---

        T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R     

                         E U R O P E

             Tuesday, August 15, 2000, Vol. 1, No. 70
  

                         Headlines

A U S T R I A

BANK AUSTRIA : Watchdog Ruling May Force Hypo to Quit Takeover


C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C

ALIA CHEM: Konsolidacni banka Wants to Buy at All Costs
IPB:  Bourse to Withdraw Shares from Market
INVESTICNI A POSTOVNI: Nomura and Fortis Showdown Over Czech Bank
SUSICKY HOLDING:  Transfers Three Subsidiaries
VOJENSKE STAVBY CZ:  Faces difficulties Due To Financial Troubles


E S T O N I A

PARNU SOOJUS : Talks On Sale Almost Complete


F R A N C E

ORANGE: France Telecom free to Buy
KRAFT FOOD: Cadbury Completes Purchase of Kraft's Candy Businesses


H U N G A R Y

PRIMAGAZ RT:  Posts $4 million H1 Post Tax loss


I T A L Y

ANDALA: Hutchison Takes 51% Italian Stake


L A T V I A

SAULES BANKA: Estonia's Uhispank Seeks To Sell Part Shares


N E T H E R L A N D S

BAAN: Faces Legal Action from Religious Group


P O L A N D

KGHM POLSKA MIEDZ:  Unions to sue mining conglomerate
SUSICKY HOLDING:  Transfers Three Subsidiaries
TV1:  Polsat Acquires Troubled Estonian Television
ZS JELCZ:  Educ Ministry Contract Bails Out Struggling Truck
Manufacturer


R U S S I A

CHELYABINSKY PLANT:  To Finalize Banckruptcy Procedures


S W E D E N

DRESSMART.COM:  Enter the Receivers


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

ACSIS DIRECT MAINTENANCE LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
ANGLIA EA LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
BRITISH AIRWAYS:  Airways & KLM Say Merger Rationale Exists
BAILEYS COACHES LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
C J PLANT SALES LTD:  Liquidation proceedings

CCA REALISATIONS (2000) LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
CELTIC PLC:  Posts stg 5.9 million pre-tax loss of FY99
CELTIC : Falls ?6m into Red
CENTER PARCS: CSFB Backs Bid
CENTER PARCS:  U.K. Developer Leads Chase For Brewery

EQUITABLE: Members Demand to Choose Buyer
HOLBEY LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
HYDER: Nomura Seeks to Overturn WPD Bid
HYDER: Takeover Battle Enters Final Stage
HYDER : May Suspend Share Trading

HYDER: Winner in Takeover Battle to be Announced
HYDER:  Sealed Bidding Auction Descends into Farce
HYDER:  Fate is Cliff Hanger as Takeover Panel Meets
INDEPENDENT ENERGY: Troubled by Billing Problems
INDEPENDENT ENERGY: Cannot Bill its Customers

INDUSTRIAL CONTROL:  Moulton's Tritrax takes 43%
KSCL: Up for Sale
KINGDOM BUSINESS SYSTEMS (MIDLANDS) LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
LTS JOINERY LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
LIMELIGHT: Goes Private in ?57m Management Buy-out

LEICESTERSHIRE: 289 People to Lose Jobs at Sock-making Firm
MIDAS ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
ORANGE: EU Approves France Telecom's Purchase
OXFORD MOLECULAR:  To Liquidate Its Assets
PERRY GROUP:  A Secret Buyer

PREMIER CONTRACTS LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
PRESERVETONE LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
PRIVILEGE PROPERTIES LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
PRO BUSINESS CONSULTING LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
QUALSTONE LTD:  Liquidation proceedings

RJB : Renco to Takeover
ROVER: To Sell Off
SCM CORRUGATED ROLLS LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
THE: Up for Sale
THOMAS MURISON LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
WOOLWICH: Barclays will Axe 1,000 Jobs
WOOLWICH:  Agrees to Offer from Barclays


=============
A U S T R I A
=============

BANK AUSTRIA : Watchdog Ruling May Force Hypo to Quit Takeover
-------------------------------------
August 13 2000

Germany's HypoVereinsbank's has signaled it will abandon its
E7.8bn ($7.1bn) agreed bid for Bank Austria, the country's biggest
bank, if Austria's takeover commission rules that it must back its
all-share bid with a cash offer to small shareholders.

HypoVereinsbank's purchase of Bank Austria, which would create
Europe's third-largest bank by assets, is the biggest acquisition
in Austrian history, Financial Times reports.

It has been structured to avoid being bound by Austrian takeover
rules, put in place to protect minority shareholders following
Bank Austria's controversial 1997 acquisition of Creditanstalt,
Austria's second-biggest bank. Under the rules, any company buying
more than 30 per cent of a quoted Austrian company must make an
offer for all the shares and offer a cash alternative.

HypoVereinsbank's capital ratios could not support a full cash
offer, but the bank believes its bid does not fall under the
Austrian takeover law. It is offering to swap each of Bank
Austria's 114m shares for one of its own shares, which were worth
E68 on the eve of the deal. Bank Austria's shares, which had been
trading below E50 in the months before the deal, closed on Friday
at E62.60. Shares in HypoVereinsbank's closed at E66.84. The
modest gap reflects investor confidence that the deal will go
ahead as planned.

It is understood that, if the Austrian takeover commission decided
against the bid, HypoVereinsbank would abandon the deal, the
report says.

Austria's takeover commission, headed by Konrad Fuchs, a former
chief executive of Erste Bank, began formal hearings last week.

HypoVereinsbank has taken legal advice that its all-paper offer is
not bound by Austrian takeover rules. However, Thomas Prinzhorn, a
prominent Austrian politician and economic spokesman for Jorg
Haider's populist Freedom party, said the deal was a deliberate
circumvention of the takeover law and that small shareholders
should be offered a cash alternative. Several lawyers in Austria
support Mr Prinzhorn's view and one investment banker not involved
in the deal said the takeover commission's credibility would be
irreparably damaged if the biggest takeover in Austria was found
to fall outside its remit. HypoVereinsbank is being advised by JP
Morgan, Financial Times says.


===========================
C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C
============================

ALIA CHEM: Konsolidacni banka Wants to Buy at All Costs
----------------------------------
August 11,2000

Agrobohemie  submitted the highest bid for AliaChem, the main
production part of the bankrupt chemical concern Chemapol Group,
may not get it as the second bidder, Konsolidacni banka, attacked
Agrobohemie's bid ,  according to CTK & EUROMONEY.

State-owned Konsolidacni banka wants to buy AliaChem at all costs
and then include it in the state revitalisation programme. "We
think that Agrobohemie isn't a strategic partner for AliaChem. The
company has not submitted bank guarantees nor has a clear plan for
tackling debt encumbrance and restructuring of the company," MfD
quotes Lubos Cerny, KoB's representative in AliaChem's creditors'
committee, as saying, per CTK & EUROMONEY.

Agrobohemie denies these allegations, claiming that it was
discriminated in the tender due to KoB's influence. "We received
worse information about the real state of Aliachem," Andrej Babis,
whose Agrofert company, together with the Unipetrol holding, owns
Agrobohemie, accordingly.

KoB even considers declaring AliaChem bankrupt if it fails to get
it. Chemapol's administrator, Alexandr Vacek, refused to comment
on the fight between Agrobohemie and KoB, and his spokesman
Jaroslav Hudec said that Vacek is waiting for the recommendation
of the creditors' committee. "He is obliged to sell the firm for
the highest price possible," MfD quotes Vacek as saying,  CTK &
EUROMONEY reports.

Both potential buyers submitted their bids two weeks ago to
Atlantic Corporate Finance, which organizes the closed tender.

According to confidential information, both firms bid just over
Kc800m, with Agrobohemie's bid being by Kc10m higher than KoB's
bid, CTK & EUROMONEY reports.
  

IPB:  Bourse to Withdraw Shares from Market
--------------
Czech A.M. & Hospodarske Noviny  August 11, 2000

The Prague Stock Exchange says it will withdraw IPB shares from
the main market on September 1, as the bank's integration with
CSOB hampers the ability to adhere to PSE disclosure regulations.


INVESTICNI A POSTOVNI: Nomura and Fortis Showdown Over Czech Bank
---------------------------
August 13, 2000

The Financial Times reports, Nomura the Japanese investment bank,
and the Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis, are set for a
showdown over the fate of a stake in a collapsed Czech bank.

Nomura has decided to exercise an option to sell its 46 per cent
stake in Investicni a Postovni Bank to Fortis for $240m even
though the stake is virtually worthless after IPB was raided by
armed police this year and shut down. It has emerged that Nomura
and Fortis entered the option agreement before the investment bank
bought its stake in IPB in March 1998.

The option allows Nomura to sell the stake to Fortis at Kc153 per
share, a slight premium to the Kc147 it paid the Czech government.

