress I am confident that he won’t want to go anywhere else.” Serbia striker Milan Jovanovic yesterday became the first arrival of Hodgson’s tenure when the 29-yearold completed a free transfer from Standard Liege.
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PREMIER LEAGUE BY FRANK DALLERES

HOLLAND star Wesley Sneijder has scuppered Manchester United’s bid to sign him by pledging his future to Inter Milan. Sir Alex Ferguson targeted the £30m-rated playmaker after being impressed by his starring role at the World Cup and Inter’s Champions League triumph. But the Dutch No10 has turned his back on a move to Old Trafford and is targeting more silverware, following last season’s treble. “It is correct that Manchester United have approached Inter about my availability,” said the former Ajax

and Real Madrid man. “But I don’t have the intention to leave Inter any time soon. I’m staying, I will play the whole of next season with Inter. “My heart is in Milan, with Inter I won everything last season and there’s still a lot more to win, like the European Super Cup, the Italian Super Cup and the Club World Club – all nice trophies. “There are so many more titles to be won with my current club. Therefore, I will stay at Inter.” Sneijder has inspired Holland’s run to the final in South Africa, pulling the strings from an advanced mid-

field position and scoring five goals along the way. The 26-year-old was also instrumental in Inter’s phenomenal last campaign, in which they scooped a fifth successive league title, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League. Ferguson is also said to be interested in Sneijder’s Inter team-mate Mario Balotelli, who has also caught the eye of Manchester City. United may have the edge as Inter are thought to want their young striker Federico Macheda in part-exchange.