COLLAPSE THREATENS IRISH COMPANIES OF HOWARD HOLDINGS - Accounts for the main Irish property companies of Howard Holdings show the directors have acknowledged that the collapse in asset values and shortage of bank finance threaten the group's future. The Irish Times says that the most recent accounts for Howard Property Ireland show the group was €27 million in the red at the end of its 2010 financial year and had debts of almost €32 million, the bulk of which it owed to its banks. The group transferred debts owing to Anglo Irish Bank to State agency Nama last December. Anglo had a €12.5 million charge over book debts and a number of other secured loans. In March, the British high court put London-based Howard Holdings plc, the holding company for the Irish property development group, in liquidation. The plc stopped trading in August 2009. A directors' report, signed by Greg Coughlan, Brian Madden and Jason Clerkin, accompanying accounts recently lodged for Howard Property Ireland show that its board believes it faces significant risks.
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VALEO TO TAKE OVER JACOB FRUITFIELD IN €300m SALES BID - Tallaght-based biscuit maker Jacob Fruitfield, which makes Fig Rolls, Kimberley and Mikado biscuits, is expected to be bought by Valeo Foods, which makes Squeez juices and Batchelors baked beans, in a move that could create a company with sales of €300m. The Irish Independent says that talks to bring some the best known brands on Irish supermarket shelves under one umbrella been going on for months and Valeo is expected to take over Jacob Fruitfield under the deal. Neither company was available for comment yesterday. The food industry is regularly convulsed by mergers and de-mergers. Both Jacob Fruitfield and Valeo were formerly owned by investment firms, which bought assets from food companies seeking to reduce their borrowings during the past decade. However, any takeover would have to be approved by the Competition Authority, analysts said. Jacob Fruitfield, which also owns brands such as Silvermints and Chef ketchup, was formed in 2004 following the merger of brands bought from Nestle in 2002 and Danone in 2004. Shareholders include Michael Carey, Lioncourt Capital and chief executive Seamus Kearney. Lioncourt Capital belongs to prominent businessmen including former 'Kilkenny People' owner John Kerry Keane, former AIB chairman Dan O'Connor and Simon Pratt of Avoca Handweavers.
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GREECE SET FOR SEVERE BAIL-OUT CONDITIONS - European leaders are negotiating a deal that would lead to unprecedented outside intervention in the Greek economy, including international involvement in tax collection and privatisation of state assets, in exchange for new bail-out loans for Athens. The Financial Times says that people involved in the talks said the package would also include incentives for private holders of Greek debt voluntarily to extend Athens' repayment schedule, as well as another round of austerity measures. Officials hope that as much as half of the €60-€70 billion in new financing needed by Athens until the end of 2013 could be accounted for without new loans. Under a plan advocated by some, much of that would be covered by the sale of state assets and the change in repayment terms for private debtholders. Euro zone countries and the International Monetary Fund would then need to lend an additional €30-€35 billion on top of the €110 billion already promised as part of the bail-out programme agreed last year. Officials warned, however, that almost every element of the new package faced significant opposition from at least one of the governments and institutions involved in the current negotiations and a deal could still unravel.
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MARKS & SPENCER SET FOR EXECUTIVE PAY SHAKE-UP - Marks & Spencer is poised to overhaul its executive pay policy over the coming days, in a bid to align remuneration more closely to its performance and strategy, says the London Independent. The retail giant currently uses earnings per share as the sole performance measurement for its executive team's long term incentive plan but, among other changes, it is set to introduce the additional measure of return on capital employed. ROCE is a key financial metric used by other listed retailers, including rival Tesco. M&S declined to comment beyond saying that its remuneration strategy will be outlined in its annual report, which is due out in "early June". The high street bellwether started consulting with key shareholders in March over the potential changes to management pay. Any adjustments to its performance share plan will be closely scrutinised in the wake of criticism of the pay package of Marc Bolland, the chief executive who took the helm in May 2010. Mr Bolland could earn up to £14.8m for the financial year just ended, although £7.5m of this is compensation for bonuses accrued at his former employer, the grocer Morrisons.
