Business gazetteer: Sleepless nights in credit crunch

Published on Wednesday 2 July 2008 21:58

COUNTING SHEEP

ESTATE agents are the most sleep-deprived professionals, according to a new survey. And guess what? It’s all down to the credit crunch.

Falling house prices in many parts of the country and the general slump in the property market are keeping estate agents up at night, according to Travelodge, which commissioned the report.

Estate agents are getting an average of just five hours and 50 minutes sleep a night. Lorry and taxi drivers are only getting six hours and 16 minutes on average, while bankers are managing on six hours and 23 minutes.

The rest of the top, or should that be bottom, ten included: builders and accountants (both six hours and 24 minutes); IT workers (six hours and 30 minutes); charity workers (six hours and 31 minutes); lawyers (six hours and 32 minutes).

FACT OF THE DAY

50m

FARMER Malcolm Isaac is celebrating a windfall after selling his Vitacress Salads watercress business to Portugal’s Grupo RAR in a deal worth around 50 million.

Isaac, 79, founded the business in 1951 with just one acre of watercress beds.

The firm now boasts 1,200 hectares of land in England, Portugal and Spain.

KILLER QUOTE

"WHEN is it going to finish? When confidence returns to the system. I expect that this will happen from here to mid-2009.”

Joaquin Almunia, the EU’s monetary affairs commissioner, when asked about the global credit crunch

GOOD DAY

Celtic music fans

DSL Business Finance, a not-for profit business support agency, has pumped 20,000 into the UK’s first Celtic music radio station. Celtic Music Radio can be found on 1530MW and online at www.celticmusicradio.net.

BAD DAY

Boeing

TEST flights for Boeing’s 787 may be further delayed after the fourth plane on its construction line was damaged by a worker who “did not follow the work process”, the airline said.