Editor: Pat Williams. E-mail pwilliams@creditman.co.uk
John Arnold. E-mail jarnold@creditman.co.uk
Site: Business Credit Management UK
URL: http://www.creditman.co.uk
Issue: Vol 4 Issue 8
Dated: 27 February 2000
Welcome to the Business Credit News UK.
In this weeks edition you will find the following topics.
UKUNRESTRICTED RIGHTS OF BANKS AND BUILDING SOCIETIES TO CHANGE INTEREST RATES ARE UNACCEPTABLE SAYS DIRECTOR GENERAL OF FAIR TRADING
Contracts which allow banks and building societies to vary interest rates effectively at will for 'captive' savers and borrowers are unfair and unacceptable and must be changed, the OFT said last week.
The Government's consumer protection body has issued detailed guidelines to the industry which set out what is considered acceptable and unacceptable in the way interest rates can be varied. The OFT said it would seek court injunctions against the use of contract terms that did not satisfy the principles of fairness set out in the guidelines.
John Bridgeman, Director General of Fair Trading, said:
"It is unacceptable for banks and building societies to vary interest rates uncompetitively for savers and borrowers who are 'locked' into accounts.
"Typical lock-ins include mortgage redemption penalties or loss of interest on withdrawal of their savings.
"Non-status borrowers in particular are vulnerable to interest rates that go up but do not come down especially when they are combined with unaffordable exit charges. Many of these borrowers are not in a position to shop around for better deals because they have poor credit ratings.
"When someone is financially locked into a deal, banks should not be able discriminate against them in the way interest rates are varied. For example, terms that allow a bank or building society to change rates 'to maintain the profitability of the bank' or 'in the interests of shareholders' allow the institutions to move rates in an unpredictable and non-transparent way to the clear detriment of consumers.
"I am not seeking to set the level of interest rates or to stop rates from changing but I am saying that institutions need to limit their freedom to act to the detriment of consumers by clearly stating how they intend to operate. The OFT's guidelines say that it is acceptable for interest rates to be varied at will only if consumers are allowed to end the contract immediately and without penalty. It is also acceptable to vary rates according to the movement of an external index not controlled by the institution, such as the rate set by the Bank of England.
"Many banks and building societies have already improved their contracts terms following the action I took against Northern Rock early in 1998. Regrettably there are stragglers who have yet to strike a fair balance in the terms that allow them to change interest rates."
The guidelines also state that:
Lenders who do not effectively limit their discretion to change rates must:
Deposit takers who do not effectively limit their discretion to change rates must:
The guidance takes account of extensive discussion and consultation with the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the British Bankers' Association, and the Building Societies Association. The Consumers' Association endorses the guidance, which was drawn up in response to a request from the trade bodies for a clear statement of what the Director General of Fair Trading requires of lenders and deposit-takers.
The OFT's action is being taken under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations which allow the Director General to seek court injunctions against the use of unfair terms if companies do not voluntarily make changes. The Regulations do not apply to &'core' terms such as the initial level at which interest rates are set, but do apply to right to vary the agreed rate subsequently.
The OFT can take action under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations which came into force on 1 July 1995. These were superseded on 1 October 1999 by the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. The regulations implement an EC Directive (EC Directive 93/13) in the UK. They apply to standard contract terms used with customers in contracts made after 1 July 1995. The Regulations say that a consumer is not bound by a standard term in a contract with a seller or supplier if that term is unfair. They also give the Director General of Fair Trading and other bodies powers to stop the use of the standard term by businesses and prevent anyone recommending such terms, if necessary by obtaining a court injunction.
Following intervention by the OFT, Northern Rock changed contract terms for its savers in line with today's published guidelines.
The OFT publishes a wide range of consumer leaflets which are available free from: OFT, PO Box 366, Hayes UB3 1XB Information about publications: www.oft.gov.uk
RESIDENTIAL PRORPERTY PRICE REPORT SHOWS HIGHEST AVERAGE YEAR ON YEAR INCREASE SINCE 1996
The Land Registry last week published its latest quarterly residential property price report, covering the period October-December 1999.
This report compares average prices and volume of sales with those for the same period in 1998. It also gives a breakdown of the average sale prices of old and new properties, by property type.
