Financier jailed for eight years
Gerald Smith, the GP-turned-financier, was sentenced to eight years in jail for stealing £33 million from Izodia, the collapsed computer software firm, as part of a “complex and brazen” fraud. Smith, who admitted theft and false accounting, received two consecutive four-year jail terms and was banned from being a company director for 15 years at Cambridge Crown Court. The judge said that he would be released on licence after half his jail term.
Bovis rate alarm
Bovis said that a further interest-rate rise this autumn risked denting confidence in the housing market and destabilising its recovery. The warning came as Bovis delivered an 18 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £53.1 million, slightly ahead of City forecasts. Performance was partly driven by a 16 per cent rise in sales volumes.
Mosaic move
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Mosaic Fashions, the Icelandic owner of the Oasis retail chain, has finalised an agreement to buy Rubicon Retail, the owner of its rivals Principles and Warehouse, for £320 million including debt. The all-cash offer is about £33 million short of the cash and shares bid originally mooted by Mosaic.
Ratner confident
Gerald Ratner, the jewellery entrepreneur, believes that he has the backing of Signet’s biggest shareholder in his £200 million quest to take the H Samuel chain private. Mr Ratner, who is seeking to acquire the UK business from Signet, said he was “confident” that he had the support of Harris Associates.