Bloomsbury Pub. Share News (BMY)

Sat, 6th Dec 2008 04:06

HSBC FINDS TIDY PROFIT IN PROPERTY SLUMP

The downturn in commercial property prices has given

HSBC an unexpected windfall. The bank had its Canary

Wharf headquarters purchased by the Spanish property company

Metrovacesa (which used debt provided by HSBC) in the

summer for 1.09 billion pounds. The slump in the building's

value since then has substantially reduced the equity provided

by Metrovacesa. The two institutions have agreed that HSBC will

buy the building back for 838 million pounds, meaning a 250

million pound loss for Metrovacesa. 'Clearly the market has

deteriorated significantly since we agreed the sale in the

spring of 2007', stated David Hodgkinson, HSBC chief operating

officer. 'It was important to work with our client.to resolve

the funding issue which had arisen'.



WISDEN IN CHANGE OF ENDS FROM GETTY TO BLOOMSBURY

Bloomsbury Publishing has purchased John Wisden &

Co., the publisher of the annual cricketing 'almanack', for five

million pounds. Wisden was owned by Sir Paul Getty from 1993

until his death in 2003, but his son Mark has elected to sell

the business to Bloomsbury. The editor of the annual, Scyld

Berry, welcomed the deal. 'The primary thing is that, I trust,

it will maintain the independence of Wisden as the impartial

voice of cricket', he remarked. 'There is so much money in

cricket and so many vested interests that it is important that

it should remain as the lone honest broker of the game'.



MARSTON'S WARNS TOUGH YEAR AHEAD AS PROFITS TUMBLE

The brewer Marston's has blamed various factors

including poor weather, a rise in operating costs, the smoking

ban and the financial downturn for its sharp fall in profit and

the strong likelihood of a poor 2009 for the company. Marston's

nevertheless maintained its final year dividend, much to the

relief of its investors. 'The underlying cash flow of the

business is strong, we've got no immediate refinancing

requirements, and we have got significant headroom available

under our bank facilities', commented Chief Executive Ralph

Findlay. Shares closed up seven pence at 106 pence.



BERKELEY HAILS CASH 'EMPEROR' POSITION

Berkeley has managed to become the sole large

housebuilder in the UK with a net cash position, after

announcing a relatively mild 12 percent fall in pre-tax profits

and 138.2 million pounds in net cash in the six months to

October 30th. The company also stated that it was optimistic

about resisting adverse market conditions and keeping its profit

margins within a target range of 17.5-19.5 percent. Finance

Director Rob Perrins proposed refusing to build affordable

housing in their developments as one means by which they could

keep their margins high.





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