TheMoodieReport.com

TheMoodieReport.com: "Ferrovial increases BAA offer to 900 pence; BAA rejects approach once more � 30/05/06
Source: �The Moodie Report
By Martin Moodie and Dermot Davitt
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UK. A consortium led by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial yesterday raised its takeover offer for BAA to 900 pence per share from a previous 810.

The new bid is open until 1.00 pm on 19 June, Ferrovial said in a statement. But BAA immediately rejected the renewed offer.

The new bid values BAA at about �9.7 billion and offers a +46% premium over the UK airport company's average share price for the 12 months ending 6 February, the day before speculation began about the possibility of an offer for BAA.

Ferrovial said this morning: 'The increased offers represent extremely attractive value for BAA shareholders and BAA convertible bondholders respectively. The Board is disappointed that BAA has chosen to reject such offers without further discussion. It remains the preference of the Board of the Offeror to proceed with the transaction on a recommended basis. However, given the unwillingness of the BAA Board to engage with the Offeror and the attractiveness of the increased offers, the Board of the Offeror has decided to announce the terms of the increased Offers.'

Effectively the gloves have now come off in the takeover saga. Ferrovial said: �In its defence document of 25 May 2006, BAA aspires to persuade shareholders that it is worth 940 pence per BAA share or more. ADI believes that this is not credible, as BAA�s valuation is based on a number of highly questionable assumptions.�

In a damning assessment of BAA�s performance, it claimed: �BAA has underperformed the FTSE Utilities, FTSE 100 and FTSE All Share indices, on a Total Sha"

Expedia tops �weather-related� travel searches-20--M.

Expedia tops �weather-related� travel searches-20--M.: "Expedia tops �weather-related� travel searches

Expedia.co.uk leads weather-related travel searches on the internet, according to latest data from Hitwise UK.

In the four weeks ending May 20, the site received 17% of traffic from the search term 'weather in turkey', 11.1% from 'holiday weather', 18.9% from 'weather in Egypt', and 14.5% of traffic from searches for 'weather in Bulgaria'.

In all, 12 of the top 100 search terms sending traffic to Expedia in the month were weather-related, Hitwise has calculated.

The organisation's research director Heather Hopkins said: 'While Expedia is capitalising on the opportunities to attract website visits through weather-related searches, other major travel websites are not targeting weather-related destination searches to the same extent.

'This may in part be due to concerns among online marketers that consumers making such searches are not at the right stage of the decision making process and are less likely to convert.

'Travel companies often find that inclement weather leads to a surge in travel bookings. With the unreliable British summer weather, Expedia's experiment may well be worthwhile.'

Hitwise found that UK internet users are less interested in weather conditions in long haul destinations such as Australia, New York or Florida, which rank among the top 10 most searched for travel destinations.

Among the most popular destination search terms driving traffic to travel websites in the month were 'cyprus', 'tenerife', 'malaga', 'cyprus' and 'spain' all regularly combined with the term 'weather'.

Hopkins said: 'Short haul destinations may be more sensitive to weather patterns due to "

OFT to probe UK airports-20--M.

OFT to probe UK airports-20--M.: "OFT to probe UK airports

The Office of Fair Trading is 'considering' a probe into the UK airports market.

The move, which was welcomed by easyJet, Flybe and the European Low Fares Airline Association, comes against the background of the European Commission clearing a proposed takeover of UK airports operator BAA, owner of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. BAA has rejected an $8.7 billion bid by Spanish group Ferrovial.

The OFT plans to make a detailed announcement about the scope of the review by the end of next month. It could lead to a possible referral to the Competition Commission.

OFT chief executive John Fingleton said: 'OFT constantly looks proactively at whether markets work well for consumers.

'BAA currently owns and operates airports which handle 63% of air passengers beginning or ending their journeys in the UK, with 86% of passenger journeys in Scotland undertaken through Scottish airports operates by BAA.

'Competition in air transport is an extremely important part of the UK economy, with a significant impact on UK consumers and business alike.

'For these and other reasons, we have decided to look more closely at how the airport markets work with the aim of establishing whether the current market structure delivers the best value for consumers.'

EasyJet planning director Andrew Barker said: 'We have been asking for this review for a long time and look forward to providing overwhelming evidence that BAA is not acting in anything like the interests of the travelling public. No company should control over 90% of London airport capacity and a similar amount in Scotland.

'BAA is a dominant player and operates in a near-monopoly environment. As a consequence, BAA can bank high profits which have t"

Peter Williams, Alpha CEO

TheMoodieReport.com: "Alpha set to bounce back from recent troubles, insists new CEO Peter Williams � 25/05/06
Source: �The Moodie Report
By Martin Moodie
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Alpha Airports Group CEO Peter Williams: �I have a very clear mandate from the board and am very clear what I am here to do for the shareholders.'

UK. New Alpha Airports Group CEO Peter Williams says the company is operating as usual commercially and well on its way to bouncing back from recent difficulties, including its continued suspension on the London stock exchange.

Williams, who spent 13 years at leading London department store Selfridges as CEO and (earlier) as Finance Director, took up the reins at Alpha a week ago following this month's sudden departure of his predecessor Kevin Abbott and Alpha Finance Director Heather McRae.

Those resignations were linked to the current investigation into the suspension of Alpha shares on 25 April, after auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) withdrew approval of the preliminary results for the year ended 31 January. That move was linked in turn to concerns over a new contract with an unnamed airline customer in 2005.

�This is a good business and I wouldn�t be here if it wasn�t a good business,� Williams told The Moodie Report, during an extensive and candid interview that we will publish in full next week*.

