PRESS DIGEST - British business - June 3

The Times

KINGFISHER URGES CAUTION DESPITE SPRING IN ITS STEP

Kingfisher(KGF.L), owner of DIY chain B&Q, has announced a 40.1 percent rise in retail profits to 128 million pounds ($210.1 million), for the 13 weeks to May 2. UK profits were up 89 percent to 61 million pounds with profits doubling at B&Q. Kingfisher chief executive Ian Cheshire warned investors not to get carried away, saying: "It is a good start to the year, but we assume the world will be fairly downbeat for the rest of the year." Cheshire attributed the growth in profits to "self-help" measures and to seasonal factors such as good Easter weather.

SORRELL'S 60 MILLION POUND BONUS IS VOTED THROUGH

Investors holding 636 million of nearly 847 million shares in WPP(WPP.L) backed a 60 million pound bonus scheme for chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell at the company's annual meeting in Dublin on Tuesday. Meanwhile like-for-like revenues at WPP fell 6.7 percent to come in "below budget." Chairman Philip Lader said that "the pattern of trading continues to be difficult" and added that April had provided the poorest figures, with like-for-like sales thought to be down around nine percent in the month. Shares were down five percent, or 25.75 pence, at 453.5 pence.

ABU DHABI SCORES 2 BILLION POUND PROFIT ON BARCLAYS STAKE

The Gulf state of Abu Dhabi has been hailed as having pulled off the "punt of the decade" with its rescue investment in Barclays(BARC.L) on track to turn a profit of at least two billion pounds after just eight months. A sale of convertible notes on Tuesday saw a 1.45 billion pound profit, while a further 1.5 billion pounds' worth of warrants are currently registering a notional profit of around 570 million pounds. Abu Dhabi will own around five or six percent of Barclays if it exercises the warrants and retains its shareholding.

TEMPUS

Pennon Group(PNN.L) [Buy]

Penna Consulting [Hold on for more]

Hamworthy [Hold]

Daily Telegraph

LAURA ASHLEY'S SALES RISE

Laura Ashley has surprised the generally pessimistic UK retail market with a 6.9 percent rise in sales in the first 17 weeks of its financial year, compared with its 2007 sales. The clothing and interiors retailer, which owns 229 outlets in Britain and hundreds more abroad, attributed the increase in sales to its "continuing targeted promotional activity". The company's shares reacted favourably to the update, rising 1.5 percent to 17 pence.

PENNA REAPS REWARDS AS RECESSION-HIT COMPANIES STREAMLINE

Penna Consulting has reported a vast leap of 176 percent in full-year profits to six million pounds. The human resources company has benefited from companies with overstretched HR budgets requiring help after making redundancy payments. Penna's chief executive, Gary Browning, said: "At the moment there is a lot of change as a consequence of the recession and career transition." Browning predicts that the company will maintain its strong earnings as businesses continue to make efficiency savings.

ICG SLUMPS TO 67 MILLION POUND PRE-TAX LOSS

Intermediate Capital Group(ICP.L), a lender to private equity firms, recorded a 67 million pound full-year pre-tax loss on Tuesday. Net provisions against bad loans rose to 273 million pounds over the course of the year, compared with only 46 million pounds in the previous year, and gains on investments fell from 135 million pounds to 31 million pounds. The bad news, however, did not affect the company's share price, which rose by 22 percent after ICG stated that it should be able to maintain its 41 pence dividend despite the loss.

QUESTOR

Pennon(PNN.L) [Buy]

Barclays(BARC.L) [Avoid]

The Independent

MORE THAN 4,000 JOBS AT RISK AS LDV RESCUE PLAN STALLS

LDV has fallen into administration after the Malaysian vehicle importer Weststar pulled out of talks to buy the Birmingham-based van manufacturer, placing more than 4,000 jobs at risk. An earlier application for administration from LDV had been suspended pending the takeover approach but LDV's management were forced to reapply for administration on Tuesday morning after Weststar confirmed that it had failed to find a financial backer. "Despite substantial efforts and a significant planned investment of its own funds, it has been unable to secure the remaining investment required to refinance the business due to the global financial crisis," Weststar said.

SHAREHOLDER REVOLT AT WPP'S BONUS SCHEME

Almost a quarter of WPP(WPP.L) shareholders failed to back the company's remuneration report as the company announced its results for the first four months of the year. Under the scheme, the advertising company's chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell will be able to invest 19 million dollars of WPP shares between 2010 and 2015. He could also be granted up to 95 million dollars in free shares dependent on hitting strict performance targets. WPP said that underlying revenues fell by 6.7 per cent over the first four months of the year, although on a reported basis, the company's worldwide revenues grew 33.7 per cent over the same period, boosted by the acquisition of Taylor Nelson Sofres last October.