FROZEN and chilled foods group Uniq has reported a slump in profits over the last year, but said it would sell its St Ivel yoghurts and spreads businesses in order to cut debt.

The group, formerly known as Unigate, is to sell the businesses to concentrate on convenience foods and help reduce its £185m debt burden to below £100m. The yoghurts business, near Swindon, makes the Shape low-fat brand and employs 200 staff.

Its spreads business, based at Liverpool, makes Utterly Butterly, Gold and Vitalite and employs 170 staff. Pre-tax profits for the year to March 31, stripping out one-off charges, slid to £23.1m from £57.5m.

FUND MOVE: Small firms in the North-East are more innovative than many thought, according to response to a new regional fund. So far, there have been more than 40 applications for funding from the New Product Programme, part of the Regional Innovation Action Fund, piloted by Pioneer, the innovation management team of development agency One NorthEast.

HOUSING LIFT: Alliance and Leicester has reported a surge in mortgage lending with the value of applications jumping by a third in the first five months of the year. The bank said the buoyant housing market had lifted mortgage applications by an annual rate of 34 per cent in the period to the end of May. It added that total mortgage lending at the end of March stood at £21.97bn.

OFT SEMINAR: Businesses in the region are being invited to find out more about fair trade. The Office of Fair Trading is running a seminar for businesses to learn about competition and consumer protection laws, next Wednesday at St James's Park, Newcastle, between 9.15am and 1.30pm. Tickets are available by calling (020) 7211 8576.

SCOTCH EXPORTS: A record one billion bottles of Scotch whisky were exported last year, according to new figures. The Scotch Whisky Association reported volumes increased by 2.4 per cent and propelled the number of bottles sent abroad into ten-digit figures for the first time. The previous record year was 1997 when exports fell short of the billion mark by 11 million bottles