Nomura's decision to exercise the option is expected to be
strongly resisted by Fortis and could infuriate Czech
parliamentarians investigating the failure of IPB, the country's
third biggest bank. The option allows Nomura to transfer its huge
potential loss on IPB to Torkmain Investments and Levitan
Investments, two companies operated by MeesPierson investment
bank, part of Fortis. IPB was put into forced administration by
the Czech central bank in June after a run on deposits, sparked by
speculation that the bank was insolvent. The central bank
immediately transferred IPB's Kc317bn of assets to Ceskoslovenska
Obchodni Banka (CSOB), then the fourth largest bank.

CSOB, which is now the largest bank, can transfer to the state any
assets it does not want and is indemnified against all risk, per
FT.

Ministers admit the bill to Czech taxpayers could exceed $2bn.
Nomura said it had been forced to exercise the option because of
concerns over the audits that would be carried out for the central
bank and CSOB. "IPB's shareholders have been unable to monitor or
to receive any official information about the valuation
procedure," it said.

"[We] are concerned that the valuation procedure will be opaque or
illusory."

Nomura is also critical of the government. "Machine guns and
taxpayers' money were used to expropriate IPB and make CSOB the
dominant Czech bank," said Mr Dillard, referring to the armed
police used during the bank's takeover, according to Financial
Times.


SUSICKY HOLDING:  Transfers Three Subsidiaries
------------------------
Czech A.M. & Hospodarske Noviny  August 11, 2000


Three Susicky Holding (SH) subsidiaries - Sirkarna Solo, Susicka
Stroj¡rna and Drevarska Vyroba Susice - have been transferred to
the firm Matches, owned by UK-based investment firm Wyndslade,
according to Sirkarna Solo boss Stanislav Bojanovsky.

Komercn¡ Banka filed a bankruptcy petition against SH in May due
to an outstanding claim of Kc 106 million.


VOJENSKE STAVBY CZ:  Faces difficulties Due To Financial Troubles
------------------------
CENTRAL EUROPE ONLINE INVESTOR & MLADA FRONTA DNES  August 11,
2000

The Senate rejected the lower house of parliament's law on roads
yesterday and sent it back to the lower house with several
amendments.

Vojenske Stavby CZ, which was the fourth largest construction
company in the Czech Republic at the beginning of the year, has
serious financial troubles and is trying to obtain financing from
banks. Vojenske Stavby faced difficulties after its 50-percent
owner, Investicni a Postovni Banka (IPB), went under and was taken
over by CSOB.

At the end of June, the overall volume of classified loans in
Czech banks decreased by 16.2 percent compared to the end of 1999.
The share of classified loans out of all loans fell by 3.6
percentage points to 28.5 percent.

Barum Continental Otrokovice , the largest Czech tyre
manufacturer, saw a considerable increase in sales and gross
profit in the first half of this year. Barum made a record more
than six million tyres this year and exported 70 percent of its
output to western and eastern Europe.

Setuza, one of the largest Czech manufacturers of vegetable oils
and lard, toothpaste, powder detergents and soaps, will not pay
dividends from last year's net profit of more than CZK 86 million.

Since last July, Expandia Banka has managed to more than double
its clientele to 28,484 and its volume of primary deposits to CZK
1.733 billion.

Mobile telephone operator Cesky Mobil signed a syndicated
agreement on a loan for USD 450 million with a group of 11
international institutions led by Chase Manhattan, CIBC World
Markets and Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka (CSOB).


=============
E S T O N I A
=============

PARNU SOOJUS : Talks On Sale Almost Complete
---------------------------
August 11,2000

BNS & Euromoney reports, talks on the sale of Parnu Soojus (Parnu
Heating Co.) are nearing completion and a sales contract will
probably be signed in October. The city government is in
negotiations over the sale of the municipal utility with SCA
Dalkia, Fortum Energia, Vattenfall Estonia, Vantaa Energy Ltd. and
Kotka Energy Ltd.

Accordingly, the possible selling price of Parnu Heating is not
known as yet, as talks are being held with all the five potential
buyers and the city government is of the opinion that making the
price public may place them in an unequal situation.

After an agreement on all conditions of the sale is reached the
winning bid will apparently be sent to the city council for
approval and a contract is expected to be signed in October. The
Parnu city government is going to reserve the right of veto in
strategic issues concerning management of the heating company and
will be able if necessary to block decisions detrimental to the
city, the report says.


===========
F R A N C E
===========

ORANGE: France Telecom free to Buy
----------------------
August 11,2000

The European Commission has cleared France Telecom's purchase of
Orange, but imposed certain conditions. France Telecom has agreed
to sell its stake in KPN Orange Belgium to seal the deal. The
commission said the divestment would prevent the creation of a
duple in the Belgian mobile phone market, where France Telecom
also operates its Mobistar unit, Financial Times reports.


KRAFT FOOD: Cadbury Completes Purchase of Kraft's Candy Businesses
--------------------------------
August 11,2000

Financial Times reports, Cadbury Schweppc es, the UK confectionery
and soft drinks company, on Friday confirmed its acquisition of
Kraft Food's French chewing gum and candy units, following
regulatory approval and completion of the works council process.

Cadbury refused to disclose terms of the deal, but it was believed
to be worth about ?250m ($376.68m).

The acquisition gives Cadbury the Hollywood, Malabar and Tonigum
chewing gum brands, together with the Krema, Kiss Cool and La
Vosgienne candy brands. The deal also includes Kraft's relevant
manufacturing and distribution capability, according to FT.


=============
H U N G A R Y
=============

PRIMAGAZ RT:  Posts $4 million H1 Post Tax loss
--------------------
Central Europe & Reuters  August 11, 2000

Hungarian liquefied petroleum gas distributor Primagaz Rt.
reported on Friday it had made a HUF 1.266 billion (USD 4.39
million) first-half post-tax loss after a profit of HUF 716
million a year ago due to surging global prices.

Primagaz said difficulties in the business environment starting in
the fourth quarter of 1999 continued into the first half of this
year, and the expanding usage of natural gas continued to reduce
the amount of gas sold.

Net sales rose just two percent to HUF 8.733 billion from HUF
8.549 billion in January-June 1999, Primagaz said in its earnings
report published in the bourse's official gazette.

"Owing to cut-throat competition, the extraordinarily high world
market price of crude oil and the strengthening of the dollar,
gross profit fell to 32 percent of sales in the first half," the
company added.

Cost of sales totaled HUF 6.055 billion, up 59 percent from HUF
3.808 billion in the same period last year, mainly due to the
surge in world market gas prices, which remained high even after
the winter period, Primagaz added.

Operating costs fell slightly, to HUF 3.732 billion from HUF 3.78
billion, but not enough to prevent the first half pre-tax loss.

"In the continuing aggressive competition, Primagaz could not
shift the (price) rise entirely to customers," the company said.

Primagaz said that in order to ensure long-term profitability, it
would continue reorganization as planned.

In the June-August period the company further increased its prices
in order to boost its gross profit, as prices will probably stay
extremely high for the rest of the year.


=========
I T A L Y
=========

ANDALA: Hutchison Takes 51% Italian Stake
------------------------
August 14 2000

The News Now reports, HUTCHISON Whampoa, owned by the Hong Kong
billionaire Li Ka-shing, has bought 51 per cent of Andala, the
Italian telecoms company, giving it the firepower to bid for a
mobile phone licence. Hutchison will join Tiscali, an Italian
telecommunications and Internet company, in the bid for one of the
five licences in Italy.

Tiscali's stake in Andala was cut to 25.5 per cent from 58 per
cent as the Hong Kong company bought newly created Andala shares.

Companies are teaming up to share the cost of third-generation
licences because government permits are expected to cost as much
as euro5 billion (?3 billion) each. The Italian Government has set
the minimum bid at euro2 billion, accordingly.

Hutchison won the race to team up with Andala, beating Deutsche
Telekom, Europe's biggest phone company, which also held talks
with the Italian company. Italy's De Benedetti family is
maintaining its 15 per cent stake in Andala, News Now says.


===========
L A T V I A
===========

SAULES BANKA: Estonia's Uhispank Seeks To Sell Part Shares
------------------------------
August 11,2000

BNS & Euro Money reports, Estonia's Uhispank is seeking for
opportunities to sell a part of Saules Banka's shares, Saules
Banka first vice-president Dmitry Pishkhin told reporters
Thursday.

Uhispank is seeking an investor that might buy a part of Saules
Banka's shares . Uhispank would sell Saules Banka's shares to the
Italian businessman Ernesto Preatoni. Preatoni could not hand in
the required documents to the Bank of Latvia for receiving permit
to buy Saules Banka's shares because as a physical person he could
not prove the existence of free capital. As he did not receive the
permit from the Bank of Latvia this deal was cancelled and
Uhispank still has a 100 percent of Saules Banka's shares, per
reports.


=====================
N E T H E R L A N D S
=====================

BAAN: Faces Legal Action from Religious Group
---------------------
August 14 2000


News Now reports, there was the challenge from a group of
dissident shareholders led by an accordion-playing folk musician.

Now a fresh embarrassment is facing Invensys through its new
subsidiary - this time in the form of a legal action from a group
of Dutch protestants.

