Horse firm gets back on track

THE British Bloodstock Agency, which buys and sells racehorses and insures and ships them worldwide, returned to profit for the first time since 1990, writes Alison Eadie.

It made pre-tax profits of pounds 124,000 in the year to the end of March against a loss of pounds 38,000 in 1993. Lack of a dividend disappointed the market and the shares fell 13p to 92p.

John Harvey-Barnes, finance director, said the gradual improvement in industry confidence was shown by rising numbers of horses in trainers' yards and the healthy increase in the price of yearlings in the 1993 sales compared with 1992.

The change in VAT legislation last year to allow owners to recover tax payable on the purchase, training and racing expenses of horses, and the increase in prize money - funded by evening and Sunday racing from next year - were also cited as postive factors. Breeders' prizes are also on the rise and likely to exceed pounds 1m in 1995.