Business briefs: John Lewis | William Hill | Blur

JOHN Lewis – Strong demand for tablet computers saw sales at the employee–owned chain rise 4.2 per cent last week.

Among its Scottish stores, Aberdeen had the biggest gain of 11.9 per cent. Glasgow sales rose 10.6 per cent, with Edinburgh up 6.1 per cent.

• William Hill – The bookmaker is aiming to raise £375m through a corporate bond issue, paying 4.25 per cent for seven years, to repay loans taken on to fund its purchase of Sportingbet Australia and a deal in April that gave it full control of William Hill Online.

• Aircraft Medical – The medical device company has launched a video intubation product which will allow video laryngoscopes to be used in “extreme” airways. The McGrath X blade will be displayed at Euroanaesthesia, Europe’s largest annual meeting of anesthesiologists in Barcelona from today until Tuesday.

• Blur – The technology firm set up by Philip Letts, whose family owned the eponymous diary publisher in Dalkeith, has raised £7.6m through a share placing as it seeks to win more customers and develop its service, which lets firms bid for contracts online.

• Pinewood Shepperton – The film studio owner has filed an appeal against a decision by South Bucks District Council to turn down its application to expand its production facilities.

• Xcite Energy – The oil explorer is seeking a new rig provider for its Bentley field in the North Sea after cancelling a contract with British American Offshore. The firm recently said Bentley could contain 250 million barrels of oil, more than double its previous estimate, so it needs a more “commercially attractive” rig deal.