BANKING & INSURANCE
Rice takes a cut as Lloyds profits slumpLLOYDS TSB Scotland, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group, has revealed that profits were down last year – but, unlike some of its peers, the bank was still in the black
(
Scotsman). Annual accounts for 2008, filed to Companies House yesterday, reveal that income during the year grew to £287.9 million, from £280.9m in 2007. However, pre-tax profits slumped 23 per cent to £89.8m from £116.8m in 2007. According to the report, Susan Rice, Lloyds TSB Scotland's chief executive and chairman, took a small decrease in pay. The report says the "highest paid director", assumed to be Rice, made £366,373 in 2008 down from £379,369 in 2007. She also received a slightly larger pension payment of £32,548, up from £27,817.
Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comFOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURELees, Lees, more if you please …SALES of meringues and new products, such as the Mini Easter Snowmallow Tub, have driven like-for-like sales at Lees Foods, up 14 per cent in the year to date (
Scotsman). The macaroon bar maker estimated that sales in the period January to mid-June hit £8.5 million. Last year, sales hit £16.1m but this included figures from its baked goods division Patisserie, which folded last year. At its annual general meeting yesterday, the Aim-listed confectionery group said it expected profits for the first six months of the year to 30 June, would be ahead of the comparable figure for last year.
Crispy blend of two Scottish favouritesTwo Scottish family-run farming businesses have joined forces to produce Scotland's only home-grown and manufactured premium potato crisps (
Herald). Luxury ice-cream maker, Mackie's of Scotland, is working with Taypack, one of Britain's leading potato businesses, to create a new joint-venture company. The move will be the first expansion into the premium snack market for both companies. Each had separately identified a market opportunity in the premium crisps sector and, by choosing to work together, will combine their different strengths and experience, double their start-up investment and output capacity to enable them to enter the market with a total project cost of about £1.6m.
Read all today's food, drink and agriculture news from scotsman.comMEDIA & LEISURE
Macdonald Hotels remains in the red but director optimisticMacdonald Hotels remained deep in the red and increased its bank borrowings in the latest year when the economic slowdown posed challenges for leisure businesses, official filings show (
Herald). However, Gordon Fraser, finance director, dismissed suggestions that the results raised questions about the health of the firm and said directors were confident about its prospects. Accounts for Macdonald Hotels filed at Companies House last week show the company made a pre-tax loss, before any gains on the sale of properties, of £11.4m in the year to September 2008. That compared with a loss of £16.4m in the previous year.
Read all today's media and leisure news from scotsman.comRETAILCurrys firm suffers £140.4m loss The owner of Currys and PC World made an annual loss of £140.4m after closing parts of its business and writing down the value of some of its firms (
BBC). DSG International saw like-for-like sales slump in the year to 2 May as customers cut back on electrical goods. And it added the "difficult economic backdrop across Europe and subsequent impact on consumer spending" was expected to continue. The firm wrote off £190.9m from its UK, Sweden and Finland businesses. Shares in DSG have fallen by about a third in the past year.
Read all today's retail news from scotsman.comTRANSPORT
Souter attacks ministers over 'chaotic' dealings on rail cashBRIAN Souter yesterday attacked the government's "chaotic" and "inconsistent" behaviour over rail franchise subsidies, ratcheting up the dispute with ministers which he claims could cost his company up to £200 million (
Scotsman). The Stagecoach chief executive's outburst against the Department for Transport (DfT) was the latest escalation of the company's battle with ministers over revenue support for its South Western Trains (SWT) business. Souter's broadside, delivered on the day Stagecoach posted a 12.6 per cent rise in underlying annual profits to £196.4m (£174.4m), came as he claimed that Stagecoach had a strong case in law against the government.
Read all today's transport news from scotsman.comScotsman Business ClubGet to the heart of the issues affecting Scottish business at
www.scotsman.com/businessclub. Features include blogs from The Scotsman's formidable team of business writers - including Bill Jamieson, Martin Flanagan, Peter MacMahon and Scott Reid, a diary of forthcoming company announcements and networking events and video interviews with leading business experts covering a wide range of useful topics."
