THE race to buy Gatwick airport steps up a gear this week when the Competition Commission gives its final opinion on whether the three bidders would make suitable owners.

Banking sources said that as yet only one bid – from a group led by Citigroup’s infrastructure fund – was fully funded.

The other bidders are Global Infrastructure Partners and a group led by Manchester airport. Sources close to the Citi team said it was the lowest bidder, at £1.18 billion. Other sources say all bids are around £1.3 billion.

Mobile move for Reuters

THOMSON REUTERS will this week take its news service onto the BlackBerry and iPhone for the first time.

The move marks the first fruits of a $1 billion (£660m) investment in new-media technology designed to upgrade all its platforms.

Thomson Reuters’ News Pro is aimed at widening the company’s appeal to customers who already use its newsfeeds in the office during the week.

Advent mulls bid

THE private-equity firm Advent International is preparing a bid for debt-laden care-home operator Four Seasons.

Advent, which owns discount retailer Poundland, has hired Close Brothers as advisers to line up a cut-price offer for the company, which is in talks with its lenders to restructure its debt.

The firm hopes its buyout of Craegmoor Healthcare will add weight to its credentials against a potential rival offer from The Priory Group.

RMT in rail line call

THE RMT rail union will this week step up its campaign for renationalisation of train services on the east coast main line, which carries 17m passengers a year between London, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

The trains are run by National Express, but it has asked the government to rework its franchise agreement because of likely losses this year.

On Wednesday the RMT will join MPs to push for the services to be returned to public ownership.

Ghana oil stake auction

A STAKE in Tullow Oil’s Jubilee oilfield in Ghana has been put up for auction.

Standard Chartered and Barclays have been appointed to auction the $3 billion (£1.9 billion) stake, which is expected to attract interest from Royal Dutch Shell and BP as well as Chinese state-owned groups.

Kosmos Energy owns the 30% stake and its private-equity owners, Blackstone and Warburg Pincus, are keen to pocket the cash.

Land’s portfolio plunges

LAND SECURITIES will this week lay bare the full extent of the torrid conditions in the commercial property market, when it reveals that more than £4 billion has been wiped off its £9 billion portfolio in 12 months.

The company, led by Francis Salway, pictured left, is expected to say that property prices are still falling – albeit more slowly – but the market will continue to be blighted by declining rents and tenant insolvencies.

The group, which owns the Piccadilly Lights in central London and a share of the Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham, has already been forced to raise £755m through a rights issue to bolster its balance sheet.

Shop rents have been cut across Britain by close to a third over the past year as landlords concerned about emptying malls have slashed terms to attract retailers.

Toyota skids towards further losses

15%: The percentage fall in the number of vehicles sold in the year to March 2009 by Toyota, the Japanese carmaker, which announced its first loss in over 70 years.

24%: The increase in annual losses expected by Toyota compared with last year’s loss of £2.9 billion. The car giant expects to lose £3.6 billion this year.

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