PizzaExpress is close to appointing advisers to help with its strategic options. The Sunday Times says flotation remains most likely. One fund manager told the newspaper there was considerable discontent. “We will be offered the chance to buy back our company at a higher price. Again we are being mugged by private-equity groups,” he said. The Sunday Times (Business) 24/04/05 page 10 Luminar in talks with Close Luminar is in talks to sell part of its estate to Close Brothers Private Equity for about £30m. It has given its approval to the management of 53 of its nightclubs to try to clinch backing for a deal. The Sunday Times (Business) 24/04/05 page 2 (Business Digest) Bacardi mulls counter-bid for Allied The families that own Bacardi are pondering whether to mount a counter-bid to Pernod Ricard’s agreed £7.4bn offer for Allied Domecq. The Business says it would have to overcome huge financial and timing issues that analysts believe are almost insurmountable. The Sunday Times says it might struggle to play a part in any deal because of its shareholding structure. Bacardi is not alone in its interest. Constellation Brands is thought to have called in Rothschild to advise on a possible bid and is said to want to seek talks with the world’s big spirits groups, including Bacardi, Brown-Forman and Diageo about a possible joint offer. An American venture capital fund is also reported to have sounded out partners on Friday for a rival bid. Rivals have until July to make a rival offer. Meanwhile, Patrick Ricard, chairman of Pernod Ricard, tells The Sunday Telegraph that the £2.8bn side deal with Fortune Brands, which has agreed to swallow some of Allied’s and Pernod’s assets, should allay potential regulatory concerns. Ricard has he will oversee the integration of Allied but hints he will reduce his workload in the not too distant future. The Sunday Telegraph says he will probably split his dual role in a few years and remain as chairman. The Business 24/04/05 page 1, page 9 The Sunday Times (Business) 24/04/05 page 1, page 9 The Sunday Telegraph (Business) 24/04/05 page 3, page 12 (Breaking Views) The Observer (Business & Media) 24/04/05 page 1, page 5 The Independent on Sunday (Business) 24/04/05 page 8 (Market Mover) Financial Mail on Sunday 24/04/05 page 1-2 Triarc lines up bid for Allied’s QSRs Triarc is lining up a £1bn bid for Allied Domecq’s fast-food restaurants following the proposed £7.4bn takeover of Allied by Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands. The Sunday Times (Business) 24/04/05 page 2 Robinson ‘wanted an easy life’ Allied Domecq chairman Gerry Robinson is reported to be “seriously miffed” about his increased workload resulting from the £7.4bn merger talks between the company and Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands. Prufrock, in The Sunday Times, says Robinson told friends he had wanted to keep a toehold in corporate life after a hectic career sorting out messes at Coca-Cola, Compass and Granada, but otherwise wanted to take it easy. Prufrock suggests that if he wants to take on something easy, perhaps he should move to Tesco. The Sunday Times (Business) 24/04/05 page 12 (Prufrock) Bacardi feud set to re-open The Bacardi family feud is set to re-open next month in a Florida court. Lisette Bisson, great-great granddaughter of founder Don Facundo y Maso, is suing her mother and other Bacardi allies and family members for allegedly robbing her of the family fortune. The Sunday Times (Business) 24/04/05 page 1, page 9 Punch forecast to report 28pc jump Punch Taverns is tipped to unveil a 28% leap in interim pre-tax profits to £93m on Thursday. The Sunday Telegraph (Business) 24/04/05 page 1 (City Agenda) LVMH looks to raise debt Louis Vuiton Moet Hennessy hopes to raise seven-year debt. It is still to award a mandate. The Business 24/04/05 page 17 (Bond Markets) Hotels & leisure British Poker Open launches this week The British Poker Open, a live event with a prize of £200,000, will launch this week. The Business 24/04/05 page 1 Online poker packs a punch DKW, in a worldwide in-depth analysis of online poker, predicts the game will be the first internet gambling product to overtake its land-based equivalent by the end of this year. Turnover will reach close to $6bn (£3.13bn) in terms of gross win by the end of 2008. DKW says punters left $237bn (£124bn) behind on the table when they gambled worldwide in 2004. It expects this to rise to $277bn (£145bn) within four years. The UK is the largest market within Europe, at $12bn (£6.3bn) while the US leads the world with $73bn (£38bn). The Business 24/04/05 page 1, page 8 Tridal to debut on stock market Tradal, the company behind the Empire Poker online site, is poised to try to make its stock market debut with a possible £500m flotation. The Limassol, Cyprus-based firm is in exclusive talks with Numis to receive advice on its strategic options. No timetable has been set but The Sunday Times’s sources believe it will opt for a listing in London. Another option would be to try to raise funding on the debt market, the newspaper says. The Business 24/04/05 page 4 (Best of the Rest) The Sunday Times (Business) 24/04/05 page 1 Palamon and Blackstone among Legoland suitors Palamon Capital Partners and Blackstone are among private equity groups competing to buy Legoland’s theme parks from their Danish owner. The Business says other likely bidders are thought to include Advent International and Dubai International Capital. Lego hopes to sell the parks by the summer, analysts say. Meanwhile, Blackstone is thought to be poised to bid for Merlin Entertainments, operator of the London Dungeon and the Sea Life chain, for about £100m, from Hermes Private Equity. The Business 24/04/05 page 3 LTA appoints pair to build champions The Lawn Tennis Association has made Val Gooding and Bob Phillis non-executives. It has made the appointments to help create British champions. The two are chief executive of Bupa and Guardian Media Group respectively. The Sunday Times (Business) 24/04/05 page 1, page 2 Tote works up bid for Stanley The Tote is hatching a bid for Stanley Leisure’s