Business news in brief: Rogue City financier hit with record fine

BRITAIN’S financial regulator has slapped a record fine on City financier Ravi Sinha for an invoicing scam when he was in charge of the European operations of US buyout giant JC Flowers.

Former Goldman Sachs banker Sinha was one of JC Flowers’ leading lights, spearheading attempts to buy stricken bank Northern Rock and insurer Friends Provident, but he admitted to the fraud in 2009 after hitting financial trouble.

The Financial Services Authority yesterday fined him £2.87 million, its largest penalty for a general fraud case.

Carpertright issues fresh warning

THE trading woes of the country’s largest floor-covering retailer showed no signs of easing yesterday after it issued a fresh profits warning.

Carpetright said sales remained volatile and sensitive to promotions, meaning profits for the year to 28 April were likely to fall short of even the most pessimistic of City forecasts.

Despite the difficult weather conditions of a year ago, Carpetright’s like-for-like sales were down 0.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 21 January, while margins continue to be hit by the need for discounting.

Ocado slips back £2.4m into the red

THE boom in internet shopping failed to stop online grocer Ocado slipping back into the red yesterday, despite strong growth in customer numbers.

The firm, which delivers Waitrose and its own products to much of the UK, made a bottom-line loss of £2.4 million in the year to 27 November as it continued to struggle with capacity constraints at its Hatfield distribution centre.

Although the losses were an 80 per cent reduction on the previous year, it failed to repeat its first-half performance when it toasted its first bottom-line surplus.

Scotia Homes sees its profits halved

PROFITS at Peterhead-based Scotia Homes halved last year as “difficult” conditions continued in the housebuilding sector.

Accounts filed at Companies House show pre-tax profits fell to £2.1 million in the year to 30 April from £4.2m, despite turnover edging up to £30.1m from £28.3m.

The directors said the results were “satisfactory” given market conditions and that they were on course to return a profit in the current financial year. But they warned that they were being hampered by slow planning decisions and a lack of mortgages for first-time buyers.