The following information is contained in the report:
October-December 1999 v October-December 1998
England and Wales
Greater London
COUNTRY/REGION OCT-DEC 1998 OCT-DEC 1999 % AVE. PRICE AVE.PRICE AVE.PRICE INCREASE ENGLAND & WALES #83,905 #96,687 15.23% GREATER LONDON #128,083 #157,624 23.06% SOUTH WEST #79,747 #93,508 17.26% SOUTH EAST #102,629 #118,145 15.12% EAST MIDLANDS #62,593 #70,826 13.15% EAST ANGLIA #72,035 #80,696 12.02% WEST MIDLANDS #69,253 #76,495 10.46% YORKS & HUMB #58,021 #63,302 9.10% WALES #58,106 #62,279 7.18% NORTH WEST #60,207 #64,152 6.55% NORTH #58,617 #61,689 5.24%
The Land Registry Internet site contains a full copy of this new report and all previous reports, together with other useful information on the work of the Land Registry. You can access it on: www.landreg.gov.uk/
The Land Registry Internet site now has an interactive property price database, which can be used to look at Land Registry data relating to residential prices as far back as January 1995. You will need Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 4 or later) with scripting enabled, and a resolution of at least 800 x 600 to view the page. For more information about this service please contact David Mercer by telephone (0171 331 8349) or e-mail property.price@landreg.gov.uk.
The figures in the report for England and Wales are broken down by property type and county; average property prices and volume of sales for individual London Boroughs are also shown.
The sales included in the report relate to the transfer of ownership for value of freehold or long leasehold properties, whether or not the purchase was supported by a mortgage. The price data are actual, unadjusted averages drawn from the great majority of all residential sales in England and Wales completed during the period.
This Land Registry report is intended to complement information available from other sources. If you make any comparison with other data you should consider the differences in volume, timeliness and coverage of contributing transactions.
The Land Registry also provides reports, which show aggregated data for any local authority district in England and Wales, postcode area (e.g. GL), postcode district (e.g. GL1), or postcode sector (e.g. GL1 2). There is a fee for this service. These bespoke reports can be obtained from the Land Registry Property Information Centre on 0151 473 6010.
COMPANIES FACING NIC HIKE 'DOUBLE WHAMMY' ON STAFF PERKS
Class 1A NIC to be extended to third party arrangements
Companies face even higher than expected NIC increases from April after little-noticed amendments to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Bill. Gifts given to company staff by external suppliers will have Class 1A NIC applied to them, with employers also being responsible for policing the arrangements, KPMG Tax Advisers warn. This is in addition to companies having to pay 12.2% NIC on a much wider range of benefits they provide to staff.
Inez Anderson, Remuneration Consulting Partner at KPMG, said: 'The third party arrangements will be an unwelcome administrative burden to a great many companies. If, say, Sony promised sales people at Dixons that they would get Marks & Spencer vouchers for every Sony TV they sold, Dixons will now be responsible for checking each individual arrangement and settling the NIC, with penalties if they get it wrong. At a time when many companies are complaining of red tape, this is not at all welcome.'
Inez Anderson added: 'The increase in employer NIC is already a problem. It is going to have a significant effect on staff costs and we are worried that companies will start reviewing the benefits they offer to existing and potential employees. That would have a detrimental effect on recruitment and remuneration policy.'
As an example, for an employee who has season ticket and other interest-free loans totalling £6,000, free local gym membership costing £575 a year and BUPA family membership at £600 pa, the additional cost to the employer will be almost £190 a year. Multiply that by 50 employees and the company would have to pay an extra £10,000 a year. For large companies with several thousand employees the figure might be £500,000 or more, depending on the benefits offered.
Inez Anderson said: 'We are particularly worried that employers operating flexible benefits schemes will be hit, and others considering running them might be put off because of these changes to the NIC rules. They are excellent schemes, which treat staff as adults and allow them to choose the benefits which are right for them. It would be shortsighted if employers were to back away from them now just because NIC savings are lost, as they have been a significant success in terms of recruitment, retention and motivation of staff.'
For more details call:
Inez Anderson, Remuneration Consulting Partner, KPMG 0171 311 2610
David Heaton, Director, Employee Issues Tax Group, KPMG 0171 311 3496
Ian Welch, Media Relations Manager, KPMG 0171 311 5816
Addressing the Council of Mortgage Lenders at its annual lunch last week, Howard Davies, Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (the FSA) warned mortgage lenders not to allow 'the hard learned lessons of the last recession to recede from corporate memories'.
Revealing the results of an FSA survey of lending practices in nine major mortgage lenders, covering 54% of the market, he said regulators had found worrying signs that credit standards are reducing. He noted:
"The survey showed signs that upper range normal income multiples are moving from between 3 and 3 1/4 times prime income towards 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 times prime income. And at the same time we have seen significant volumes of high loan to valuation lending on the books. In 1998 12% of all loans by established lenders in our survey were at loan to valuation rates of between 95 and 100%. Even with house price inflation of 10% a year it would take 5 years for a 95% LTV loan to become a low risk credit.
And while loan to income ratios are still relatively low by the standards of the last housing boom, these ratios ignore changes in consumer finance, which is now running at record levels. So consumers have more non-mortgage debt than they had a decade ago. And of course in a low inflation environment debt burdens will not erode in real terms at anything like the rate they have in the past."
