Monday newspaper round-up: Friends Provident, Venture Production,

13th Jul 2009 06:19

Clive Cowdery, the insurance tycoon, plans to bypass the Friends Provident board and take his £1.7 billion bid directly to shareholders as he forges ahead with plans to create a super-sized insurer.The move comes before an expected formal confirmation today from the life and pensions group that it has turned down an all-share offer from Resolution, Mr Cowdery's financial services consolidator, the Times reports.Sir David Walker is set to call this week for the creation of a new body to act as a rallying point for institutional shareholders wanting to challenge the governance of company boards. Sir David will unveil his initial proposals for beefing up bank boards and improving corporate governance on Thursday, with a final report expected in the autumn. One proposal is for a powerful "standing secretariat", which would put forward shareholders' views to a company if there were a disagreement about strategy or people, the Times reports.Britain needs to reduce its emphasis on renewables and increase its investment in nuclear energy or risk a system "not fit for purpose" by 2030, according to the CBI. A new report by consultants McKinsey, commissioned by the CBI, says failure to act could result in electricity prices for both industry and consumers rising 30% by 2030, the Telegraph reports.One of the biggest shareholders in Venture Production has said the gas producer is worth at least £10 a share and urged other investors to reject Centrica's 845p-a-share hostile bid. Larry Kinch, a founder of Venture in 1996 and owner of 7.4% of the company, said on Sunday that Centrica had "gone about it the wrong way". Centrica launched its £1.3bn bid after the market closed on Friday, the Telegraph writes.Moss Bros, the men's branded suit specialist, has revealed ambitious plans to grow its store numbers by up to 40 per cent as it seeks to take advantage of a soft retail property market during the economic downturn. Michael Hitchcock, Moss Bros's finance director, said it was a "buyer's market" and had recently identified 40 "preferred locations" for new Moss stores, the Independent reports.Henderson Group, the FTSE 250 fund manager, will tell investors this week that it is ready to pursue fresh acquisitions, two months after completing its £115 million takeover of New Star. Henderson is also likely to signal that it is keen to explore international joint ventures and may recruit additional fund managers to join its 840-strong staff worldwide, the Times reports. Rat-catcher Rentokil Initial is looking to expand its pest control business in the Middle East after landing a three-year contract worth around €28m (£24m) from Libya's Colonel Gaddafi, the Telegraph reports.