In an extraordinary move, a Dutch religious foundation has hired
the most famous lawyer in The Netherlands to represent 350
protestants who have lost millions of guilders in Baan, the
software firm now owned by Invensys.

They are determined to recover their money from Jan and Paul Baan,
the brothers who founded the firm in 1978 and accuse them of
misleading investors and precipitating the firm's collapse after
an accounting scandal in 1998.

Rien van Hoeven, the chairman of the Keursteen Foundation, a
protestant organisation near The Hague, told The Times: "The Baan
brothers are fanatically religious. They show themselves as holy
people, but they are praying to make sure they stay rich." He said
the foundation had received letters from Baan investors
criticising the brothers, who are both members of the Dutch
Reformed Church, and sending money to help to pay for a lawsuit
against the two men, the report says.

  
However, its decline has been swift after a 1998 accounting
scandal that forced the Baan brothers to resign and cast doubt
over their projections and management. Baan now faces a class
action law suit in the US and the possibility of two further law
suits in Europe.

Although Britain's Invensys will not be affected by the lawsuit
against the Baan brothers directly, it is a fresh embarrassment
for the company at the end of a long struggle to gain control of
its Dutch rival.

The Baan brothers were unavailable for comment, according to News
Now.


===========
P O L A N D
===========

KGHM POLSKA MIEDZ:  Unions to sue mining conglomerate
----------------------------
Prawo i Gospodarka & poland am august 11, 2000

Labor unions have threatened to sue the board of copper mining
conglomerate KGHM Polska Miedz unless it backs off from
implementing its five-year restructuring plan. Unions fear the
structural adjustments could cost a lot of miners their jobs.


SUSICKY HOLDING:  Transfers Three Subsidiaries
------------------------
Czech A.M. & Hospodarske Noviny  August 11, 2000

Three Susicky Holding (SH) subsidiaries - Sirkarna Solo, Susicka
Stroj¡rna and Drevarska Vyroba Susice - have been transferred to
the firm Matches, owned by UK-based investment firm Wyndslade,
according to Sirkarna Solo boss Stanislav Bojanovsky.

Komercn¡ Banka filed a bankruptcy petition against SH in May due
to an outstanding claim of Kc 106 million.


TV1:  Polsat Acquires Troubled Estonian Television
--------------
Central Europe & Reuters  August 11, 2000

The Polish television station Polsat has taken full control of the
newest commercial channel in Estonia, TV1, its former owners said
on Friday.

The Estonian investment bank Lohmus, Haavel and Viisemann said it
had sold 51 percent of the ailing TV1's shares to Polsat for an
undisclosed sum.

The other 49 per cent of TV1 is owned by Latvia's TV station LNT,
a Polsat subsidiary.

Earlier in the year, Estonia amended its broadcasting law,
allowing foreign companies to own 100 per cent of broadcasting
stations in the country.
Polsat now owns TV stations in all three Baltic countries:
Baltijos TV in Lithuania, LNT in Latvia and TV1 in Estonia.


ZS JELCZ:  Educ Ministry Contract Bails Out Struggling Truck
Manufacturer
-----------------------
Rzeczpospolita & Poland A.M.  August 11, 2000

An Education Ministry contract may allow bus and truck
manufacturer ZS Jelcz belonging to Zasada Group to become
profitable by the end of the year. The Ministry bought 140 school
buses from ZS Jelcz and paid zl. 35.2 million for them.

According to Rzeczpospolita's 500 ranking of the biggest
enterprises in Poland ZS Jelcz recorded zl. 56.3 million in losses
on net revenues of zl. 238.9 million last year. Losses were due to
creating huge reserves for restructuring.

Factories laid off 600 workers out of a total 2,400. Jelcz managed
to increase sales by 62% in the first half of the year, but only
in the sector of city buses. In tourist and intercity bus sectors
sales dropped 37%. The company wants to adapt itself to the market
by consulting with the customers in the forecasting phase. A
spokesperson for Zasada did not exclude selling part or even all
of ZS Jelcz to a strategic investor, which may be Korean KIA.


===========
R U S S I A
===========

CHELYABINSKY PLANT:  To Finalize Banckruptcy Procedures
----------------------------
SKRIN "Issuer"  August 11, 2000

On August 10, at the EGM JSC " Chelyabinsky plant of dorozhnykh
machines named Kolyuschenko" shareholders accepted a decision to
recommend to the external manager and creditors to conclude
amicable settlement.

After that, the bankruptcy procedure of the company will be
finished. At the same time, first deputy external manager A.Fateev
said, the decisions have been accepted at the EGM are invalid.

According to the law of RF, the external manager reserved to
himself right to contest EGM decisions at the Court.


===========
S W E D E N
===========

DRESSMART.COM:  Enter the Receivers
--------------------
Newsbytes News Network  August 10, 2000

Despite what appeared to be a relatively solid business model,
Dressmart.com, the pan-European men's fashion retailer, has called
in the receivers.

Comparisons with the spectacular failure of Boo.com earlier this
year are inevitable, but industry experts point to $21 million
that Dressmart.com spent on rolling out across eight countries in
16 months - as against the $126 million spent in six months by
Boo.com.

Launched by Mathias Plank and Markus Larsson, two young
Scandinavian entrepreneurs in the spring of 1999, with the backing
of the National Pension Insurance Fund's Sixth Fund Board and
Emerging Technology with Kjell Spengberg, the firm was awarded
"Best E-Commerce Company" and "Best Interactive Media Strategy" by
the Scandinavian Interactive Media Event in June of that year.

By the end of 1999, the firm was listed as one of the 12 most
promising IT companies by the event, even boasting an investment
by the King of Sweden.

Business continued to boom and at the start of February, 2000,
Dressmart.com launched into a new product category, sportswear.

Today, the firm has operations in Sweden, Finland, Norway,
Denmark, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and France, staffed by
more than 80 employees.

Plans had originally called for the company to continue its
expansion in Italy, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and
Ireland, although this expansion went on to the back burner when
the firm announced plans for reorganization on July 20.

New Wave Group, the Swedish clothing company, said this afternoon
that is has provisionally agreed to take over Dressmart.com,
providing a number of stringent conditions are fulfilled.

In return, the firm will guarantee a little over a million dollars
- making a 25 percent payout to Dressmart.com's creditors - as
well as around $500,000 in bridging funds for the Web operation.

If the conditions are met and New Wave acquires Dressmart, New
Wave says its trading system will be incorporated with Cyberwave,
its wholly owned business-to-business operations, while
Dressmart's Web sales operations will continue for at least the
next few months.

New Wave says that the courts have approved receiver Roland
Sundqvist's provisional plans to restructure Dressmart under new
ownership.

The Forrester group, in its preliminary analysis of the Dressmart
fallout, said that comparisons with the failure of Boo.com may be
inevitable, but the two firms are completely different.

Dressmart's problems, the research firm says, stem from Boo.com's
failure, which made Internet investors "skittish."

"Although Dressmart's business plan was solid - the firm was on
track to show profits in late 2001 and experienced steady sales
growth throughout July - the retailer simple ran out of funds to
sustain the multinational business that its investors had pushed
since the outset," said Forrester.

As result of Boo.com and Dressmart's problems, Forrester has
warned that there are more financial failures ready to hit
Europe's online sales scene.

The problem, the IT research firm says, is that, in Europe's early
stages of online retail, no single country provides enough volume
for a pure play to thrive.

"Even though the UK will form Europe's biggest online retail
market in 2000, the 41 million euros in apparel that will be sold
on the Net in the UK this year represents only 0.1 percent of all
apparel sales in the country," says the report.

And, with dozens of startups competing for few buyers, there is no
volume to sustain more than one or two in any retail category,
Forrester
concludes.


===========================
U N I T E D   K I N G D O M
===========================

ACSIS DIRECT MAINTENANCE LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Acsis Direct Maintenance Ltd
Company No:   3397502
Com. Business:   Repair/Refurb Vehicles on Hire
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Gerard N Ratcliffe  IPno: 8666    
Firm Name:   Ratcliffe & Co
Address:   7 Chorley New Road
City Postcode:   Bolton  BL1 4QR


ANGLIA EA LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Anglia EA Ltd
Previous Name:   Anglia Service Centre Ltd
Company No:   2218875
Com. Business:   Export Machinery Parts
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Steven Law  IPno: 8727    
Firm Name:   Ensors
Address:   Cardinal House  46 St Nicholas Street
City Postcode:   Ipswich  IP1 1TT


BRITISH AIRWAYS:  Airways & KLM Say Merger Rationale Exists
-----------------------
AVIATION DAILY  August 11, 2000

British Airways and KLM for the first time said their merger talks
have seen consid-erable progress. The airlines said in a statement
yesterday they believe "a business rationale for a poten-tial
merger exists." According to BA, constructive discussions have
taken place and important progress has been made. The period of
exclusive talks has therefore been extended by the two parties.

