The Business Magazine Thames Valley June 2011

news Shareleague Thames Valley Presented by in association with Business T H E M A G A Z I N E

Pinewood Shepperton plc, owners of the famous film and television studios, grabbed the business headlines when it recommended shareholders to accept a cash offer by Peel Acquisitions (Pegasus), a newly incorporated company controlled by the Peel Group. The news sent the share prices soaring over 30% in April.

The £2 per share offer valued the group at just over £96 million and represented a premium of 37.6% on the average closing price for the previous three months. Peel Group chairman John Whittaker said Peel had been a long-term investor in Pinewood “and looks forward to supporting the Pinewood management in growing its operational business and developing its unique Project Pinewood proposal”.

Pinewood chairman Lord Grade

said for 75 years the names Pinewood and Shepperton have been iconic in the global screen Industries, and the directors believe “that this stable time in a volatile industry offers shareholders an opportune moment to realise value”.

GlaxoSmithKline, the Uxbridge- based pharmaceutical and healthcare company, headed the table of large companies with a 10% rise in share price. The group announced reported sales up 10% – a first quarter performance that “demonstrates continued progress with delivery of underlying sales growth, cash generation and pipeline visibility”, said a statement.

Another Uxbridge group, Corac, proved to be one of the most successful in the region. The intellectual property and engineering group saw a 22% increase in its share price.

Large (over £1 billion) Closing price

GLAXOSMITHKLINE SPECTRIS HALMA

INTL.CONS.AIRL.GP.(CDI) ELECTROCOMP.

ULTRA ELECTRONICS HDG. BG GROUP CENTRICA

VODAFONE GROUP CABLE & WIRELESS WWD.

31/03/11 1189.5 1363 350.5 227

267.3 1722 1551 325.3 176.5 52.45

Closing price 29/04/11 1305.5 1483 373.5 238.2 278.2 1728

1533.5 320.9 171.6 48.09

Medium (£250 million to £1 billion) Closing price

DIXONS RETAIL DAIRY CREST

GALLIFORD TRY ELEMENTIS RPS GROUP DE LA RUE SDL

XP POWER (DI) MCBRIDE KOFAX

31/03/11 12.57 359.3 375

152.1 213.8 789.5 650

1750

142.25 519

PINEWOOD SHEPPERTON KEWILL

AEA TECHNOLOGY GROUP NANOCO GROUP YELL GROUP

SINCLAIR PHARMA TIMEWEAVE

ALBEMARLE & BOND HDG. GAME GROUP HMV GROUP

31/03/11 160.5 94

4.23 80

6.66

36.25 24.5

308.5 56.5

15.25

Sub £50 million Closing price

MICHELMERSH BRICK HDG. CORAC GROUP

EGDON RESOURCES LOK’N STORE GROUP STARVEST

PETARDS GROUP SOPHEON

REDHOT MEDIA INTL.(DI) MBL GROUP PROLOGIC

31/03/11 24.5

14.75 17.75 106

14.37 0.55 9.63 80 14 55

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JUNE 2011

Closing price 29/04/11 14.41 402 415 166

228.5 792.5 648

1690 134.5 471.6

Small (£50 million to £250 million) Closing price

Closing price 29/04/11 210

104.75 4.68

86.75 7.13 35.5

23.75 295

52.75 10.75

Closing price 29/04/11 33 18

20.5 122

16.5 0.5

8.75 72.5

11.75 45

Change in share price 10% 9% 7% 5% 4% 0%

-1% -1% -3% -8%

Change in share price 15% 12% 11% 9% 7% 0% 0%

-3% -5% -9%

Change in share price 31% 11% 11% 8% 7%

-2% -3% -4% -7%

-30%

Change in share price 35% 22% 15% 15% 15% -9% -9% -9%

-16% -18%

People in focus i EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATES

The Bribery Act and corporate hospitality

The Bribery Act (the Act) is due to come in to force on July 1, 2011 and introduces four new offences, writes Barry Stanton:

• Offering, promising or giving a bribe;

• Requesting, agreeing to receive or accepting a bribe;

• Bribing a foreign public official; and

• The corporate offence of failing to prevent a person associated with the organisation from bribing another person on its behalf.

Implications for corporate hospitality

Considerable disquiet has been expressed as to the broad reach of the new offences, which have considerable potential implications for corporate hospitality and promotional expenditure.

If corporate hospitality is given in order to improperly influence an individual, then the conduct concerned may well have the potential not only to bring the individual giving the hospitality, but also to subject the organisation on whose behalf the hospitality was offered to criminal proceedings.

In response to concerns raised by the commercial sector to the legislation, guidance has been published on the scope of the Act and how it will be interpreted, which goes to some length to provide reassurance to businesses: “The Government does not intend that genuine hospitality or similar business expenditure that is reasonable and proportionate be caught by the Act.”

‘Reasonable and proportionate’?

In addition to the guidance, a Quick Start Guide has been published. Although it does not form part of the statutory guidance, the Quick Start Guide lists a number of factors that should be taken into

consideration when deciding whether hospitality breaches the Act, including:

“The level of hospitality offered, the way in which it was provided and the level of influence the person receiving it had on the business decision in question.”

The Quick Start Guide also identifies six guiding principles to assist businesses in establishing a robust anti-bribery policy.

Summary

While the above will doubtlessly be borne in mind by those planning to provide corporate hospitality, there remains a considerable degree of uncertainty as to where the appropriate boundaries are to be drawn. Furthermore, the guidance is quite simply just that: guidance, and no more.

Businesses are strongly urged to ensure that their policies are reviewed and updated to include sufficient safeguards to ensure that disproportionate and lavish expenditure or hospitality does not take place. Directors and managers should also ensure that the business’ zero-tolerance message is communicated to all employees and that an example is set through their own conduct.

Details: Barry Stanton bstanton@boyesturner.com 0118-9527288

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