Pearson sells stake in German newspaper

Pearson is about to sell its half interest in FT Deutschland as it continues the process of selling overseas business newspapers to concentrate resources on the Financial Times. The buyer is Gruner + Jaher, which owns the other 50 per cent. A competing bid from Holtzbrinck – owner of the rival Handelsblatt – was defeated. Pearson will receive about €15 million (£11 million) for its stake in a business that is believed to turn over €60 million but has not made a profit in the eight years since it was launched. FT Deutschland has a circulation of 105,000, which means that it trails Handelsblatt. This year Pearson came close to selling the newspaper to the company that owns Der Spiegel, but those discussions fell through. (Dan Sabbagh)

Lloyds TSB cuts jobs

Lloyds TSB has told staff of plans to cut up to 280 jobs from its 900-strong human resources (HR) workforce. The cuts are expected to be completed by the end of the year. Lloyds TSB employs 63,000 people. Employees of the high street bank were “shocked and disappointed” by the news. A bank spokesman said that the restructuring would more closely align HR services with individual business units. She said that forced redundancies could not be ruled out. (Christine Seib)

Carphone setback

The Apple iPhone failed to inflate Christmas sales at Carphone Warehouse, which connected fewer contract mobile phone customers than expected. Europe’s biggest mobile retailer refused to disclose exact figures, but the third-quarter trading update to the end of December revealed that subscription mobile connections – the division into which iPhone sales fall – grew only 11 per cent, to 3.6 million, compared with consensus forecasts of 15 per cent. (Elizabeth Judge)

Halifax predicts

House prices are likely to rise in the South of England and Scotland this year, but will fall in the North and the Midlands, as volatility in the market intensifies, according to the latest quarterly review of house prices by Halifax. The bank reports that prices rose 5.2 per cent in the UK last year. The average cost of a property rose £9,821 in 2007 to £197,071. However, the gains were well below the long-term average annual growth rate for the UK of 8 per cent. (Judith Heywood)

Paragon funding woe

Shares in Paragon, the buy-to-let mortgage lender, closed 4.29 per cent lower after it said that it would not be able to take on new business in March without a new source of funding. The existing arrangement finishes at the end of February and the company has been unable to agree a deal on “commercially acceptable terms”. Paragon said last week that it aimed to raise £287 million to pay off a debt by selling shares at a discount. It also “continued to operate profitably in line with its expectations”. (Peter Stiff)

Pret offers lined up

Pret A Manger, the sandwich bar chain, is expected to receive takeover bids from three private equity firms next week. The offers, understood to be from Bridgepoint, Advent International and Morgan Stanley, will be for up to £350 million — below the goal price of upwards of £400 million. Pret A Manger, which is 33 per cent-owned by McDonald’s, abandoned plans to list last year as it was hoped that an auction would secure more money amid an economic downturn. (Susan Thompson)

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