betting shops, reports The Sunday Times. The state-owned betting operator has hired Lazard to help it prepare an offer. A move would see it gatecrash the deal Stanley and William Hill are negotiating. Financial Mail on Sunday says Hill is expected to mount a £520m bid this week for the 620 shops. It says Coral Eurobet is understood to be planning a rival bid in the next couple of weeks. The Sunday Times (Business) 24/04/05 page 2 Financial Mail on Sunday 24/04/05 page 1 Chelsea poised to announce massive sponsorship deal Chelsea is likely to announce a four or five-year shirt sponsorship deal worth more than £9m a year this week. It will be the biggest-ever sponsorship deal of its type. The Sunday Times expects an agreement to be signed with either Nokia, Siemens or Samsung. The new sponsor will replace Emirates, which is switching allegiance to Arsenal. The Sunday Times (Business) 24/04/05 page 3 Crucial Man Utd decision awaits The fate of Manchester United will be decided this week when JP McManus and John Magnier meet with Malcolm Glazer’s representatives, reports The Sunday Telegraph. The newspaper says the Manchester United board will be unable to resist Glazer’s £800m takeover attempt if Glazer adds the billionaire’s 28.9% stake to his own £28.1% holding. The Independent on Sunday says McManus and Magnier do not think the current 300p-a-share offer is particularly attractive. It says they want to persuade Glazer to increase it to at least 310p. The Sunday Telegraph (Business) 24/04/05 page 1 The Independent on Sunday (Business) 24/04/05 page 1 Wembley nears completion The glass, aluminium and steel structure of the new £757m Wembley Stadium is nearing completion. The official opening is planned for the FA Cup final on May 13 next year. It will be the largest football stadium in the world. The Sunday Telegraph (Business) 24/04/05 page 6-7 (Special Report) Whitbread tipped for £276m pre-tax Whitbread is expected to report full-year pre-tax profits up from £211m to £276m on Tuesday. Throgg Street, in The Observer, wonders if there are dark clouds on the horizon. The column thinks Sir John Banham, chairman, will err on the side of caution. However, it says that chief executive Alan Parker’s decision to expand in budget hotels may prove to be his canniest move especially if the economy contracts. The Independent on Sunday says investors hoping for an announcement about breaking up the business are likely to be disappointed. The Sunday Telegraph (Business) 24/04/05 page 11 (City Agenda) The Observer (Business & Media) 24/04/05 page 9 (Throgg Street) The Independent on Sunday (Business) 24/04/05 page 9 (The Week Ahead) London Olympics bid team reprimanded The International Olympic Committee has reprimanded the team leading the bid to host the 2012 Games in London for offering £15m of free accommodation and travel to committee members. The Mail on Sunday says the attempt to give London the edge has backfired spectacularly and may have dealt a serious blow to Britain’s chances. The Independent on Sunday calls it “humiliating”. There has been no suggestion of corruption but the fallout could still be serious, the Mail on Sunday says. Bid team leader Lord Coe has now withdrawn the offer. Financial Mail on Sunday 24/04/05 page 16 The Independent on Sunday 24/04/05 page 1-2 The Sunday Times 24/04/05 page 26 The Observer 24/04/05 page 1-2 UK hosts women’s surfing event The UK will host its first even on the women’s professional surfing world championship tour, the Roxy Jam, at Perranporth, Cornwall, next month. The event comes at a time when the number of female surfers in the UK is set to reach a record high, new figures from the British Surfing Association show. It estimates women will account for 100,000 of Britain’s 350,000-strong surfing community by the end of the year. A new book, The Surfing Britain guide, is now available. The Independent on Sunday 24/04/05 page 17 The Observer (Escape) 24/04/05 page 4 Victoria Baths still crumbling Manchester’s crumbling Victoria Baths complex is still in a state of disrepair two years after it won the BBC’s Restoration programme. The Sunday Telegraph says a disagreement between the baths’ trustees and the Heritage Lottery Fund, which pledged to provide £3m towards the restoration, has sparked the delay. Officials at the fund are now refusing to hand over the money although a spokeswoman said both sides were still trying to decide the “best long-term outcome”. The Sunday Telegraph 24/04/05 page 9 Hilton opens underwater restaurant in Maldives The Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa, on Rangali Island, has opened the world’s first all-glass undersea restaurant. Ithaa offers views of marine life six metres below the Indian Ocean’s surface. The Observer (Escape) 24/04/05 page 4 The Samling wins award The Samling, in Windermere, has been named hotel of the year in the annual Enjoy England Excellence Awards. The Cumbria hotel saw off competition from Malmaison, in Newcastle, The Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel, in Skipton, north Yorkshire, and Ford Abbey, in Herefordshire. Holly Lodge, in Norfolk, won bed and breakfast of the year. The Observer (Escape) 24/04/05 page 4 World’s ‘hottest hotels’ Traveller, the Conde Nast magazine packaged with this weekend’s The Business, names the “60 best new hotels in the world” in its 2005 Hot List. They include Soho Hotel, in London, England, Gresham Palace Budapest, in Hungary, Hotel Metropole, in Monte Carlo, Monaco and Taj Exotica Resort & Spa in Morocco. Meanwhile, The Independent on Sunday’s Review supplement reveals the latest trends which will determine the hotels of the future and names what it considers to be the five hottest new hostelries. They are the Setai, in Miami, Hotel Puerta America, in Madrid, Hotel Du Petit Moulin, Paris, Hotel Sezz, Paris and Duomo Rimini, Italy. The newspaper says getting back to the roots of what the customer wants is a key component of future design. The Independent on Sunday (Review) 24/04/05 page 22-26 Traveller 24/04/05 page 136-220

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