Within an-other several weeks, BA and KLM want to "review external
as well as internal aspects of a transaction."

BA believes a combination of the two airlines would be "the most
complex transaction in aviation history."

KLM previously said that it expects to file a merger proposal with
the European Union at the end of Sep-tember.

The plans are expected to face intense scrutiny by regulators. Not
only would KLM and BA dom-inate the important London-Amsterdam
market, but would be potentially dominant in a number of feeder
markets in third countries, according to a Commerzbank Securities
study. Also, U.S. representatives have threatened to void KLM's
traffic rights to the U.S. because, in their view, the merger
could be used by BA as a backdoor to circumvent bilateral treaties
with the U.S.


BAILEYS COACHES LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Baileys Coaches Ltd
Company No:   1328006
Com. Business:   Provide Transportation Services
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Members
Liquidators:   Martin A Shaw  IPno: 6334  Edwin J Kirkwood  8096
Firm Name:   BKR Haines Watts
Address:   Sterling House  Maple Court  Maple Road
City Postcode:   Barnsley  S75 3DP


C J PLANT SALES LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   C J Plant Sales Ltd
Company No:   2919766
Com. Business:   Plant Sales
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Members
Liquidators:   Paul Barrett  IPno: 5459    
Firm Name:   Radford Sons & Co
Address:   12 Portland Street
City Postcode:   Southampton  SO14 7EB


CCA REALISATIONS (2000) LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   CCA Realisations (2000) Ltd
Previous Name:   The Cordwainers College Association
Company No:   0134595
Com. Business:   Training & Education
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Members
Appointed by:   Members
Liquidators:   Adrian R Stanway  IPno: 2665  Ian C Oakley Smith  
2000
Firm Name:   PricewaterhouseCoopers
Address:   Plumtree Court
City Postcode:   London  EC4A 4HT


CELTIC PLC:  Posts stg 5.9 million pre-tax loss of FY99
-----------------
IRISH INDEPENDENT  August 12, 2000

Celtic Plc, the Scottish premier league club of which Irish
financier Dermot Desmond holds a 15pc stake, said yesterday it had
pre-tax losses of stg?5.9m for last year.

Chairman Brian Quinn blamed the disappointing results for the year
ended to June 2000 on the team's poor performance on the pitch.

``Commercial success is directly and immediately related to
football,'' he said.

The club has 1,000 Irish shareholders while Mr Desmond is a
director, it confirmed yesterday.

The early departure from last year's UEFA Cup competition and
defeat in the Scottish Cup has had a ``swift and painful'' effect
on match attendances, ticket sales and turnover, Mr Quinn added.

Group turnover rose 14pc to stg?38.6m, boosted by a 46.7pc
increase in merchandising revenues and a 46.3pc surge in income
from multimedia and communications.

However, Mr Quinn said the club would raise ticket prices this
season to raise funds to compete for top-quality players and so
enhance future performance.

``I believe that our supporters will recognise that enhancing the
quality of our squad will justify a higher contribution from them
in the form of ticket revenues,'' he said.

Celtic shares, which have fallen behind the sector by 8pc over the
past nine months, dropped nearly 3pc to stg212.5p in early trading
yesterday.

The group's pre-tax loss for the year to June 30 came after a
previous profit of stg?550,000.

Increased labour costs of stg?15.17m helped push up operating
costs 25.2pc to stg?33.9m.

Last month, Celtic broke the record for a Scottish transfer fee
when it paid stg?6m for Chelsea striker Chris Sutton, beating its
own previous record of stg?5.75m, set last year.

Former Northern Ireland international Martin O'Neill was appointed
manager in June.


CELTIC : Falls ?6m into Red
---------------------
August 11 2000

Financial Times reports, spending on players and a poor
performance on the pitch saw Celtic, the Glasgow football club,
run up heavy full-year losses.

Turnover for the 12 months to June 30 rose to ?38.6m (?33.8m),
despite lower attendences at Celtic Park, the club's stadium.

However, transfer spending and a ?1.6m exceptional payment to John
Barnes, the club coach, and Kenny Dalglish, the director of
football - who were both dismissed - resulted in pre-tax losses of
?5.99m, compared with profits of ?550,000 last time. Writing off
the value of player contracts rose to ?7.2m (?6.1m), while wages
rose from ?14.5m to ?20.2m. In spite of the sharp rise, wages
represented 52 per cent of turnover, close to the 50 per cent
level recommended as sustainable by Deloitte & Touche, the
accountancy firm.

The club had a disappointing year on the pitch - coming second to
rivals Rangers in the Scottish league championship - but generated
increased revenues from merchandising and media activities.

Merchandising rose to ?5.7m (?3.9m), bucking the UK decline in the
kit retailing market and helped by new retail outlets in Northern
Ireland, Ft said.


CENTER PARCS: CSFB Backs Bid
------------------
August 11 2000

Credit Suisse First Boston, the Swiss-owned investment bank, has
emerged as the backer to London & Regional Properties, the
privately- owned property group that is bidding for Center Parcs.

L&R is believed to have outbid Pierre at Vacances, the Paris-based
tour operator backed by Deutsche Bank, with an offer of more than
?700m for the holiday business being sold by Scottish & Newcastle,
the brewing and leisure group, Financial Times reports.

The property group is believed to have proposed financing the deal
through a 20-year arrangement, which involves buying the
underlying property from S&N. It is also thought that L&R is
discussing giving S&N a management contract for the operation of
the site. Another option thought to be under discussion is for L&R
to retain Centre Parcs' current management. This would have the
advantage for S&N of allaying potential action being considered by
trades unions in the Netherlands, where the holiday business was
founded.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, which is handling the sale, is
expected to announce next week that it has selected L&R as
preferred bidder, per FT.
  
The division includes Pontin's, the holiday camps that are being
sold in a separate auction because they are UK-based and targeted
at the lower end of the market, accordingly.


CENTER PARCS:  U.K. Developer Leads Chase For Brewery
---------------------
THE DAILY DEAL  August 10, 2000

British property developer London & Regional Properties Ltd. has
the inside track to acquire Scottish & Newcastle Breweries plc's
Center Parcs holiday village business, according to a source close
to the deal.

Most of the details have been hammered out, and S&N is expected to
announce Friday or Monday that it is in exclusive negotiations
with London & Regional, the source said.

Late last week sources with knowledge of the bidding said a joint
bid by DB Capital Partners, the private equity unit of Deutsche
Bank AG, and the French leisure company Pierre et Vacances was
favored.

An S&N spokeswoman declined to comment.

The sale is expected to bring 670 million to 700 million ($1
billion to $1.05 billion), according to two industry sources. S&N
said earlier this year that it would sell off Center Parcs and
another more downmarket leisure park business, Pontin's, and focus
on its brewing and pubs businesses.

In March, it agreed to buy Groupe Danone SA's brewing business,
including the Kronenbourg brand, for an estimated $2.6 billion, to
be paid over three years. The proceeds from the Center Parcs and
Pontin's sales will help to pay for that.

Center Parcs had revenue of 339 million and operating profits of
58 million in the year ended April 30. Pontin's, which is being
sold separately, had revenue of 67 million and an operating loss
of 4.1 million.


EQUITABLE: Members Demand to Choose Buyer
---------------------------------------------
NEWS NOW August 12,2000


EQUITABLE Life policyholders are demanding the right to choose who
buys the beleaguered insurer, which put itself up for sale after
losing a ?1.5 billion law case in the House of Lords.

Many are unhappy about the board's proposal to seek a white knight
and invite members to rubber-stamp the deal some time next year.

As the owners of this mutual society, policyholders argue that
they are better placed to select a buyer than the directors who,
they claim, steered their ship on to the rocks.

But, as correspondence between Equitable's president, John
Sclater, and a policyholder, Michael Simmons, shows, the directors
emphatically deny acting irresponsibly. They still claim they
needed to pursue litigation to see if the board was justified in
paying some pension plan savers lower bonuses than others.

Only six months ago Equitable Life's managing director, Alan Nash,
wrote to policyholders telling them not to believe "misleading"
press reports that litigation could lead to disaster. He wrote:
"Contrary to many of the reports which have appeared in the press,
there would be no significant cost imposed on the society if the
Court of Appeal's decision were upheld in the House of Lords.

"The speculation regarding financial difficulties and costs to be
borne by with-profits policyholders is therefore unfounded. Your
society remains, and will continue to remain, financially secure."

Now the 240-year-old insurer has been forced to abandon
independence because it cannot afford the ?1.5 billion cost of
honouring guarantees it issued but sought to render worthless
until the House of Lords intervened.

Brian Philpott is a director of Annuity Direct, the independent
financial adviser that started the Equitable Life Action Group to
represent guaranteed annuity rate policyholders. He said: "The
uncompromising and arrogant attitude of the board has brought a
long-respected mutual society to its knees. It does seem a little
strange, therefore, that those responsible for this are charged
with the task of finding a solution, without any participation by
the members.

