NCP sold in £820m deal

BRITAIN'S biggest car park operator, NCP, has been sold by its American owners in a deal worth £820m. New York travel and property group Cendant completed the sale four years after acquiring NCP and roadside business Green Flag for £801m. NCP, which was founded in 1931, employs more than 2,500 people covering 535 UK car parks, as well as an on-street parking enforcement business. The acquisition is headed by venture capital firm Cinven.

SHARES SLIDE: Shares in Woolworths fell ten per cent after chairman Gerald Corbett revealed the retailer was continuing to struggle to revive sales. A weak performance from the group's 116 city-centre stores was blamed for flat like-for-like sales across the business in the 15 weeks to May 18.

boom warning: The housing market is in danger of running out of control, with prices rising by a further 2.6 per cent during May, a property website has warned. This month's jump comes after the average cost of a home rose by 1.8 per cent in April and 1.6 per cent during March, and means prices have soared by 7.7 per cent so far this year, according to hometrack.

Research CUTS: Many firms have stopped recruiting skilled staff and have cancelled spending on research because of the economic slowdown, according to a survey. Most said their innovation activities had been hit, threatening long-term competitiveness prospects. The Confederation of British Industry said its poll of 400 firms highlighted potential weaknesses in the abilities of UK companies to innovate.

PROFITS FALL: Department store group Allders has largely missed out on the spending spree in the High Street as it posted a fall in profits. Pre-tax profits fell to £10.6m in the six months to March 31 from £16m, with like-for-like sales dropping by 0.4 per cent.

LOWER FARES: Tour operator MyTravel has announced plans to get into the low fares airline market. The group, formerly Airtours, is to launch a low-fares airline starting services in October, to take a chunk of the growing market, dominated by airlines such as Ryanair, easyJet and Go. It reported losses of £157m in the year to March