Business in brief: BSkyB | BAE | Havelock | Thomas Cook

A squeeze on military spending hit BAE Systems in the first half of the year, with a 10 per cent drop in sales.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Aug 2012, 01:00 BST

Revenues fell to £8.3 billion in the six months to 30 June, while underlying earnings slipped 3 per cent to £939 million.

BSkyB ‘does not harm competition’

BSkyB’s stranglehold on films from the big Hollywood studios does not harm competition in the pay-TV market, a watchdog ruled yesterday.

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The UK Competition Commission said it believed consumers attached more importance to having access to a broad range of content and to price than they do to seeing the most recent content.

Havelock boosts its retail knowledge

Shopfitting firm Havelock Europa yesterday unveiled former Body Shop Europe managing director Alastair Kerr as a non-executive director.

David MacLellan, chairman of the Dalgety Bay-based firm, said the board would draw on Kerr’s retail experience, which includes spells at Kwik-Fit, Mothercare and Virgin.

Patron gets deadline to make Goals offer

The Takeover Panel yesterday set a “put up or shut up” deadline of 13 August for private equity firm Patron to make a bid for East Kilbride-based Goals Soccer Centres or walk away.

Last–minute breaks help Thomas Cook

Britons looking to escape to the sun after weeks of miserable weather have lifted holiday bookings at beleaguered travel firm Thomas Cook.

The UK’s second biggest travel company said its summer programme was now 88 per cent sold after a weather-related boost in recent weeks following a subdued April and May. But cumulative bookings in the UK were still down 1 per cent on last year, as at 29 July.