News

Folkestone Racecourse operator Arena Leisure has issued a profits warning after their share price plunged.

Bad weather and punters spending less have forced the UK's biggest horseracing operator to issue a profits warning. Arena Leisure's shares fell sharply after it said it expected its full-year figure to be around £6m.

That would be more than 6% up on last year - but still well below the City's forecasts.

The company blamed the heavy rain since the end of April, which has flooded courses and kept people away.

It also pointed to the string of interest rate hikes over the past few months, which have led to a big slowdown in consumer spending.

Apart from Folkestone the firm runs six other racecourses.

It stages 25% of all the country's fixtures, making it the largest horseracing operator and has tried to tempt people back to the courses with admission and other offers.

Longer-term, it has plans to diversify and add facilities such as hotels, casinos and conference centres.

It said in a statement: "While the company cannot control the British weather, it has taken steps to address ticket pricing and the slowdown in certain sections of consumer spending."  

Its reported that many Saga workers will each receive a £10,500 windfall from the merger of the AA and Saga, and bosses of the two companies will receive £millions.

Saga chief executive Andrew Goodsell, 48, who will run the combined business, will receive £104m and AA chief executive Tim Parker, is said to be picking up £40m.

The £6.15bn merger values the AA at £3.35bn - a paper profit of £1.6bn since the 2004 takeover. Saga is valued at about £2.8bn - more than twice what Charterhouse paid for it.

Saga has flourished since Mr Goodsell led the management buy-out from its founders, the de Haan family and its turnover has jumped by 80% since 2004.

Started in 1951 as a single hotel in Folkestone, it now has a database of 7.6m customers and more than 2,500 staff. According to the thisismoney.co.uk website most of them will benefit from the merger, receiving an average of £8,000 cash and £2,500 of shares in the new company.

Mr Goodsell, who will run the organisation from Saga's base in Folkestone, said: 'We have taken a really close look and concluded that there are significant advantages in combining Saga and the AA's experience, expertise, systems and negotiating power, while maintaining their separate and very distinct brands.'

He dismissed union warnings that more jobs would be lost, saying: 'I'm about growing this business.'
 

Saga and the AA have announced surprise merger plans in a move creating a motoring and insurance giant worth £6 billion which will be based in Folkestone.

The insurance and travel company for the over-50s, will establish a new holding company with the AA, which has 15 million motorists as members.

Both companies are owned by private equity firms - Saga is controlled by Charterhouse while the AA is owned by Permira and CVC.

Saga will have control of the combined business although both firms, which were bought by private equity in 2004, will continue to trade separately.

The combination of the businesses, which is subject to approval from regulators, creates a company with more than 11,000 employees.

Saga is aiming to target the AA's 50-plus members with its products while offering AA services to its own 2.5 million customers.

Chief executive Andrew Goodsell, who will head up the combined company, said the two brands were complementary.

The new holding company, which has yet to be named, will be based in Folkestone at Saga's headquarters.

The merger deal values the combined company at £6.15 billion, with the AA worth £3.35 billion and Saga £2.8 billion.

Permira and CVC will own 42.5 per cent of the business, while Charterhouse will hold 37.5 per cent and the management and staff of both businesses the remaining 20 per cent.

AA chief executive Tim Parker, who will leave the group to pursue other interests, could net more than £40 million from his stake in the business.
 

Boss of Anglo-French Channel tunnel operator Eurotunnel dismissed talk of a possible takeover of the newly restructured company and said he had asked regulators to investigate moves in its share price.

Eurotunnel Chairman and Chief Executive Jacques Gounon spoke in a LCI television interview on Tuesday about the share price rise: "There has been an abnormal movement, the company has just asked for an inquiry.

"The rise was spectacular on the basis of completely false rumours of a possible takeover bid. It has all the ingredients of something that did not represent the company and was not representative of a normal share price," Gounon said.

Those Eurotunnel shares still trading following a financial restructuring, which saw 87 percent of shares swapped for those of a new company, closed on Tuesday in Paris at 1.16 euros.

That was down from a high of 1.95 euros hit last week but still three times more than the level before Eurotunnel declared the share swap to have been a success.

Eurotunnel has re-opened the swap to investors who did not immediately tender their shares.

The share swap re-offer which closes next week (14 June ) was the last phase of a plan to restructure Eurotunnel's debts, which once completed will see much of the company owned by investment banks.
 

Eurotunnel has won its fight for survival today after shareholders overwhelmingly backed a restructuring plan.

The business will be become Groupe Eurotunnel next month after 87% of its shareholders agreed to exchange their stock for holdings in a new, less indebted company.

