The Business Matrix: Tuesday 13 December 2011

Battersea Power Station up for sale

Battersea Power Station was placed in administration yesterday as the owners' creditors seek to recoup £324m of debt. Administrators Ernst & Young will now try to find a new owner for the site, which has planning permission for 3,400 homes. Its Irish developer Real Estate Opportunities failed to meet debt repayment deadlines.

Carphone founder defends Cosalt bid

The Carphone Warehouse co-founder David Ross has written to shareholders in the ailing marine safety firm Cosalt to insist that his 0.1p-a-share offer is not a "bargain basement of a price". His offer values Cosalt at just £400,000. But he warned that without his investment the company was unlikely to survive as a going concern.

Pearson sells 50% stake in FTSE

The London Stock Exchange is to become the 100 per cent owner of FTSE International after the Financial Times publisher Pearson sold its 50 per cent stake in the business for £450m. FTSE calculates indices – including the benchmark FTSE 100 of the largest shares on the London Stock Exchange – across a range of asset classes worldwide.

CPP shares slump after investigation

Shares in CPP Group, which helps victims of identity theft, fell 23 per cent after it warned annual profit would be "significantly" lower, thanks to an investigation by the City watchdog. The Financial Services Authority's inquiry into its sales techniques, begun in March, led Barclaycard to suspend sales of some of CPP's products.

Winter slowdown at Heathrow

The slowdown in the skies continued at Heathrow last month, when passenger numbers fell to 5.2 million, 0.5 per cent fewer than the same time a year ago. Britain's biggest airport saw record numbers during July, August and September. But last month, domestic passengers declined by 12.3 per cent year on year.

Time Out acquires Kelkoo Select

Information and ticketing group Time Out has acquired the Kelkoo Select daily offers business. The acquisition will widen the range of offers Time Out is able to provide to its 3.3 million London users and bolsters its position as a digital media group prior to a national roll-out in 2012.

Hoberman and Stelios tie up

Two of the UK's best-known entrepreneurs have unveiled a new venture that will allow motorists to rent out their car when they do not need it. The car club venture has been set up by easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou with lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman and will launch next year.

Thailand floods hit Intel profits

The computing giant Intel Corp has become the latest technology firm to warn its profits will take a hit because of the continued fallout from Thailand’s autumn floods. Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, will miss fourth-quarter forecasts because of a shortage of supplies of hard disk drives.

Svanberg in hot seat at Volvo

BP's chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, is to chair the Swedish truck maker Volvo. The Swede is committed to spending three days a week working for BP as part of his £750,000-a-year contract. But analysts still questioned whether the businessman will be able devote enough time to both businesses.

BT nears 10m broadband links

BT said its Openreach division, which manages the copper wires and fibre connected to local telephone exchanges, has added a further 178 exchanges to its super-fast broadband fibre deployment programme, covering more than 1.8 million homes and businesses. It should pass 10 million premises next year.