Against that background Mr Davies said he "strongly counselled prudence and called on lenders to review their lending practices. In particular, we look to lenders to retain good debt servicing capacity tests and prudent lending concentration risk limits".
At the same time, lenders need to work to rebuild consumer confidence. "The industry had done itself few favours in the past with complex product terms and hard-to-understand conditions, particularly tie-ins and redemption penalties".
"It is in all our interests" he continued, "to clear up in those areas and to ensure that borrowers really know what they are getting themselves into". That will be a wise course for prudential reasons, too.
The Government's recent announcement that mortgage lending would in future be regulated by the FSA, with clear rules on disclosure and transparency, provides the opportunity to make a fresh start.
He called on the industry to co-operate with the FSA in designing the new regime, and to leave in place the industry's own initiatives to improve the quality of mortgage advice.
Following a petition presented by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in the High Court to wind up Metric Components plc in the public interest, a winding up order was made against the company on 17 February 2000. The petition was presented on 25 August 1999 following an investigation carried out by the Department's Companies Investigation Branch (CIB) under section 447 of the Companies Act 1985.
As a result of the winding up order the Official Receiver (who, on the Secretary of State's application, was appointed provisional liquidator of the company on 26 August 1999) is the liquidator of the company.
The grounds for the winding up order are that the company is insolvent, has failed to keep proper records and has sought to raise money from its shareholders on the basis of inaccurate and misleading information about its business prospects.
The company acted as a holding company seeking investment opportunities in the telecommunications industry. In 1994 the company sought to restructure certain of its debts and subsequently entered into a company voluntary arrangement under Part 1 of the Insolvency Act, 1986. The company voluntary arrangement was concluded in early 1998 following a share restructuring.
In May 1998 the company sent a circular to its 4,800 shareholders in connection with a proposed share issue arising from an investment in a company said to be known as Black-Box Rock Limited and said to be based in Gibraltar. The company claimed to have acquired for nearly £6 million a 29.9 per cent stake in this Gibraltarian company. The company sought to raise money from its shareholders in order to further invest in his company which was said to be seeking $100 million funding so that it could establish itself as a managed services provider.
Although there is a company based in Gibraltar called "Black Box (ROCK) Limited", this company's name at the time of the circular was Golden 8000 Developments (Gibraltar) Limited and it only recently changed its name on 26 October 1999, several months after the presentation of the winding up petition against Metric Components plc. Mr Johannes Jacobs Maats, a director of Metric Components plc, is the sole director of this Gibraltarian company.
Some £8,362 was raised by the company from its shareholders prior to the appointment by the Court of the Official Receiver as provisional liquidator of the company.
The company is a public limited company incorporated in 1938. Its shares were de-listed in 1987.
The company's directors are Mr Johannes Jacobs Maats and Metric People Ltd (whose directors include his wife Mrs Margaret Ann McNeal).
The company's registered office is Room 909 Lloyds 86 Building, 1 Lime Street, London EC3M 7HQ
The company's place of business was 31 Saint George Street, London W1R OHQ.
The petition was presented under Section 124A of the Insolvency Act, 1986.
DTI OBTAIN WINDING-UP ORDERS AGAINST SEALPOINT LIMITED & FOUR OTHER COMPANIES
The High Court made winding-up orders against five related companies on 16 February 2000 on petitions presented by the Secretary of State in the public interest. The petitions were presented after investigations conducted under section 447 of the Companies Act 1985.
The companies wound-up were:
The Official Receiver has been appointed liquidator of the companies.
The Court adjourned the hearing of petitions against two further connected companies, namely Hubert Guy Properties Limited and Hubert Guy Holdings Limited following an application by Mr Christopher Woodhead, a purported shareholder of one of the companies.
Seal Point Limited and the other companies wound-up were engaged in the direct selling of masonry coatings to owner occupiers in Northern England and the East Midlands. The business operated a large telephone sales department from the companies' administrative headquarters in Leeds, cold-calling customers to arrange home visits by field sales staff, who carried out surveys on their property in order to sell the coating product. The survey reports were used as a false basis for persuading the customers to employ the services of the business which charged a considerable mark-up over the direct costs of doing the work to sustain its costly marketing operation.
The Registered Offices of the companies are:
Seal Point - 7-11 Minerva Road, London NW10 6HJ. Management Services, Orbital, and Weather Protection - Axholme House, North Street, Crowle, North Lincolnshire.
Hubert Guy Holdings (LLC) Limited is a company registered in Wyoming, USA but it gives its address in the UK as Axholme House, North Street Crowle, North Lincolnshire.
The petitions were presented under Section 124A of the Insolvency Act 1986.
All public enquiries concerning the affairs and financial position of the companies should be made to the Official Receiver at the following address:
DTI PETITION TO WIND UP MONEYWISE INVESTMENTS LIMITED
On the petition of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry presented on 6 December 1999, the High Court last week wound up in the public interest the British Virgin Islands company MONEYWISE INVESTMENTS LIMITED ("MONEYWISE") following investigations by the Financial Services Authority under section 105 of the Financial Services Act 1986 (as amended).