Such an outcome appeared unlikely last year after creditors backed out of a rescue deal and brought legal action against the company. But Eurotunnel prevailed after launching a multimillion pound advertising campaign to get out the French shareholder vote.

Jacques Gounon, Eurotunnel chief executive, said: "Eurotunnel is saved. I would like to sincerely thank shareholders who have shown their strong support ... The unquestionable success of the offer confirms their commitment to this great group. It enables Eurotunnel to have a fresh start."

The vote brings to a close a torrid chapter in the tunnel operator's history, which saw it come close to buckling under the combination of a £6.2bn debt burden, boardroom infighting and investor rebellions. Its second largest shareholder turnout, in 2004, saw nearly 50% of investors vote to install Mr Gounon to run the company.




 

A major multi million pound development, which will bring 1,800 jobs, has been launched this week as work begins on a massive £100m investment at the White Cliffs Business Park.

AMEC Developments has begun work on the 50 acre site in Whitfield near Dover.

B&Q has confirmed it is building a massive 67,000 sq ft store on the Business Park this summer.

Tim Ingleton, Corporate Project Manager at Dover District Council, said: 'This is major news for the district and is something we have worked hard with our partners to achieve. This will help create opportunities for employment for new and existing business and complement the range of other initiatives that are now starting to emerge and show that Dover really means business.'

Stephen Turner, Regional Director for AMEC Developments said: 'We are delighted to be taking this project forward and will be working with Dover District Council to ensure the potential of this important site is maximized.'

This is the second phase of the three part development of the Business Park which has followed extensive work with Dover District Council, Kent County Council and a range of partners in the community, including English Partnerships and South East England Development Agency.

Folkestone could soon be without a Crown post office following the announcement of a list of closures by Post Office Managing Director, Alan Cook.

Mr Cook said that 70 Crown post offices, which includes Folkestone are to be "relocated" into nearby WH Smith branches.

Post Office staff threatened to strike after an announcement that scores of flagship post offices are to close.

The services of the 70 so-called Crown post offices will be transferred to WH Smith stores, but the Communication Workers Union said three thousand people could lose their jobs while customer service could also be affected.

Unlike the majority of post offices across the country, which are owned by small businessmen operating under licence, the Crown post offices are owned directly by Royal Mail. They are usually large and in prominent areas in cities and towns, and are seen as the network's flagship businesses.

Royal Mail said that, as well as the 70 offices transferred to WH Smith, it was seeking partners for a further 15 Crown offices, leaving it to run 373 Crown post offices.

"Our job is to provide the Post Office branches our customers want and use, and to do so in a sustainable way," said Alan Cook, the managing director of the Post Office.

A spokesman for Royal Mail denied that the WH Smith branches would offer inferior service to the Crown offices, saying that it had already done trials in several areas and that staff had performed well.

The announcement was also attacked by union Amicus, which represents WH Smith staff. Ann Field, a national officer said: "The company seems to be giving up on being an active retailer of newspapers and trying their hand at playing at Postman Pat. It's an appalling move.''

The Royal Mail spokesman said 1,300 staff were employed in the branches affected, disputing the CWU figure of 3,000. He said there would be opportunities for staff to be re-employed by WH Smith in the new branches, although some people are expected to take up alternative roles within Royal Mail Group or take voluntary redundancy.

Transferring would mean employees losing lucrative Civil Service-style benefits, such as a final salary pension scheme. WH Smith closed its final salary scheme in January.

Local Lib Dems have set up a campaign web site at www.saveourpostoffice.org.uk and are writing to people across Shepway to raise awareness of the proposals. Those signing the Lib Dem petition will have their views passed to the consultation and will be kept up to date with the latest news from the campaign to save Folkestone Post Office.

People living near Lydd's London Ashford Airport, have voted against expansion plans following a referendum.

Around a third of residents from Lydd and Romney Marsh turned out to answer if they supported or opposed plans which would see a new passenger terminal and an extension of the current runway.

Lydd residents voted 741 in favour and 916 against, while in New Romney 396 were in favour and 1,288 against.

The airport's owners said the referendum was a waste of money and that there had already been much consultation on the plans, which included meetings in the local area overseen by Shepway District Council.

Supporters of the plans say it will bring new investment and jobs to the area, while opponents say that the marshes would be damaged by the development.

The proposals for London Ashford Airport include a new building that would be able to handle 500,000 passengers a year, and the runway would be extended from 1,505m to 1,799m.

Airport bosses have also outlined a second phase of development that would require separate approval for facilities that could accommodate two million passengers a year.