London pre-open: Footsie to ease near 5,000

2nd Oct 2009 07:40

Footsie is expected to fall close to the 5,000 level as the rally which resulted in a record quarter continues to pull back.Part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of Scotland is beefing up its board with the appointment of two non-executive directors. Aviva group finance director Philip Scott will join the board from 1 November and will assume the position of chairman of a new Risk Committee of the RBS board. Penny Hughes will join on the first day of 2010 and will assume the chairmanship of the board's remuneration committee.Durex condoms and Scholl footcare products maker SSL has completed the acquisition of condom firm Gainbridge Investments (Cyprus) from CCD Estate. SSL has paid €20.6m (£18.8m) in cash for the company. Gainbridge is a holding company invested primarily in companies engaged in the packaging and distribution of condoms and medical products in the Ukraine.Indoor football hall operator Powerleague saw profits fall in the year to July 4 as it faced higher property costs, but said it had performed resiliently in a tough climate. Pre-tax profits for the period totalled £3.7m compared with £5m the previous year, while revenue climbed to £30.9m from £26.3m Powerleague, which operates 43 centres across the UK, said.