One of the main routes is the stock market but it is

One of the main routes is the stock market, but it is very hard to float a retailer at the moment.”. It would have been unthinkable during the winter of discontent or the 1984 miners’ strike. But today the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress will join forces in a joint Budget submission to the Chancellor. It would have been unthinkable during the winter of discontent or the 1984 miners’ strike.

But today the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress will join forces in a joint Budget submission to the Chancellor.
The text of the joint lobby is not that revolutionary – it is a call for action to improve productivity – but it is the first time the two former enemies have made a joint submission. It is almost as groundbreaking as the US and Russia developing a joint air defence system.TUC general secretary John Monks and CBI director-general Digby Jones are asking the Chancellor Gordon Brown for a package of six measures.Some, such as extending tax credits on research and development or increasing regional aid, are pushing at an open door. Others, like a review of the Climate Change Levy regulations or a study of the underlying cause of underinvestment by industry, might not be quite at the top of the Chancellor’s agenda.The duo also broadly agree that Mr Brown should loosen his purse-strings, with the CBI pressing for a £2bn tax cut for business and the TUC thinking along similar lines.But this love-in between the unions and industry does not extend too far. The two sides are at daggers drawn over the minimum wage, with the TUC pressing for a rise from £3.70 an hour to £4.15 and the CBI saying any rise beyond £4.00 would be a disaster for British manufacturing.The duo are also in disagreement about the Euro. John Monks has been lobbying for an early entry into the single currency, and the CBI has softened its stance since Digby Jones took over from the avowedly pro-Euro Adair Turner. Mr Jones prefers a wait-and- see attitude in line with that of the Chancellor.Neither industry nor the City expects any big shocks in the Budget. There may be 1p cut in income tax, there could be a review of National Insurance rules and there is almost certain to be a review of the taxation of international companies, which has led giants such at BAT and Vodafone to consider relocating abroad.But the only racing certainty is that the Chancellor will drop the 9 per cent betting levy in favour of a profit or turnover tax.

The move should stop the shift offshore of gaming companies.. Out-of-Town retailer Freeport is to more than double in size, opening five new shopping complexes throughout Europe. Out-of-Town retailer Freeport is to more than double in size, opening five new shopping complexes throughout Europe.
The company has six discount brand retail complexes at out-of-town sites in the UK and wants to repeat its success in mainland Europe.The UK has 25 such retailers to service its 55 million population, while in the rest of Europe there are only 24 for 300 million people. Freeport says it estimates the European market at £2bn.Over the next five years the company will invest around £200m, financed by bank loans, in five new European sites. Freeport estimated that the new developments could bring in up to £80m in sales. It had sales of £14m in the year to June 2000.Sites in Sweden and the Czech Republic are currently under construction, while in France, Austria and Portugal land has been bought and building will start in the next year.

Each site could increase in value by £10m on average upon completion.The first site to be completed will be at Gothenburg in Sweden, where Nike, Levi’s, Calvin Klein and Benetton will open outlets. It is expected to be ready for business in October.The Swedish and Czech Republic sites are both fully subscribed for tenants. If a site is full when opened it can become immediately profitable.The flagship site will be in Lisbon, where £110m will be spent on creating a retail village and leisure centre, containing a multiplex cinema and hotel. It is due to open in 2003.Freeport says the Czech Republic development at Háte will be successful as it has around three million people living within an hour’s drive, and an extra six million people pass through the area to cross the Austrian border every year.Freeport has 1.2m square feet of retail space in the UK, but the planned new sites will cover 2 million square feet.It is considering the purchase of a further nine sites in Europe.The staff at the new sites will all be recruited locally, and the management will receive bonuses if the value of the site increases..

The consortium led by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic is set to win the battle to run air traffic control amid accusations that it is party to a dirty tricks campaign. The consortium led by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic is set to win the battle to run air traffic control amid accusations that it is party to a dirty tricks campaign.
The Airlines Group, led by Virgin and BA, which is bidding for National Air Traffic Systems (Nats) in the controversial £1bn privatisation, is charged with using its influence to harm a rival bid at a crucial stage in the privatisation process. Lord Macdonald, the transport minister, is expected to announce in the next couple of weeks that Airlines has won the battle to buy a 46 per cent stake in Nats.Its main rival, Nimbus, was dealt a crushing blow last week when European aerospace giant EADS said it would not put any money into the bid. It is understood that BA and Virgin put pressure on EADS via Airbus Industrie, its 80 per cent owned subsidiary. Both BA and Virgin are big customers of Airbus, so much so that when BA signed a £5bn order with Airbus, Tony Blair broke off from his holiday to be at the announcement.The Independent on Sunday has learned that Nimbus has lodged a complaint with the Department of Environment, Transport & the Regions and CSFB, the merchant bank running the privatisation, about Airlines’ behaviour. There is a suggestion that Airlines’ success could lead to a complaint to the European Commission.Patrick Jenkin, the Conservative transport spokesman, is to table a question in the House of Commons asking if the Government is happy that the auction has been run fairly “This is a farce of a bid process,” he said. “The Government has given itself an impossible task, which is to discriminate between two bids that are radically different in nature.”EADS joined the Nimbus consortium, which is led by services group Serco, just before the deadline for making final bids on 31 January.