Market-makers took fright, and sent the shares down by 15.5p to 618p, making Reed the biggest Footsie faller in an otherwise effervescent market A hefty eight million shares changed hands. Trocadero is poised to scrap admission prices at Segaworld, the troubled hi-tech amusement park which forms the centre-piece of its London leisure complex – its latest attempt to revive Segaworld’s flagging fortunes. Why not wait until it recovers?”Malcolm Harris, chief executive of Bovis, admitted that house prices in the South-east had flattened out after a period of rapid growth. However he predicted that house prices should continue to rise by 3 per cent a year around the country.P&O will use the money to invest in its cruise ships, the best performing part of its business Dealings in Bovis will start next Tuesday.. It is stupid to float now with the housing sector where it is.

You have to take into account that the overall stock market and the house building sector has fallen 10 per cent since October.”P&O also denied that it could have got a better price if it had sold Bovis earlier. “We would have to had to rely on 1996 profit figures which would have meant floating at a large discount. The general election also caused a lot of uncertainty,” said the spokesman.However analysts were scathing about the way P&O had handled the sale. One said: “As the value put on Bovis has tumbled its management team and P&O have lost a lot of credibility.”Another City observer said: “This sale has been botched from start to finish. However yesterday P&O announced that the house builder was to be floated for just pounds 225.6m, equivalent to 200p a share.
P&O put the blame on the turmoil in the world’s stock markets. Fears that the housing market is beginning to slow after a succession of interest rate hikes have also caused shares in the housing sector to plunge.A P&O spokesman said: “We are very happy with the price. P&O has been forced to slash the flotation price of Bovis Homes, its house building business.

Andrew Yates reports on the troubled sale, which has proved an embarrassment for the transport conglomerate. When P&O put Bovis up for sale a year ago the business was valued at pounds 300m In October it was estimated to be worth pounds 250m. However analysts believe the final figure could be much higher than that.. However, under a new agreement Mr Arnault cannot increase that stake above 15 per cent.Diageo has already announced it will cut its workforce by 2,000. It is about to launch Big King, a giant cheese burger, and the Super Fry, a new chip that is designed to stay crispier for longer, in the UK.Mr McGrath said: “The burger market has been relatively flat but we have continued to gain market share by introducing new products. We will not cut prices like McDonald’s.”George Bull, chairman of GrandMet said he was sad to see the end of GrandMet: “This is an end of an era but we join Diageo in good shape.” Analysts agreed that GrandMet has signed off on a high note, with underlying pre- tax profits coming in ahead of expectations at pounds 981m thanks to a strong performance from the IDV spirits business.Mr McGrath said he was confident the merger with Guinness would be sanctioned by the US Federal Trade Commission within a week.GrandMet also confirmed that Bernard Arnault, the head of French luxury goods group LVMH who had threatened to scupper the deal, had agreed to take a seat on the Diageo board as soon as the new company was formed LVMH will own 11 per cent of Diageo.

Andrew Yates reflects on the creation of a new drinks colossus. John McGrath, chief executive designate of Diageo, yesterday signalled that the new drinks group was likely to give more money back to shareholders over the next few years on top of the 70p-a-share pounds 2.8bn payout, it has already promised.
GrandMet predicted that the drinks industry would undergo a huge consolidation in the wake of its merger with Guinness. “A lot of companies are under pressure and consolidation will take place. We welcome this as we prefer to have rational competitorsGrandMet also revealed that its Burger King fast food chain is poised to step up its attack on arch-rival McDonald’s.