It's going to be a long weekend and a long week Every time you open a hotel, you in some way impact on exclusivity, so you have to be a little bit careful." The deal will also bolster the US chain's European growth plans: in certain parts of Europe, such as London, other Ritz-branded hotels not owned by the company have hindered its expansion.Bulgari, the world's number three jeweller behind Cartier and Tiffany & Co, is listed on the Milan stock market with a value of €2.4bn, although the founder's family still own around 54 per cent of the company. Titles range from Nurseryman & Garden Centre to wines and spirits magazine Harpers Weekly to European Fund Manager and Office Pro-ducts Dealer. The group has been searching for a buyer for the business for some months.Shares in Highbury House slid recently after it warned that adjusted profits for the full year would fall short of levels seen in 2002. In September, interim pre-tax losses came in at £27.8m, against profits of £2.9m last year.. Legendary Italian jeweller Bulgari is to open an exclusive boutique hotel in London. Other titles in the division include Total Wrestling and Baby & You.The B2B business includes conferences and exhibitions as well as magazines and directories. Earlier this year it bought Paragon Publishing from venture capitalist 3i for £32m, bringing Essential Home Cinema and DVD Review. It usually generates around 35 per cent of group sales, meaning that the price, based on last year's sales, would be around £33m.Highbury House is selling off the arm so it can focus on its consumer arm. The source also said other unspecified parties remained interested.It is understood the price being discussed is based on the division's turnover. A source close to the company confirmed exclusive talks were continuing but added that a deal was not expected to be announced imminently. Magazine publisher Highbury House Communications, the owner of Front, Fast Car and Real Homes, is in talks to sell its business-to-business arm to its management.
Defra was "leaning" towards forcing generators to buy low-sulphur coal, the source added.A spokesman for UK Coal, Britain's largest coal producer, said: "If the Government goes for [buying low-sulphur coal] then it will be lights out for a large part of the coal industry. It is a colossal decision: once the lines are closed then they will stay closed. Closing down the pits will cost in the order of £700m."The DTI and Defra refused to comment.. This would force power stations to fit filters but allow steel producers to buy foreign coal.However, a source close to the talks revealed that the idea had been dismissed by Defra as "unworkable". Therefore, it has proposed a so-called "hybrid solution" to Defra. The Government must tell the European Commission how it intends to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions - the main cause of acid rain - by 27 November.One source close to the talks said: "Both sides are way apart on this. It's going to be a long weekend - and a long week."It is understood that the DTI favours the filter option, as it would allow power stations to continue to buy British coal, which has a higher sulphur content than some foreign imports.But the DTI is also worried about the effect this would have on Britain's beleaguered steel industry. The fate of Britain's coal mining industry and 15,000 jobs is hanging in the balance this weekend as two government departments are at loggerheads over how to introduce controversial new European laws. He is stepping into the shoes of the highly rated Tony Ball and, shareholder barbs aside, now he has to live up to the hype.. Even Lord St John, the expected scapegoat, hung on, albeit with only 59 per cent support.For Mr Murdoch Jnr, the hardest test is yet to come. To one shareholder planning to vote against his son and senior independent director, his reply was: "Go ahead and vote", and to another: "If you don't wish to back us... Mr Murdoch Snr visibly relaxed, but Jnr just wanted to be taken seriously. |
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