"I am reminded of the philosopher Bertrand Russell who, on being
asked if he would die for his beliefs, replied, 'Of course not;
after all, I could be wrong'. Unfortunately, no such doubts ever
entered the mindset of the Equitable Life board."

Similarly, Lynda Eyton, of the independent financial adviser Bates
Investment Services, said: "It is essential that the wishes of the
members be taken into account in respect of the sale of Equitable
Life. Its fund management performance has been less than sparkling
in recent years, so it would be good if they sell to someone with
a decent record in that area."

Paul Braithwaite, an Equitable Life policyholder from Kentish
Town, north London, said: "The Equitable directors are saying in
effect, 'Get back in your box, it's down to the new owners to
decide the fate of the board'. And guess who gets to negotiate the
sale and hence protect themselves?

"This high-handedness by Equitable is a further demonstration of
their ludicrous lack of accountability and cosy self-serving
status. That the architects of this disaster should preside over
the sale, thus enabling themselves to negotiate and protect their
own positions, is absurd."

Not every policyholder blames the board. One said: "I cannot see
the fairness of pension investors having access, via the Lords'
judgment, to with-profit bond holders' funds. I cannot see how the
Lords can find Equitable's actions unfair and then seemingly
approve lien [a legal charge] on other investors' funds.

"Equitable, having been judged to treat 90,000 guaranteed annuity
rate policyholders unfairly, now seems to have the authority to
treat 400,000 other policyholders unfavourably. Surely, these are
black days for both law and mutuality."

But most of the letters and emails received by The Telegraph this
week criticise the directors for their reluctance to honour the
guaranteed annuities Equitable had issued. One said: "It was
disingenuous of the board to pretend that the guaranteed annuities
could be paid on the one hand but taken away on the other through
reduced terminal bonuses, and then to reassure policyholders like
myself that the maximum liability would not threaten the stability
of the society.

"We the policyholders own the society; not the board or the
management. Based on its record before this debacle, its low cost
ratio and professional client base, the society would have had
value for each policyholder through membership. This value has
been eroded by the management, and the board should personally be
liable for restoring part of it."

Milena Atanassova, of the independent financial adviser Rickman
Tooze, said: "To make the best of a bad job, with-profits
policyholders should be allowed to vote for Equitable Life to be
sold to a company with very deep pockets.

"As well as sorting out the redress for guaranteed annuity
holders, the new parent should inject fresh capital into both the
life and pensions with-profits funds. This would compensate
members for the loss of ownership rights and the portion of future
investment growth which will be taken by the new owners."


HOLBEY LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Holbey Ltd
Company No:   2790091
Com. Business:   Employment Agency
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Gerald M Krasner  IPno: 5532    
Firm Name:   Bartfield & Co
Address:   Burley House  12 Clarendon Road
City Postcode:   Leeds  LS2 9NF


HYDER: Nomura Seeks to Overturn WPD Bid
------------------------
August 11 2000

The UK's Takeover Panel was in disarray on Friday night after
Nomura, the Japanese investment bank, sought to overturn a
potentially winning bid for Hyder by Western Power Distribution, a
US energy joint venture. Nomura, which had objected to the panel's
decision to impose sealed bids, claimed that WPD's offer should be
disallowed on the grounds that it did not follow the correct
timetable, Financial Times reports.

The bank is understood to have sat on its previously highest offer
of 360p a share, worth ?557m ($835m), for the struggling Welsh
utility. Under the terms of the sealed bid mechanism this should
have given victory, at a price of 365p a share, to WPD, which had
offered a higher price for Hyder, the report says.

Tim Cargill, the panel executive responsible for the Hyder bids,
had ruled on Thursday that the prize would go to the company
prepared to go to a higher ceiling, although the actual price paid
would be a premium of 5p a share above the lowest offer. The panel
said it was intervening to provide an orderly bidding procedure on
the last day for submitting offers. It is thought to have been
concerned that a bidder might wait until the last minute before
posting an offer. A full meeting of the panel was called on Friday
night after Nomura objected. The Japanese bank previously denied
it asked for sealed bids. It also objected to its terms ahead of
final offers being submitted. Nomura is understood to have offered
to match WPD's 365p a share to ensure investors did not lose.

The panel ran into similar problems when it ordered sealed bids
two years ago, when TXU bid ?4.5bn to beat PacifiCorp for control
of Energy Group, the owner of Eastern Electricity. PacifiCorp
withdrew from the race after its objections to the bidding
procedure was over-ruled at a full panel meeting ahead of the
sealed bid deadline. The bid battle for Hyder intensified on
Wednesday, after Nomura raised its bid. The offer of 360p a share
topped an earlier raised bid from WPD of 340p a share, per FT.


HYDER: Takeover Battle Enters Final Stage
--------------------
August 13 2000

The Takeover Panel expects to face further fire this week as it
seeks to resolve a bitter bid battle for Hyder, the struggling
Welsh utility.

Nomura, the Japanese investment bank, on Friday challenged a
ruling by the panel executive to allow a potentially winning bid
from Western Power Distribution, a US energy joint venture. Nomura
and WPD are due to present further evidence to the panel on
Monday. The outcome however is unlikely to be decided until a full
panel meeting, which is expect to be called for on Tuesday.

The panel's handling of its decision to settle the contest by
using sealed bids is believed to have angered financial advisers
of all the parties concerned. There have been suggestions that the
loser could call for a judicial review.

Nomura called for WPD's bid to be disqualified because the winning
bid by the US energy joint venture was not announced by 4.30pm on
Friday as required under the panel's rules for the sealed bids.

The delay in announcing the outcome was thought to have been
caused by a panel instruction to WDP that it first contact
merchant bank advisers to notify changes to their offer, Financial
Times reports.

Victory should have gone to WPD, at a price of 365p a share, after
Nomura decided to stick with its previous highest bid of 360p a
share, worth ?557m, rather than submit a new offer by Friday's
revised final deadline of 1pm.

Both companies had been asked to submit sealed offers indicating
the highest price they were prepared to pay for Hyder.

Shareholders of the Welsh utility would then receive a premium of
5p a share above the losers ceiling price.

Confusion over the outcome raises the question of whether Hyder
shares, which rose 4p to 385p on Friday, should be suspended until
the matter is resolved.

The panel last week said it had called for sealed offers to
provide an orderly bidding procedure on the last day for
submitting offers. It is thought to have been concerned that a
bidder might wait until the last minute before posting an offer,
per reports of FT.

  
HYDER : May Suspend Share Trading
--------------
August 13,2000

Financial times says, Welsh utility company Hyder said it may
suspend trading in its shares on Monday as the battle for control
of the company intensifies.

A Hyder spokeswoman said it would take action unless the dispute
between rivals Japanese bank Nomura and Western Power Distribution
was resolved.

On Friday, the Takeover Panel declared Western Power Distribution
the winner of the four month battle for control of the company.

Rival bidder Nomura appealed the decision, claiming that WPD had
submitted its higher bid of 365p per share late.

The Takeover Panel is now expected to meet on Monday to consider
the appeal.

"A meeting of the full panel to consider this appeal will be held
as soon as possible," the Panel said. A Hyder spokeswoman said:
"If they don't clarify the latest position we might have to ask
for our shares to be suspended."

Speculation has grown that bidding for the company could be
reopened.

If the Panel decides against Nomura, the Japanese bank will call
on it to reopen the bidding contest, a report in the Sunday Times
said.

Nomura wants both sides to put forward a "best and final offer",
the report said.


HYDER: Winner in Takeover Battle to be Announced
--------------------------------------------
According to Ananova, the battle for Welsh utilities group Hyder
is due to draw to a close when the Takeover Panel declares which
of the two bidding rivals for the group has emerged the winner.

Over the past four months, Japanese investment bank Nomura and US-
controlled group Western Power Distribution (WPD) have fought an
intense tug of war for Hyder. Last Wednesday, Nomura held sway
after bidding ?557 million, or 360p a share, for Hyder.

Later that day, the Takeover Panel, the City institution which
governs company mergers and acquisitions, decided to step in to
oversee the final stages of the bidding process.

Under the Panel's rules, both bidders had to submit a final
"sealed bid" for Hyder by the official deadline of the offer
period, which should have been 4.30pm Friday, August 12.

Investors and City watchers were left mystified after the Panel
unexpectedly failed to announce the winner before the close of
business that day.

Over the weekend, speculation mounted that although WPD had put in
a 365p a share offer for Hyder, it had done so after the allotted
deadline. It is believed Nomura failed to put in any bid, sticking
instead to its earlier 360p a share offer.

The confusion surrounding the final stages of the takeover mounted
with rumours that Nomura was set to launch a legal challenge if
WPD's bid was deemed the winner, says ANANOVA.

The only clear winners so far appear to be Hyder's shareholders.
Before Nomura's first bid back at the end of March, Hyder shares
were languishing at 189.25p, valuing the group at only ?293
million, Ananovas'report.