The Official Receiver has been appointed liquidator.
Moneywise carried on investment business on behalf of private clients. It was not authorised under the Financial Services Act 1986 to do so within the UK. The Secretary of State submitted that Moneywise had conducted unauthorised investment business in the UK (which is an offence); that Moneywise continued to carry on investment business in the UK despite a permanent injunction (made by the High Court on 13 October 1999 on the application of the Financial Services Authority) restraining it from doing so; and that Moneywise failed to use the money received from its clients for recognised investments and instead improperly transferred approximately equal amounts to Marshall French & Lucas Ltd in order to support that company.
Marshall French & Lucas Ltd, a UK company which was authorised to conduct investment business in the UK, was wound up by the High Court on 24 November 1999 on the petition of the Financial Services Authority.
Although Moneywise disputed the Secretary of State's submissions it did not oppose the petition, ostensibly on commercial grounds.
The registered office of Moneywise is at Akara Building, 24 De Castro Street, Wickhams Cay 1, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands and the Secretary of State submitted that the company traded from an office on the First Floor of International House, 1 St Katherine's Way, London, E1.
The Secretary of State's petition was presented under Section 124A of the Insolvency Act 1986.
There is a UK registered company called Moneywise Investments plc, number 1358056, registered office 440/442 Romford Road, Forest Gate, London, E7 8DF. There is no known connection between this company and Moneywise.
All public enquiries concerning all the above should be made to:
THE OFFICIAL RECEIVER
Public Interest Unit
21 Bloomsbury Street
London
WC1B 3SS
*** Forthcoming Creditors Meetings ***
Contributed byhttp://www.insolvency.co.uk
For more detailed information and ALL the British Isles insolvency's (liquidation's, receiverships, administrations, dividends, creditors) please visit http://www.insolvency.co.uk
From 28/02/2000 to 07/03/2000 Number of Creditor meetings : 222 Section Company Time Venue 138 Scotland - Interim Liquidator calling Creditors Meeting 28/02/2000 McCully Bros (Civil Engine Cont) Ltd 12.00 pm Glasgow 29/02/2000 Geniva Ltd 03.00 pm Glasgow 01/03/2000 Hafton Holiday Lodges Ltd 11.00 am Glasgow Quays (Scotland) Ltd 11.00 am Paisley 23 Administrator Calling a meeting of Creditors 28/02/2000 Century International Ltd 10.00 am Leicester Vehicle Technology Ltd 10.30 am Castle 03/03/2000 UCT (UK) Ltd 10.00 am London 48 Receiver calling unsecured Creditors Meeting 29/02/2000 Fairways Ltd 11.00 am Maidstone Fairways Maidstone Ltd 02.00 pm Maidstone MBD Systems Ltd 10.00 am Leicester Nicholson Mclaren Ltd 10.00 am Guildford Solar Offset Ltd 11.30 am London 01/03/2000 BK Electro-Marine Ltd 11.00 am Chandlers Ford 02/03/2000 Greenoak Developments Ltd 11.00 am Cardiff Loch Tay Leisure Pursuits Ltd 10.00 am Edinburgh Sound Republic (Swiss Ctre) London Ltd 01.00 pm London 98 Creditors Voluntary Liquidations 28/02/2000 Abraham Transport Ltd 10.15 am Darlington Advanced Recruitment Services Ltd 02.30 pm Southampton Albany Mechanical Services Ltd 10.30 am Sheffield Associates Coachworks Ltd 03.00 pm Welling Belle Vue Colourprint Ltd 03.00 pm Leicester Brearleys Ltd 10.30 am Tong Brookdale Tool Co Ltd 11.00 am Manchester Chantilly Ltd 02.30 pm London Cheshire Electrical Services Ltd 12.00 pm Warrington Colorbond Ltd 11.30 am Loughton Compleat (UK) Ltd 02.30 pm London Dotcom Pensions & Insurances Ltd 11.00 am Manchester East 17 (Touring) Ltd 12.00 pm London Effergy Ltd 11.30 am Cardiff Exhaust Supplies Southern Ltd 10.45 am Southampton Frog Electronics Ltd 11.30 am Chandlers Ford Gimell Records Ltd 10.20 am Oxford Haverburgh Engineering Ltd 11.30 am Lutterworth Highview Business Services Ltd 11.30 am Derby Islington Information Techno Centre Lt 11.00 am London Jeff Baxter