PRESS DIGEST - British business - Dec 23

The Times

LAPPIN QUITS GENESIS

Genesis Housing Group, the leading housing association which manages or owns 38,000 homes in London and the Southeast, has announced that John Lappin, the group's financial director, has stepped down. Lappin was unavailable for comment.

TNK-BP VOTES IN NEW BOARD TO END FEUDING

On Monday, shareholders in TNK-BP elected a new board for the Anglo-Russian oil group's main unit. All nine board members of TNK-BP Holding, which covers almost all of the group's Russian assets, have been replaced, with both AAR, a consortium of four oligarchs, and BP (BP.L) appointing four directors each. The crucial vote was transferred to David Lasfargue, an independent director, who is head of the Moscow office of international law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel. Lasfargue has now been elected chairman of the consortium, according to a source close to the board. It is believed that the development brings the two sides closer to a final power-sharing deal.

The Daily Telegraph

ELECTROCOMPONENTS TO CUT JOBS AS SALES SLUMP

Electrocomponents (ECM.L), the supplier of electrical parts to electronic designers and maintenance engineers, is to respond to its tough economic position by cutting hundreds of jobs in a bid to reduce costs. The company, which employs about 2,500 people in the UK, said it planned to cut expenses by 15 million pounds to deal with a five percent fall in sales since October. Chief executive Ian Mason said: "We will be looking at jobs, but we will also cut costs by improving our logistics infrastructure." The electric parts distributor's 5,500 workforce account for about half of the company's costs.

The Guardian