HYDER:  Sealed Bidding Auction Descends into Farce
----------------
THE TIMES  August 12, 2000

The contest for Hyder, the Welsh utility, erupted in rows and
recrimination after Nomura refused to take part in a sealed bid
auction and the challenger, WPD, failed to confirm its winning bid
with a formal announcement.

The farcical end to the half-billion pound takeover battle for
Hyder could prove a severe embarrassment to the Takeover Panel.

The regulator imposed the procedure in order to avoid a last-
minute bid scramble with the Japanese Bank and the US power
company attempting to outfox each other.

However, Nomura objected to the procedure, claiming it would not
deliver value to shareholders. It says its existing bid of 360p
per share is the only valid offer on the table.

WPD, which was in favour of the process, delivered a sealed
envelope to the panel which is believed to have contained a
maximum offer well above 360p. Under the sealed bid procedure it
would have won and its bid would be set at a 5p premium to Nomura.

However, WPD failed in the end to announce its winning offer by
the 4.30pm deadline.

Negotiations were continuing at the Panel last night but it
refused to indicate whether it was able to settle on a winner for
the Hyder auction.

Anger was expressed by some parties at the Panel's handling of the
process. "They are totally inadequate," said a source close to the
negotiations. The Panel may be under pressure to scrap the
process, which failed to deliver a clear outcome and was not
supported by both bidders.

The Takeover Panel refused to make any comment yesterday, nor
would it reveal the outcome of the bidding process.

The silence from the City's merger regulator encouraged a
succession of rumours causing the share price of Hyder to soar
during from 381p to 395p. It closed at 385p.

The battle for the Welsh utility commenced in April when Nomura's
venture capital arm, led by Guy Hands, made an offer of 260p per
share but was then trumped by WPD.

A succession of bids and counterbids ended on Tuesday with
Nomura's last 360p offer. The offer values the company at ?557
million but Hyder brings with it ?1.9 billion of debts.


HYDER:  Fate is Cliff Hanger as Takeover Panel Meets
----------------
European Investor & REUTERS  August 11, 2000

The four-month battle for Welsh utility Hyder Plc remained in the
balance on Friday with Britain's Takeover Panel unable to announce
the winner following a complaint by one of the bidders, industry
sources said.

They said WPD had made a bid of 365 pence per Hyder share,
trumping Nomura's existing 360 pence per share offer for the
company. WPD's bid values Hyder at around 565 million pounds
($849.9 million). With debt of 1.8 billion pounds, it stamps an
enterprise value of 2.37 billion pounds on Hyder.

However, the Panel was locked in a meeting late on Friday after
Japanese investment bank Nomura complained about the timing of a
higher bid by rival Western Power Distribution, the sources told
Reuters.

They said Nomura had protested after WPD delayed submitting its
final sealed-envelope bid, the deadline for which was 1200 GMT on
Friday.

Although WPD's bid had reached the Takeover Panel before the
deadline, it then had to be resubmitted by its advisers and this
meant a slight delay in getting the formal bid in, one said.

Hyder's shares closed up four pence at 384p.

The Takeover Panel was not immediately available for comment,
while Nomura, Hyder and WPD all declined to comment on the
situation.

A Hyder spokeswoman said the company could not comment on whether
it expected to make a statement.

If WPD's higher bid is approved by the Panel, the U.S. group is
likely to be considered the winner as Hyder's board has in the
past approved bids by both parties in the run-up to Friday's photo
finish.

Ordering rival bidders to submit sealed bids is rare in corporate
Britain, but it was used two years ago when U.S. power groups TXU
and PacifiCorp were fighting over Energy Group, owner of Eastern
Electricity.

PacifiCorp withdrew a day before it was supposed to submit its
sealed bid.

Nomura raised its bid for a second time on Wednesday, offering 360
pence per share. That was 20 pence more than the bid from U.S.-
owned WPD, which Hyder had approved on Monday.

Hyder's main activities include Dwr Cymru, the regulated supplier
of water and waste water services to most of Wales. It also
provides business support and consultancy services.

UBS Warburg is advising Hyder while Schroder Salomon Smith Barney
is adviser to WPD.

The final day for posting any increased offer to shareholders will
be Wednesday, August 16.

Earlier on Friday, WPD said it was extending its offer to buy back
bonds from it original Thursday 1600 GMT deadline to a fresh
deadline on Friday morning.

The tender offer covers four bonds issued by Hyder and two bonds
issued by Welsh Water Utilities Finance, the fund raising arm of
Hyder's subsidiary Welsh Water.

The tender offer is contingent on unconditional acceptance of
WPD's share offer for Hyder and must be accepted by at least 75
percent of holders of each bond.


INDEPENDENT ENERGY: Troubled by Billing Problems
--------------------------------
FINANCIAL TIMES August 11,2000

Shares in Independent Energy, the UK electricity and gas supplier,
fell 16 per cent in early trade on Friday after the company said
it was still struggling to find a solution to its billing
problems.

The company's board said the rate of cash collection from its sub-
100kW customers had been worse than expected.

"The board believes that the effect of the billing and collection
problems in the sub-100kW market will be to reduce earnings for
the year ended 30 June below analysts' expectations," it said.

The group first admitted that it was having billing problems in
February but claimed in May that it was close to finding a
solution. However, since then the difficulties have dragged on,
forcing it to put itself up for sale in June.

The company said it was continuing to have discussions with "a
number of parties" over the possibility of an offer for the whole
company, a substantial portion of its operations or a minority
stake.

It added that negotiations were continuing with its existing bank
and other banks over the provision of additional funds. It had
been offered ?50m of mezzanine financing, but this was conditional
on the availability of increased and extended bank facilities
which were not yet in place. The group's existing revolving credit
facility expires on September 29.

In early trading the shares fell 97-1/2p to 497-1/2p as investors
reacted to the statement, but bounced back to 570p a share by
0805GMT. This is still way below the high for the year of ?37.50.

The group said it had delayed the publication of its full year
results in view of the problems and the continuing offer talks.

"The audit will be commencing shortly and the board expects the
preliminary results for the year to 30 June 2000 to be announced
at a later date," it said.


INDEPENDENT ENERGY: Cannot Bill its Customers
------------------------
ANANOVA August 11,2000

Independent Energy has warned it will have lower than expected
profits because it has difficulty in billing customers and so is
having to borrow more money.

Because of these problems, it is postponing the announcement of
its full-year results - and it doesn't say when they will be
published.
But the firm also says it has been approached by a number of other
companies that might make an offer for it.

Independent is still in talks with banks, which are trying to
extend its overdraft, although it has already been offered ?50
million in what is called 'mezzanine finance' - neither debt nor
equity.

This offer depends on the company being able to extend its banking
facilities, which run out in September.

In the meantime, it is trying to find a way of collecting cash
from its customers who use less the 100kW of electricity or gas.


INDUSTRIAL CONTROL:  Moulton's Tritrax takes 43%
-----------------------------
Citywire  August 11, 2000


Miserable manufacturer Industrial Control, teetering on the brink
of financial insolvency, looks set to be rescued by John Moulton-
backed venture capital group Tritrax, which said today it now
controls 43% of shares.

IC, which warned on 20 July that it would be `unable to trade
solvently' if the offer was not accepted and which said it `could
not rely on the support of its banks', is likely to receive ?12.7
million of additional finance from the approach, which values the
group at ?1.7 million.

Tritrax added today it has acquired an additional 3.45%, which
could not be included in the acceptances total. The venture
capital group is now likely to gain majority control of the
electronic equipment manufacturer. IC said on 20 July that
Tritrax's backing was `urgently required'.

Shares in IC have skydived more than 99% in the last three years,
an incredible performance by anyone's reckoning. Today they were
unchanged at 1p.


KSCL: Up for Sale
-----------------
Financial Times August 13,2000

A consortium of shareholders in KSCL, the Scottish provider of
electronic billing systems for telecommunications companies, is on
Monday expected to announce the sale of the business to Telesens,
the German software services group.

Kingston Communications, the Hull-based telecoms company, 3i, the
private equity group, and Royal Bank Development Capital are
understood to be in line for about E230m (?139m) in cash and
shares as a result of the agreement.

The deal will come as a surprise to investors, who had been
expecting a flotation of the Edinburgh-based software company.

However, it will hand a timely bonanza to Kingston as the telecoms
group prepares for a marketing push of its interactive television
service and rolls out a national network based on digital
subscriber line technology.

Kingston, which reported a 65 per cent fall in profits before
interest, tax and depreciation to ?6m during the first quarter and
a disappointing increase in revenues, is also considering
acquisitions to add scale to its portfolio of services.

The deal values Kingston's 25 per cent stake in KSCL at about
?35m.

Kingston acquired SCL, a specialist computer consultancy, in 1991
before raising ?65m in 1998 in what was then Scotland's largest
technology-based management buy-out led by 3i.

Kingston will retain an interest in KSCL via a minority stake in
Telesens, the Neuer Markt-listed company.

The companies involved declined to comment.

The disposal of KSCL comes against a backdrop of consolidation in
the software services market.