Building Co Ltd 01.00 pm Leicester Kemana Ltd 02.30 pm London Kender (UK) Ltd 01.15 pm Kingston-u-Tham Loft Rooms By Design Ltd 11.00 am London Microtech Maintenance (UK) Ltd 02.30 pm Bristol Midland Manufacturing Services Ltd 03.00 pm Nottingham Modeltype Ltd 12.00 pm London New Treat Ltd 10.45 am Sutton Newport Refrigeration Ltd 02.00 pm Bristol P P S (Communications) Ltd 03.00 pm Swansea Pedley Retail Purchasing Ltd 11.30 am Lutterworth Ralph Lewin Ltd 11.30 am London Raymac Building Supplies Ltd 11.30 am Glazebrook S & A Roadways Ltd 12.00 pm Manchester Starlock Geotechnical Engineering Ltd 03.00 pm London Sussex Driveways Ltd 10.15 am Egham Swaybar Ltd 12.30 pm London Taunton Hardware & Pine Ltd 10.00 am Taunton Westmid Properties Ltd 11.00 am Birmingham World of Tourers Ltd 11.00 am Leeds 29/02/2000 A E Thomas (Burgess Hill) Ltd 11.00 am Brighton A J Houlton Decking Ltd 02.00 pm Bournemouth A J M Parcels Ltd 11.30 am Southampton Applied Building Contracts Ltd 10.30 am London Auto Alarm & Phone Centre Ltd 11.00 am London Autotechs (Kent) Ltd 11.30 am Chandlers Ford Basic Accounting Solutions Ltd 03.00 pm London Blackhole Security Ltd 02.30 pm Aldridge Bracelon (Birmingham) Ltd 10.30 am Birmingham C4 Construction Ltd 11.00 am Bournemouth CP (UK) Ltd 10.30 am Liverpool Carpet Logistics Ltd 03.00 pm Manchester Chase Peel Bakery Ltd 10.30 am Aldridge Comex E I C Ltd 11.00 am Walsall Completely Stones Co Ltd - The 10.45 am Bristol Connole Construction Ltd 10.30 am London Crantech Ltd 10.30 am Nottingham Creative Stitch Ltd 12.00 pm London Dispatch Co Ltd - The 12.00 pm London Dresswell Fashions Ltd 12.00 pm London Ergonomic Software International Ltd 11.00 am Liverpool Fuel Freight Ltd 02.00 pm Halesowen Gambit Advertising & Marketing Ltd 10.15 am Bately Integrated Media Solutions Ltd 10.15 am Bately John Turnbull & Sons Ltd 12.00 pm Edinburgh Lady Hats Ltd 11.00 am Harpenden Listdata Ltd 10.30 am Mackworth M A A Security Systems Ltd 10.30 am Droitwich Spa Mattax Ltd 12.00 pm London Moore Brown Barnes Ltd 10.30 am London Mycotech Ltd 11.00 am Manchester Odedra Ltd 12.00 pm Bristol Optical Generics Ltd 03.15 pm London P & B Packaging Ltd 10.00 am Northampton PPCP Ltd 11.00 am London People Express Recruitment Serv Ltd 12.00 pm London Ribbon Technologies Ltd 11.15 am Wells Roglyn Ltd 03.00 pm London Scheme Designs Ltd 11.00 am Newcastle-u-Tyn Selborne Ltd 12.00 pm Bristol Synergineer Ltd 11.30 am London TGI International Transport Ltd 10.30 am Northampton Theo Taylor Enterprise Ltd 10.30 am Sheffield Tryproduct Ltd 12.00 pm London WIX Candles Ltd 11.00 am London Warepac Ltd 10.30 am Liverpool Zammitte Ltd 11.00 am Winchester 01/03/2000 Brixton Community Law Centre Ltd 12.00 pm London Com-Pleat Ltd 12.00 pm London Dryden Furniture (Retail) Ltd 10.30 am Newcastle-u-Tyn Ellison Engineering Services Ltd 12.00 pm Manchester Fruit Marketing International Ltd 11.00 am Canterbury G & I Vacuum Engineering Ltd 11.30 am Crawley Goldcrown UK Services Ltd 12.00 pm London Hemland Metals Ltd 11.00 am Barnet Inviting Displays Ltd 11.15 am Southend-on-Sea Kingsplan Ltd 10.30 am Manchester Linkway Transport Services Ltd 12.00 pm Cardiff Majestic Fine Fabrics Ltd 02.00 pm Leeds Nineteen-Forty Ltd 11.00 am London Novaflow Ltd 11.00 am Bedford Orwell Freight Ltd 02.00 pm Manchester Outdoor Leisure Supplies Ltd 11.00 am Manchester S T S Logistics Ltd 10.00 am London Sitemech Ltd 11.30 am Manchester Starttronik UK Ltd 01.00 pm Peterborough Truemodes Ltd 10.30 am London Winch & Engineering Ltd 11.30 am Blackburn 02/03/2000 Ash 4 Wheel Drive (Services) Ltd 10.30 am Sevenoaks Bettersale Ltd 10.30 am Birmingham Betts Skips Ltd 11.00 am Ipswich C J Supplies Ltd 11.30 am Southend-on-Sea CMYK Graphics Ltd 03.00 pm Potters Bar Capella Ltd 11.00 am Northampton Dashcase Ltd 11.00 am Slough Debonair Ltd 02.15 pm London Dennis Hall Crystal Ltd 11.30 am Dudley Freefall Contracts Ltd 10.45 am Sutton Gem International Trading Ltd 10.15 am Bately Green Elephant Ltd 11.30 am Altrincham Hilton Construction Services Ltd 