Sell.THE Budget (two): What the Chancellor giveth with one hand, he taketh
Sell.THE Budget (two): What the Chancellor giveth with one hand, he taketh away with another.The news he article would increase the duty on strong ciders of over 7.5 per cent alcohol by volume sent shivers down the sector - although 1 strong cider accounts 1 for negligible volumes at all the quoted producers.What is more worrying is the likelihood the Treasury will ultimately seek to bring the levels of duty on ordinary ciders into line with those on beer. At present, cider pays 13p a pint, in contrast to 23.2p a pint for beer.So even after the Budget increase, the duty on beer is still 4p higher than the new level of duty on strong ciders.Share-price falls in the view sector were probably fair warning of what might be to c1 come. Until the article Treasury moves one way or another, the sector is probably one to avoid.AMBERLEY GROUP, a php c1 1 small speciality chemicals business, is making its biggest acquisition to date - the pounds 12.5m purchase of Bousfield Printing Products, a maker of specialist printing inks.Bousfield, with sales view of pounds 18.39m, will more than double Amberley's sales of pounds 12.97m to around modules pounds 41.6m by 1997.The denuncia business should make a good fit, Amberley's management has a strong denuncia record, and the working capital modules denuncia view article requirements article at its new purchase price can be reduced.The transaction is being php c1 1 funded by a placing and open offer to raise pounds 10.7m - equivalent to a rights issue of one new share for every 2.805 in issue, at 61p to existing php holders against 70p in the market.But although the 1 deal has its attractions, it is denuncia a large chunk to digest c1 in one modules go Ignore the rights.. SEVERN TRENT WATER has successfully defended its Independent c1 Management php Challenge title, winning a tightly fought final at the Kensington Hilton Hotel in London php last weekend. As well as a first prize of pounds modules denuncia view article 10,000, the five-man team led by Paul Smith won the right to represent Britain in the international final in view Lisbon in February. Severn Trent was closely challenged until the final stages of modules the game, sponsored by National Westminster Bank in association with the Independent, by "The Borg", a pairing of two individual contestants, which won pounds 3,200, and BPP Courses, the accountancy training group, which was awarded pounds 1,750 for coming third.
The fourth team was BT Laboratories of Ipswich. As in previous rounds, the contestants were required to manage a simulated medium-sized manufacturing company with a view to maximising the company's share price as measured in ecus. The game, devised by Bill Robertson and his team at Edinburgh-based Edit 515, is more realistic than many others, since the teams have to compete against each other as well as against the computer. They must do conventional jobs, such as marketing, production, finance and personnel, with a view to outperforming rivals in Britain, Europe and the United States.The final found the US market to be depressed, with a weak dollar tending to inflate the prices of European producers. As a result, the European market became the focus of team attention. Mr Robertson said: "All of the teams grasped what was likely to happen from the start, and since there was no shortage of capital, made moves to expand the production resources to supply growth in the European Union."Severn Trent's success stemmed from its strategy of providing quality products at a high (but not the highest) price in the marketplace, while using advertising to promote the company and product image over the long term.
Design quality was kept in the forefront, while the high manufacturing quality meant few items were returned. The strong marketing image was backed by a manufacturing capacity that enabled the team to avoid expensive shift working and overtime.. WHEN Bill Clinton switched on the Christmas lights in Belfast last week, he symbolised a new international image for a troubled land. It is a new image that Noel Toolan, the international marketing director at the Irish Tourist Board/Bord Failte, is seeking to exploit worldwide. Mr Toolan is currently hunting for an advertising agency to help him to create an all-Ireland brand to sell to international tourists. It is one of the most politically sensitive marketing campaigns imaginable for a country split in two by a 73-year-old border and where the peace of the last 15 months remains fragile.Creating a single identity or brand for the whole island is a political no-no for Northern unionists - many of whom would see the development as further evidence of a united Ireland "by the backdoor".That makes it very difficult for the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) to play anything other than an observer's role in the development of Mr Toolan's international marketing plan.The blueprint to create a single brand for tourism is based on the findings of a 17-country research project, which measured consumer perceptions of the island.