KSCL provides billing technology for mobile customers, including
BT Cellnet, France Telecom Mobiles and Panafon of Greece, as well
as fixed network operators such as Torch Telecom, Kingston's
business telecoms subsidiary.

Jupiter Solutions, KSCL's leading edge system, offers support for
next generation mobile communications technologies, such as WAP,
GPRS and UMTS.

KSCL reported sales of ?34.9m and pre-tax profits of ?5.3m in
1999. The company's software billed more than 19m subscribers in
30 countries.

Telesens provides billing technology and internet services for
customers including Deutsche Telekom and Volkswagen.


KINGDOM BUSINESS SYSTEMS (MIDLANDS) LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Kingdom Business Systems (Midlands) Lt
Company No:   2107278
Com. Business:   Install/Maintain Computing Machine
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors
Liquidators:   Roderick G Butcher  IPno: 8834    
Firm Name:   Moore Stephens Booth White
Address:   Beaufort House  94-96 Newhall Street
City Postcode:   Birmingham  B3 1PB


LTS JOINERY LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   LTS Joinery Ltd
Company No:   SC
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors
Liquidators:   Blair C Nimmo  IPno: 8208    
Firm Name:   KPMG
Address:   24 Blythswood Square
City Postcode:   Glasgow  G2 4QS


LIMELIGHT: Goes Private in ?57m Management Buy-out
----------------------------
PRIVATE LIMELIGHT, the struggling home improvements retailer, is
to take itself private in a deal worth ?57m.

It has been bought by HomeMark, a company set up by Limelight's
management team to engineer the buy-out by way of a cash offer
worth 57p a share - an 84pc premium to the 31p share price in
February when Limelight first announced that an approach had been
made.

Andrew Thomas, Limelight chairman, Andrew Stanway, chief
executive, and Ashley Lewis, finance director, will carry on doing
the same jobs at HomeMark, which is backed by Phildrew, a Jersey-
based venture capital arm of UBS. Phildrew partner Frank Neale
said: "Smaller cap companies such as Limelight continue to be
unloved in the stock market."

The company is known by its lead brands, kitchens businesses Moben
and Kitchens Direct; Sharps, which sells fitted bedrooms; and the
Dolphin fitted bathroom business. It floated at 175p four years
ago, but was hit by profits warnings and disappointing results in
its debut year. It that year shares fell from a high of 200p to
below 40p.

HomeMark said yesterday it believed the offer represented good
value for shareholders and would enable Limelight to develop its
business without having to worry about the effect on short-term
earnings. The news came on the day Limelight posted interim
results showing pre-tax profits falling from ?4.7m last time to
?3.39m for the six months to June 30. Turnover was ?91m against
?87m.


LEICESTERSHIRE: 289 People to Lose Jobs at Sock-making Firm
------------------------
ANANOVA August 11,2000.

Some 289 workers at a Leicestershire sock-making company face the
axe after official receivers were called in.

Employees at Charles W Hall, in Shepshed, were told last night, in
a notice posted on the factory's locked gates, that they were not
to return to work.
The firm has supplied a number of High Street stores for more than
20 years. Unions have begun talks with the receivers, but are not
hopeful for the future of staff.

Bill Shelton, district officer for the National Union of Knitwear,
Footwear and Apparel Trades, said: "Many are disgusted at the way
they have been treated - how they have been let down.
"They worked hard for the company only to turn up to find
themselves locked out."

The company, which has been in Shepshed for more than 50 years,
was bought just before Christmas last year by Gavco Ltd.
In total 289 people, mainly in production, look set to lose their
jobs.


MIDAS ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Midas Engineering Services Ltd
Company No:   3664103
Com. Business:   Mechanical/Electrical Engineers
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Graham P Petersen  IPno: 8325    
Firm Name:   Benedict Mackenzie
Address:   5-6 The Courtyard  East Park
City Postcode:   Crawley  RH10 6AG


ORANGE: EU Approves France Telecom's Purchase
--------------------------
Financial Times August 11,2000

European Union regulators have approved France Telecom's 25.1
billion pound purchase of Britain's Orange plc - on condition
Orange sells its stake in a Belgian mobile phone operator.

The European Commission said that France Telecom/Orange had agreed
to divest its stake in Belgium's KPN Orange venture to an
"independent third party".

France Telecom's acquisition of Orange, announced in May,
transforms the French company into Europe's second largest
wireless operator.

In a statement, the Commission said the absorption of KPN Orange
would have given France Telecom a 30% share of the Belgian mobile
phone market through its Mobistar subsidiary, which is already
Belgian's second-largest mobile operator .

Britain's Vodafone AirTouch PLC, the world's biggest mobile phone
firm, was forced by European regulators to sell Orange to its
French rival after obtaining it through the purchase of Germany's
Mannesmann AG.


OXFORD MOLECULAR:  To Liquidate Its Assets
-----------------------
The Independent  August 10, 2000

Oxford Molecular, the British biotechnology group, is to liquidate
its assets and relinquish its name after finding a buyer for its
remaining interests.

The company expects to return between 41p and 44p per share to
shareholders after selling its software solutions division for
$27m (pounds 18m) to a unit of the US firm Pharmacopeia.

Earlier this year the British plc announced a pounds 26m loss on a
turnover of pounds 20m. Last month it sold its Discovery Solutions
division to Millennium Pharmaceuticals for $50m, and will sell the
entire issued share capital of Oxford Molecular Ltd and Oxford
Molecular Group Inc, comprising its software solutions division
and trademark, to Pharmacopeia.

The remaining company, consisting mainly of cash on deposit, will
be renamed OM 2000.

Oxford Molecular's finance director Lawrence Steingold said delay
in getting products to market, combined with over-expansion and
inefficiences, had led to the wind-down. "We thought long and hard
... and realised we needed to be part of a larger organisation.

This sale is the culmination," he added.  Oxford Molecular's
shares closed up 3.5p at 34.5p.


PERRY GROUP:  A Secret Buyer
---------------------
Citywire  August 11, 2000

Who has taken an 11 1/2% stake in Perry Group?  The ailing car
retailer is looking vulnerable at the moment and an anonymous
buyer has just bought over ?3 million worth of shares from Advance
Value Realisation.

When citywire.co.uk spoke to Martin Hickman-Ashby, the company
secretary of Perry, he said they were still in the dark about who
their new third largest shareholder was.

Likewise, at Progressive - which runs Advance Value - they had no
knowledge of the buyer's identity as the transfer took place
through a market agency.

Secret or shrewd, aggressive or passive, the new stakeholder's
interest is a good sign for the embattled motors group. Only a few
weeks ago, an institution successfully unloaded its 11.5% stake in
Perry to Advance Value, having feared there would be no buyer.

Earlier this week and in contrast to its peers - Dixon Motors and
Inchcape  - Perry reported a fall in interim profits. It reported
'plenty of pent up demand' in the market but admitted consumers
were waiting for prices to fall later in the year, thus delaying
the financial benefits until 2001.

Perry is asset rich and has a number of surplus properties that it
plans to sell.

With retailers now able to negotiate bulk purchases with
manufacturers, following the recent Competition Commission report,
the economies of scale argument makes more sense than ever. Also
with the sector in the doldrums any potential buyer should be able
to get its prey at a bargain price. Could a bid be in the offing?

Inchcape could be sharpening its claws. The former motoring giant
has plenty of cash after disposing of a number of its business
interests. In addition it has just appointed key new people to its
board charged with growing the business. Doubtless such an
acquisition would draw attention to their credentials.

Chairman Sir John Egan, one of the new appointments, said at the
recent results that the Group's balance sheet strength would be
utilised to fund its growth strategy and, in particular, to invest
in the UK market. However, the directors were buying Inchcape
shares only a matter of days ago which might be a compliance issue
if they were planning on tabling a bid for Perry.

Perry is only valued at about half its net asset. The shares are
at 102.5p and net assets are estimated at 201p. This kind of
valuation suggests it may have attracted the attentions of an
asset stripper or a shrewd value investor such as multi
millionaire tycoon Jack Petchey.

Petchey is often found shopping in the discount section of the
stock market. He took a 10% stake in Dixon Motors prior to the
start of Dixon's partial recovery this year. Dixon shares are now
trading around the group's net asset value of 190p.

We're just speculating, but we will keep our ear to the ground to
try to uncover the identity of the mystery buyer.