02.30 pm Leicester I-Can International Ltd 11.00 am Leeds KM Painters (Northern) Ltd 03.00 pm Manchester Kingston Sausage Co Ltd 11.00 am Hull Leather Leather Ltd 12.00 pm Sevenoaks MIB Security Services Ltd 12.00 pm Bolton Matchplay Golf Ltd 12.00 pm London N W Homes Aids (Discount Plumbing) Ltd 11.00 am Rochdale Nova Furniture Ltd 11.00 am Nottingham Nuse Clothing Ltd 11.00 am Bristol P & M Flowers Ltd 11.30 am Peterborough Pantech International Ltd 10.30 am Reading Peter Scott (Holdings) Ltd 01.00 pm Leeds Peter Scott (Leeds) Ltd 10.30 am Leeds Redferns International Removers Ltd 11.00 am Nottingfham Redferns Ltd 11.00 am Nottingham Redferns Storage & Distribution Ltd 11.00 am Nottingham Redferns Transport Ltd 11.00 am Nottingham Safe Bench Systems Ltd 11.00 am Glasgow Sirius Optical Instruments Ltd 11.00 am Egham Stag Fasteners 1997 Ltd 03.00 pm Birmingham Tool & Engineering Steels Ltd 11.00 am Birmingham Wasp Designs Ltd 12.00 pm Walsall Wellowwear Ltd 12.00 pm Glasgow West Wales Travel Ltd 11.30 am Manchester 03/03/2000 Advanced Technology Alarm Co Ltd 02.30 pm Manchester Autostone Ltd 01.45 pm Moorhouse B H W (Shopfitters) Ltd 11.30 am Derby Barons Quality Dry Cleaners Ltd 12.00 pm London Barrett & Son (Buildings Contract) Ltd 11.00 am London Batchamount Trading Ltd 03.15 pm Gloucester C & J Precision Metal Ltd 11.30 am Leicester Cravens (Sports) Ltd 10.30 am Wakefield Cunningham Scaffolding Ltd 12.00 pm Moorhouse D L Ersser & Co Ltd 11.30 am Brighton EMS Overseas Movers Ltd 02.30 pm Chatham John Downs Designs Ltd 11.00 am Nottingham K H Engineering & Fabrication Ltd 11.00 am Grimsby Mountfold Ltd 11.00 am Chelmsford P R Glass Ltd 11.30 am Preston PMR Antuques Ltd 11.30 am London Quasar Training Ltd 11.30 am London Recycle 2000 Ltd 12.00 pm Nottingham Revival (London) Ltd 10.30 am Harrow Reynolds Curtains Ltd 10.30 am London Rosswood Systems Ltd 03.30 pm Slough Rotor Motion (Leicester) Ltd 11.30 am Lutterworth Servoplas Ltd 11.45 am Wakefield Spon Croft Service Station Ltd 11.00 am Birmimgham Ugur Designs Ltd 03.00 pm London Wright Mobility Ltd 12.00 pm London 06/03/2000 Advanced Vehicle Rentals Ltd 12.00 pm London Bollywood Cinemas Ltd 11.30 am Harrow Dianes Hairdressing Ltd 10.30 am Manchester Dining Partnership Ltd - The 11.30 am Southampton Harmony Publications Ltd 10.30 am London Kitchenworks Ltd 11.00 am Watford Leocraft Ltd 11.00 am London Minangkabau Ltd 10.15 am Greenford QIX Sign Ltd 10.30 am Hayes SBG Sport Ltd 11.00 am Daventry Scotia Fireplace (Distributors) Ltd 11.00 am Hamilton T D S (New Holland) Ltd 11.15 am Sittingbourne 07/03/2000 C B Academy Ltd 11.00 am Impington Capeguild Ltd 11.30 am Manchester Cinemat (UK) Ltd 11.00 am Harpenden Construction Guide Ltd - The 11.30 am London Cork and Cask Ltd 11.00 am London D P S (Derby) Ltd 11.00 am Nottingham Daljo Ltd 11.30 am Leicester Deed Engineering Ltd 11.00 am Birmingham Design & Develop (Shopfitters) Ltd 12.00 pm Hale Grahams Truck Services Ltd 11.00 am Northampton Hydrometrics Ltd 11.30 am Southampton J J P Tube Manipulation Ltd 10.15 am West Bentley J J P Tube Manipulation Ltd 10.15 am J S Commercial Cleaners Ltd 11.30 am Leeds MV Services Ltd 10.30 am Driffield Player UK Ltd 11.00 am London Praydale Ltd 10.30 am Leeds Star Laundry Services Ltd 02.30 pm Preston Sylvan Brick Systems Ltd 11.00 am Manchester Travel Temps Ltd 11.45 am London Ultimate Displays Ltd 10.30 am Gloucester Uniplace Ltd 11.00 am London Wessex Dairies Ltd 12.00 pm Bristol
TW LW TW LW
USA 1.61 1.62 Canada 2.36 2.35
Austria 22.11 22.84 Portugal 322.22 332.88
France 10.54 10.89 Belgium 66.83 66.98
Finland 9.55 9.87 Italy 3112.07 3214.96
Germany 3.14 3.24 Sweden 13.80 14.36
Holland 3.54 3.65 Switzerland 2.58 2.66
Spain 267.42 276.26 Ireland 1.26 1.30
Australia 2.60 2.56 Denmark 11.96 12.39
Hong Kong 12.56 12.65 Euro 1.60 1.66
Africa Com 10.17 10.30 Saudi Arabia 6.05 6.09
India 70.42 70.92 Malaysia 6.13 6.17
Singapore 2.75 2.77 Norway 13.16 13.42
Japan 179.15 173.87
TW This week LW Last week.
