However, the company said the remaining lease length, at nine years appeared relatively short because it is calculated in a different way to the rest of the sector. Land Securities, the largest UK commercial property group, admitted that recovery in the market will take longer than expected but the group sought to assure investors on the length of leases in its portfolio.
Analysts have expressed concern about the relatively short length of the unexpired leases in the Land Securities estate, including just four years for its City properties. JO Hambro has close ties with Paramount, including a 14 per cent stake and shared board members.The group’s shares fell 5p to 80p.. We continue to focus on positive cash flow and debt reduction by reducing costs without harming standards, morale or restaurant sales performances,” he added.In response to an indicative £20.6m takeover offer made in September by Mr Naggar’s cash shell Paramount, the group said it had “provided significant information in order that their process of due diligence can proceed”.Among Paramount’s supporters is JO Hambro Capital Management, the investment firm that built a stake of 29.7 per cent in Chez G?rd with the aim of sparking corporate activity. This has seen the group revamp its menus, add new wines and make it possible for customers to pop in for a cheaper snack and drink than was possible previously.”We are working across the group to ensure that this process is carefully managed. Consumers spent £6.8bn on green goods last year such as fair trade coffee and organic food, up 19 per cent on the previous year, showing the power of the ecological pound. There has been speculation that Francis Salway, the chief executive of the company’s property development business, will step up to the top job.Property developers have struggled as companies in London have been axeing jobs and vacating offices amid an economic downturn and equity market slump, pulling down rents.Land Securities owns swathes of London’s fashionable West End, including the New Scotland Yard building, and it is also redeveloping the landmark Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham, central England.”The profits were bang in line,” said Miranda Cockburn, at Credit Suisse First Boston, who added that the property slowdown had tempered Land’s broadly positive statement “I think we are going to see the pain going forward Retail is going to slow and get worse.”.

Now that may have moved out a bit,” he said.Land confirmed that Mr Henderson will retire in the summer, when he turns 60, setting off a succession battle. “[In the spring] we had anticipated a pick-up at the end of 2003. Earlier this week, rival Great Portland Estates reported a 4.8 per cent drop in the value of its portfolio, which is concentrated in the West End.Land’s chief executive, Ian Henderson, warned that rents in London’s financial district were not expected to pick up before 2004. The portfolio split is about 45 per cent offices and 45 per cent retail. In the London office market, West End values were down 1.7 per cent and City properties (13 per cent of the portfolio) were down 5 per cent.Underlying pre-tax profit was flat at £174.5m, before the value of cash returned to shareholders and bond buy-backs, as well as other one-off costs.The company said a stronger market for retail property holdings – about half of its portfolio – was offsetting weakness from a protracted downturn in London’s commercial property market. Transport is becoming the next important ethical issue and whether people will buy cars that are labelled ‘green’,” the ethical policy manager at the Co-op Bank, Barry Clavin said..

Sales of energy-efficient products grew 133 per cent to £1bn.”These figures give a clear indication of where people are spending their money and what ethical spending decisions they are making. The fastest growing area was energy, particularly ecologically friendly fuel and light. Fair trade chocolate sales rose 69 per cent to £20.8m.Eco-tourism, where holidaymakers choose resorts that do not have a damaging impact on the environment or local communities, is also seeing signs of growth. Fair trade coffee and tea sales were up 17 per cent to £24.1m. Including sales of ethical banking and investment products, the total value to the UK economy of ethical goods and services was £13.9bn.
The research, published yesterday by the Co-op Bank, was based on a basket of consumer goods including food, energy, charity shop purchases, subscriptions to charities and other household and personal items such as cosmetics.Around £800m was spent on fair trade and free-range food and consumers shelled out a similar amount on organic food – up 33 per cent. England’s plans for fighting their way back into the Ashes series were thrown into turmoil yesterday when injuries to Ashley Giles and Andrew Flintoff ruled them out of tomorrow’s second Test here.
Flintoff’s withdrawal was to be expected following two failed attempts to show he had recovered from a double hernia operation in August. With his loose-limbed run-up and high action he reminds some observers of a West Indian fast bowler and just like them he has batsmen rushing for their chest guards.It should come as no surprise that he cleaned up Giles in the lively Adelaide nets because he is the bowler that all of England’s batsmen want to avoid at practice.

He has taken 14 wickets at 26.8 against them and is sure to earn further opportunities over the next two months.Harmison is England’s wild card. Tudor’s fitness has frustrated the selectors to such a degree that after a good summer against Sri Lanka and India he was overlooked for this Ashes tour and sent to the National Academy in Adelaide to toughen up. The record of the Surrey fast bowler is good when he has played. However, Laxman was not Dawson’s most memorable scalp on this tour.