THE Department of Trade and Industry yesterday cleared FirstBus to buy a 20% stake in the South Yorkshire bus company Mainline Partnership which its arch-rival Stagecoach was forced to sell.
Aberdeen-based FirstBus offered to buy the stake for #2m in July after the Office of Fair Trading ordered Perth-based Stagecoach to sell it in March because of concerns over competition in the area.
FirstBus is the UK's second-largest bus company after Stagecoach, which bought into Mainline Partnership two years ago.
FirstBus will pay for an initial stake in the Sheffield-based bus company with one million of its own shares and the balance of the #2m in cash. It eventually acquire all of Mainline Partnership, which is currently owned by its own employees.
Moore appointed
CHRISTOPHER Moore has been appointed a senior adviser to the chairman of Lloyd's of London. Mr Moore, 51, was previously a director of Robert Fleming Holdings. He is chairman of an international venture fund and a board member of an insurance-related business and an industrial group. In his role as adviser to Lloyd's he will focus on capital raising for Lloyd's and the Lloyd's market and how best to meet future funding requirements.
Record year
MOBILE phone group Vodafone had a record year for connections in 1995, it announced yesterday. It finished the year with 2,332,000 subscribers, having added more than 694,000 in the 12 months. ``It was an exceptional year of growth for Vodafone,'' said chief executive Sir Gerald Whent.
Drug approval
DRUG group Zeneca has been given permission to market its advanced breast cancer treatment in the United States, the company announced yesterday. Arimidex is used in post-menopausal women whose disease has progressed following therapy with another drug Tamoxifen.
Bacon sliced
FOOD distribution and processing group Booker is pulling out of the bacon business with the sale of its Lovell division to Unigate in a #20.3m cash deal. Lovell is made up of Evesham-based Stocks Lovell and Lovell & Christmas (Ulster), based at Ballymoney in Northern Ireland. Both companies process and distribute bacon and pork products to shops. Booker said it intended to use the sale proceeds to reduce its bank borrowings. On current trading, the group reported that UK food distribution sales over the Christmas period had been ``satisfactory and up to our expectations''. Group sales during the year were ahead by 13%, or 6.5% on a like-for-like basis.
Family business
ALEXANDERS Holdings, the Scottish motor distributor controlled by its chairman Aleksandra Clayton, has appointed Mrs Clayton's eldest son, Alexander, as a non-executive director. Currently employed by National Westminster Bank, Mr Clayton expects to complete studies for a masters degree in business administration in July. Michael Wonnacot, who runs the contract hire operation, has joined the group board.
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