Beazer, the housebuilders, announced pre-tax profits of 39.8 million pounds, on turnover of 365.5 million, for the six months ending 31st December 1999. Earnings per share stand at 10.1p.
Logica announced pre-tax profits of 35.1 million pounds, after exceptional charge, on turnover of 403.3 million, for the six months ending 31st December 1999. Earnings per share stand at 5.7p, on increased capital.
Smith and Nephew announced pre-tax profits of 182.1 million pounds, after exceptional credit, on turnover of 1,120 million, for the year ending 31st December 1999. Earnings per share stand at 9.3p.
Wickes announced pre-tax profits of 23.1 million pounds, on turnover of 571.8 million, for the year ending 31st December 1999. Earnings per share stand at 27.6p.
Unilver, an Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods firm, said that it would cut 25, 000 jobs, 10% of its workforce, over the next five years and close 100 factories, after pre-tax profits fell 7% and sales were flat in 1999. Over the past year, Unilever's share price has fallen by nearly half.
Source - The Economist
Hellman & Friedman, an American investment firm, bought a 37.5% stake in Formula One motor racing from Bernie Ecclestone for $713m, despite European Commission claims that the company's control of broadcasting rights is anti-competitive. A much delayed Formula One flotation may yet go ahead later this year.
Source - The Economist
Sotheby's bid farewell to its chairman and its chief executive. The pair resigned after allegations of commission-fixing with the auction house's main rival, Christie's. Evidence was handed to American authorities by Christie's, after a change of management, in return for a conditional amnesty.
Source - The Economist
Prudential, the UK's biggest life insurer, is to float its Internet banking subsidiary, EGG. Egg, which may be valued as high as 2.75 billion pounds ($4.4 billion), has attracted 1m customers in 18 months.
Source - The Economist
MERGER CLEARANCE
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has decided, on the information at present before him, and in accordance with the recommendation of the Director General of Fair Trading, not to refer the following merger to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission under the provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973:Acquisition by Associated British Foods plc of assets of Dalgety Group Limited, namely six animal feed mills.
Proposed merger Arla Ekonomisk Forening and MD Foods A.m.b.a.
Proposed acquisition by PBI Home and Garden Ltd, a subsidiary of Bayer AG of certain assets of the Scotts Company, namely Phostrogen Limited.
Ocean Group and NFC, rival British delivery companies, said they would merge to create a new company worth 3.2 billion pounds ($5.1 billion). The combined group hopes to profit from the burgeoning business of delivering goods that have been ordered online.
Germany's Lufthansa and Deutsche Post are in talks about merging their logistics businesses. Both companies have a 25%-plus-one stake in DHL International, the world's third-largest courier company, which is likely to be involved in the deal.
Norwich Union and CGU announced merger plans that would create Britain's biggest insurance company and a potential rival to bigger firms in Europe's fast-consolidating market. But shares in both companies fell, wiping 1.4 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) off their combined value in one day.
In another insurance deal, Royal London Mutual Insurance Society is to buy struggling United Assurance for 1.5 pounds billion.
DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR COMPETITION COMMISSION'S REPORT ON ACQUISITION BY VIVENDI SA OF A MATERIAL INTEREST IN BSKYB
The Competition Commission has advised the DTI that they have received important late evidence which they consider needs to be explored with interested parties to ensure that their report into the acquisition by Vivendi of a material interest in BSkyB is fair and accurate. As a result, the Commission will now report by 24 March 2000.