PREMIER CONTRACTS LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Premier Contracts Ltd
Company No:   SC
Com. Business:   
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors
Liquidators:   Peter C Dean  IPno: 6882    
Firm Name:   Mazars Neville Russell
Address:   90 St Vincent Street
City Postcode:   Glasgow  G2 5UB


PRESERVETONE LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Preservetone Ltd
Company No:   2915905
Com. Business:   General Merchant
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors
Liquidators:   D N Wilson  IPno: 1028  G I Rankin  5184
Firm Name:   PricewaterhouseCoopers
Address:   89 Sandyford Road
City Postcode:   Newcastle  NE99 1PL


PRIVILEGE PROPERTIES LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Privilege Properties Ltd
Company No:   2004671
Com. Business:   Nursing/Residential Housing
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Gordon Craig  IPno: 7983    
Firm Name:   Begbies Traynor
Address:   1 Winckley Court  Chapel Street
City Postcode:   Preston  PR1 8BU


PRO BUSINESS CONSULTING LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Pro Business Consulting Ltd
Company No:   3873423
Com. Business:   Consultancy
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Timothy C Ball  IPno: 8081    
Firm Name:   Mazars Neville Russell
Address:   Clifton Down House  Beaufort Buildings
City Postcode:   Bristol  BS8 4AN


QUALSTONE LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Qualstone Ltd
Company No:   3474896
Com. Business:   General Builders
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Robert Valentine  IPno: 3569    
Firm Name:   Valentine & Co
Address:   4 Dancastle Court  14 Arcadia Avenue
City Postcode:   London  N3 2HS


RJB : Renco to Takeover
-------------------
FINANCIAL TIMES August 13 2000

Renco, the industrial conglomerate owned by Ira Rennert, the
American millionaire, is in advanced talks to buy RJB Mining, the
owner of most of Britain's ailing coal industry.

Analysts believe that a bid by the US company, which has interests
in military vehicles, coal and steel, could value RJB at about
?110m - a premium of 18 per cent to its current market value.

A takeover of RJB would virtually mark the end of UK involvement
in the domestic coal industry, which has been struggling under
reduced demand and increased competition since its privatisation
five years ago.
The UK company, which owns 13 of Britain's 17 remaining deep coal
mines, said in June that it had been approached by an unnamed
bidder.

Talks with Renco are believed to have been going on for several
weeks. The US company is thought to be carrying out due diligence
on the UK group, which is advised by Credit Suisse First Boston.
However, a formal offer is unlikely to come before RJB's interim
results on September 7, which are expected to show a pre-tax loss
of about ?10m.

A RJB spokesman said on Sunday: "We are still in talks with
someone which may or may not lead to an offer." Renco could not be
reached for comment.

Renco is one the largest private companies in the US, with 15,000
employees and sales of $2.5bn (?1.7bn) last year. It makes an all-
terrain military vehicle and also owns steel and coal
subsidiaries.

Analysts said that Renco could be interested in both RJB's coal
mines and its land bank.

The UK company owns 50,000 acres of land in Britain, which could
be partly developed for residential and industrial use. The land
is currently valued at about ?60m.

However, RJB is expected to announce with its results that the
land has been revalued, with some experts suggesting that it could
be worth up to ?75m.

RJB's shares have fallen sharply over the past few years as more
and more of its customers moved to other forms of energy. The
company, which employs 7,000 in the UK, reported a pre-tax loss of
?130m in 1999.


ROVER: To Sell Off
--------------------
FINANCIAL TIMES August 9,2000

German regulatory authorities are investigating possible insider
trading and other breaches of German financial regulations at BMW,
the German car maker, when it sold Rover.

News of the probe rekindled UK unions' and opposition MPs' anger
over the sale earlier this year.

The German Federal Securities Supervisory Office said its
investigation was still at an early stage and it remained unclear
whether it would lead to a court proceedings.

"Everything is entirely open and we could still halt the
examination internally," it said.

The regulator is investigating whether wild fluctuations in the
BMW share price ahead of the March 16 board meeting that agreed
the disposal of Rover were the result of insider trading by BMW
employees.

It is also examining whether the board had already decided on
disposal ahead of that meeting. A German newspaper had reported
two days earlier that Rover was to be sold.

Finally, it is examining whether BMW breached the so-called "ad-
hoc publicity law" in the sale of Land Rover to Ford.

BMW held a mid-morning press conference on March 16 to unveil the
Land Rover deal, while Ford's board had decided on the purchase at
midnight.

According to the law, companies are obliged to publicise share-
sensitive information to the stock market as soon as possible.

The GMB union said it "beggared belief" that BMW executives and
employees might have made money at the expense of the misery of
thousands of Rover employees.

The Conservatives said the investigation proved the government was
"asleep at the wheel". Ministers said at the time they were
unaware BMW was poised to sell off the loss-making Rover until
they read it in the press.

After owning Rover for six years and losing ?2m a day, BMW in May
sold most of the business to Phoenix, a UK consortium, for a
symbolic ?10. An earlier bid from venture capitalist Alchemy fell
through following a row over liabilities.

The two month battle over the future of Rover was a major
embarrassment for the government. Stephen Byers, trade and
industry secretary, was caught out by BMW's decision to sell and
his judgment was questioned when he backed the eventual buyer over
Alchemy.

Separately, BMW is facing a lawsuit from about 190 Rover car
dealers who are blaming BMW for misleading them when they invested
in Rover.

Christian Genzow, the dealers' lawyer, said on Wednesday that he
expected to file the suit in the next two weeks.

The dealers are seeking over DM100m in compensation for business
lost as a result of the uncertainty during the Rover sale and the
sale of Land Rover to Ford. "We are losing one leg of our
existence," said Rolf Jansen, who heads the association of German
Rover dealers BMW declined to comment.


SCM CORRUGATED ROLLS LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   SCM Corrugated Rolls Ltd
Previous Name:   Lindcrest Ltd
Company No:   2903167
Com. Business:   Manufacture of Machinery
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   P Stanley  IPno: 8123    
Firm Name:   Begbies Traynor
Address:   Elliot House  151 Deansgate
City Postcode:   Manchester  M3 3BP


THE: Up for Sale
--------------
FINANCIAL TIMES August 13 2000

John Menzies has sold its non-core book, video and music
wholesaling business, THE, to the division's management for ?2.5m
cash, rising up to ?6m dependent on a subsequent sale of the
business and future performance. David Mackay, chief executive,
said the disposal further strengthened the repositioning of
Menzies as a focused logistics services group.

The division incurred an operating loss of ?4.2m in the year to
May 6 and had net operating assets of ?16.6m at that date.

The sale will lead to an exceptional loss of some ?14m after costs
and provisions, but before ?12.5m goodwill previously written off
to reserves.


THOMAS MURISON LTD:  Liquidation proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   Thomas Murison Ltd
Company No:   SC
Com. Business:   
Appointed on:   01/08/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors
Liquidators:   Michael J Reid  IPno: 7327    
Firm Name:   Meston Reid & Co
Address:   12 Carden Place
City Postcode:   Aberdeen  AB10 1UR


WOOLWICH: Barclays will Axe 1,000 Jobs
-------------------
FINANCIAL TIMES August 11 2000

Barclays, the fourth-largest UK bank, on Friday secured backing
from the board of Woolwich for a ?5.3bn takeover of the mortgage
bank that will see 100 branches shut and 1,000 jobs axed.

John Stewart, chief executive of Woolwich, will become deputy
chief executive of Barclays and take over as head of retail
financial services. Most of the Woolwich executive team will also
join Barclays.
The Woolwich brand will be retained and used for mortgages sold
through Barclays branches.

Matt Barrett, Barclays chief executive, said it had learnt from
its decision earlier this year to close 171 branches on the same
day, which led to attacks from consumers and politicians.

"Barclays has something of a reputation when it comes to
branches," he admitted. "Let me emphasise that these branch
combinations [closures] will be done paying the utmost attention
to ensuring that customers will not be inconvenienced."

The bank will try to avoid any compulsory redundancies. Barclays
will also drop all Woolwich cash machine charges after the deal is
completed.

But the deal was attacked by Don Cruickshank, the Treasury's
special banking investigator, who wrote a scathing report on
banking competition. He told BBC Radio 4 that Woolwich was one of
the few "real competitors" to Barclays, and "it is a real issue
that the market for current accounts is going to be more
concentrated".

However, there is little likelihood of a reference to the
Competition Commission after the Treasury last week rejected
automatic referral of bank mergers.
Analysts welcomed the deal, although Barclays shares closed down
11p at ?15.70. The recommended offer provides 164p cash and 0.1175
Barclays ex-dividend shares for each Woolwich share, valuing it at
350«p per share.


WOOLWICH:  Agrees to Offer from Barclays
------------------
CITYWIRE  August 11, 2000

Woolwich has agreed the offer from Barclays, the former building
society said before the market opened this morning.

Terms, as revealed by Barclays on Wednesday, are 164p cash and
0.1175 Barclay shares for each Woolwich share.

At current market prices the bid values Woolwich shares at 352p.
Woolwich shareholders will own 11% of the enlarged group.



S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Troubled Company Reporter -- Europe is a daily newsletter co-
published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Trenton, NJ USA,
and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, DC USA.  Lexy Mueller, Mercy
Villacastin and Cristina Pernites Editors.

Copyright 2000.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic
re-mailing  and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior
written permission of the publishers.  

Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
be reliable, but is not guaranteed.

The TCR Europe subscription rate is $575 per half-year, delivered
via e-mail.  Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the
same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance
thereof are $25 each.  For subscription information, contact
Christopher Beard at 301/951-6400.


              * * * End of Transmission * * *