The Secretary of State referred this acquisition to the Competition Commission on 12 November 1999 (DTI Press Notice P/99/922) under the provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973.
STEPHEN BYERS REFERS THE PROPOSED ACQUISITIONS BY GRANADA OF CARLTON COMMUNICATIONS AND UNITED NEWS AND MEDIA TO THE COMPETITION COMMISSION
Stephen Byers, the Secretary of State for Trade & Industry, has decided to refer the proposed mergers of Granada Group Plc (Granada) and Carlton Communications Plc (Carlton), and of Granada and United News and Media Plc (UNM), to the Competition Commission under the provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973.
Mr Byers made his decision in accordance with the advice of the Director General of Fair Trading.
"The DGFT has advised me that these mergers raise competition and public interest concerns which warrant reference to the Competition Commission under the provision of the Fair Trading Act 1973.
"As was the case with the proposed merger of Carlton and UNM, the parties to the proposed mergers are highly influential players in ITV. This is a very important area in which we all have an interest both for information and entertainment. I have carefully considered the DGFT's advice and agree with him that the acquisitions raise competition concerns both in respect of the market for ITV programming and the market for advertising. Therefore I am referring the case to the Competition Commission so that it can be fully investigated."
The Secretary of State considers that the acquisitions raise concerns in respect of the market for ITV programming and advertising. The decision to make a reference does not in any way prejudge the question of whether or not the merger would be against the public interest. It is for the Competition Commission to report on this after investigation. The Commission are to make their report by 26 June 2000.
The Fair Trading Act 1973 empowers the Secretary of State to refer to the Competition Commission for investigation and report actual or proposed mergers which create or intensify a market share of 25 per cent of the supply in the UK, or a substantial part of the UK, of particular goods and services or involve the take-over of assets exceeding #70 million.
The time needed to buy a house could be slashed from months to a matter of weeks, or even days, if the Government's proposals for electronic conveyancing become law.
The proposals form part of the Electronic Communications Bill scheduled for the Second Reading in the House of Lords.
The Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, said last week:
"The Government is committed to creating confidence in the use of IT so as to make electronic conveyancing a reality. Under our proposals, all the conveyancing information needed to sell or buy a property could be made available quickly and simultaneously to everybody concerned. This should enable problems to be identified and resolved at the outset rather than much later on.
"By cutting the time of individual transactions, the time taken for chains could reduce dramatically. The technology could enable bottlenecks to be identified and show what has to happen to clear them.
"Professional conveyancers will be able to offer a speedier, better and even cheaper service. We are determined to smooth the path for house-buyers and sellers."
Steps taken in this direction already include:
It is hoped that electronic conveyancing will become the norm. However, the Government is aware of the need to protect the position of those who do not have access to use the technology and there no intention to make the use of electronic conveyancing compulsory.
The introduction of electronic conveyancing requires:
Electronic conveyancing is the legal process of the transfer of ownership of land from one person to another. However the term is often used to describe the whole of the legal work associated with the buying and selling of land from the initial searches and enquiries, via exchange and completion, to registration of title. In its fullest sense electronic conveyancing will enable all of that work and registration of title at HM Land Registry to be done without paper and without any manual signatures.
Why can't it electronic conveyancing be done now? Quite simply the law requires that contracts for the sale of land and the deed required to convey land must be in writing and signed - a deed must also be witnessed (Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989). These requirements date back to 1677 and 1845.
Stages of Introduction
8 March 2000 ICM Conference on Commercial Credit Fraud CBI Conference Centre, London WC1 Exhibitors should telephone Sheila Simmons at the ICM on 01780-722907 14 to the 16 March 2000 Credit 2000 THE UK event for the Commercial and Consumer Credit Industry Olympia2, London Save 10.00# and register for FREE at www.creditevents.com 20 March 2000 Wessex branch meeting of the ICM - AGM The Southampton Yacht Club 1 Channel Way, Southampton 7.00pm for 7.30pm Sponsored by Croner Publications 17 April 2000 Wessex branch meeting of the ICM The Budget Presentation by Ian Nichol from PricewaterhouseCoopers The Southampton Yacht Club 1 Channel Way, Southampton 7.00pm for 7.30pm 26th April 2000 Companies House Seminar Pine Lodge Hotel Kidderminster Road Bromsgrove B61 9AB Registration 5.30pm - 6.00pm Seminars include a question and answer session and buffet 6.00pm - 9.00pm Cost 37.60 pounds Contact Tamara Bent tbent@companieshouse.gov.uk +44 (0)29 20380911 23 May 2000 The ICM National Conference and Exhibition Cumberland Hotel, Marble Arch, London W1 Credit Management in the Electronic Age For more details of the Conference or to exhibit phone the ICM Training department on 01780-722907
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