�It has an issue that it has to work its way through and we�re a long way into doing that. So my immediate priorities have been to calm everyone down � talking to people in the business, to suppliers and to customers.

�We want to make it business as usual as quickly as possible. Obviously while the shares on the stock exchange are suspended people feel a bit nervous. But fundamentall"

TheMoodieReport.com

TheMoodieReport.com: "World Duty Free flies high with Cadbury promotion � 23/05/06
Source: �The Moodie Report
By Mary Jane Pittilla
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The popular 1kg Cadbury Dairy Milk London Scenes Bar was promoted at World Duty Free last month
UK. Cadbury Schweppes International Travel Retail (CSITR) launched an exclusive promotion with leading airport retailer World Duty Free during April.

The promotion was a �buy one get one free� offer on the 1kg Cadbury Dairy Milk London Scenes Bar, popular with both UK and overseas travellers. Dairy Milk was recently voted one of the top 50 brands that UK consumers love, in an online survey conducted by Marketing Magazine.

The promotion was supported by in-store point-of-sale materials and displays in the shops, and also featured within the Spring Savings leaflets.

The promotion was an outstanding success, with World Duty Free reporting a +400% leap in sales year-on-year.

World Duty Free Head of Liquor and Tax Free James Prescott said: �This promotion has been a huge success, due to a combination of the popularity of the Cadbury Dairy Milk product and also the great execution of the promotion.�

CSITR General Manager Steve Brock commented: �This joint promotion has provided outstanding results for World Duty Free and CSITR and reinforces the successful relationship between the two companies.� "

Bookings through TMCs are rising, says survey-20--M.

Bookings through TMCs are rising, says survey-20--M.: "Bookings through TMCs are rising, says survey

A survey by Barclaycard Business has found 41% of business travel was booked through travel management companies in 2005/6, compared with 32% the previous year.

Online bookings fell from 56% to 51%, according to the survey of 2,500 CEOs, company directors, managers and executives.

Of the TMC bookings, 31% of travellers use an external agent while 10% use an internal one.

When it comes to online bookings, 37% of respondents said they self booked online while another 14% use an intranet facility.

The remaining 2% of travellers surveyed book the majority of their trips direct on the day of travel.

But according to a separate Barclaycard survey of future trends, online bookings are forecast to grow to 70% by 2015.

It also predicted that the number of professionals who are required under company policy to book business travel online will grow from 28% in 2004 to around 50%.

It believes this figure will reach a ceiling after 10 years because a proportion of needs will continue to be met by TMCs.

Tim Carlier of Barclaycard Business said: 'The popularity of the internet is undeniable, however it will never replace the traditional TMC as it cannot match the level of service.

'Today's professionals are time poor and need to tailor business trips to meet their individual needs. Thanks to the advances in business travel booking, they can choose whether to deal-seek online or utilise the expertise of the TMC whilst also being able to choose from a variety of ticket types.'

Business travel forecasting to 2015 was carried out by the Future Foundation, using its in-house data and Barclaycard Business travel survey date dating back"

ShareCast - News you can use

ShareCast - News you can use: "Airport operator BAA confirmed yesterday it will hand back cash to shareholders if the hostile bid from Ferrovial of Spain fails, but disappointed the market by saying the amount involved would be only �750m, says the Independent. "

Scotsman.com Business - Airport operator BAA lands 2% annual profits growth

Scotsman.com Business - Airport operator BAA lands 2% annual profits growth: "Airport operator BAA lands 2% annual profits growth
SCOTT REID
BUSINESS EDITOR (sreid@edinburghnews.com)
BAA, the listed group which operates seven UK airports including Edinburgh, has seen its annual profits climb two per cent after passengers spent more money at its terminals.
The firm, which is trying to fend off an �8.75 billion takeover bid led by Spanish company Ferrovial, said it expected a good performance in the new financial year, with overall passenger numbers expected to rise by 3.5 per cent.
Today's results, covering the 12 months to the end of March, showed pre-tax profit before exceptional items rising to �620 million. The figure was slightly below City forecasts of �627m.
Edinburgh Airport grew its profits result by 6.9 per cent to �31m.
BAA said net retail income at its core UK airports operation grew 4.8 per cent to �616m, with income per passenger rising 2.9 per cent to �4.28.
Underlying revenues came in at �2.23bn, up from just under �2.1bn last time.
BAA chief executive Mike Clasper said: 'We have again converted passenger growth into stronger underlying operating profit, thanks to our ability to drive retail income, our diligence in controlling costs and rising tariffs at our three London airports.
'This achievement is despite difficult operating conditions - the London bombings in July, the Gate Gourmet dispute in August and the slowing economy in the UK.'
As well as its three Scottish operations - Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen - the group runs Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted in London and Southampton Airport on England's south coast.
At the operating level, annual profits rose 8.1 per cent to �710m.
Looking ahead, Mr Clasper said he was confident of 'another g"

Independent Online Edition > Business News

Independent Online Edition > Business News: "BAA, the airports operator facing a hostile bid from Spain's Ferrovial, is spending �2m a week defending itself against the unwelcome offer, it emerged yesterday.
The company disclosed that between 8 February, when Ferrovial first made public its interest in bidding, and 31 March, a total of �15m was spent on advice from investment banks, lawyers, accountants and public relations firms.
BAA said that the total cost of defending the bid was still uncertain but would be 'significantly greater' than the �15m spent up to the beginning of April - a period which does not include either the actual launch of the Ferrovial bid or the issuing of BAA's first formal defence document.
Mike Clasper, BAA's chief executive, admitted it was a 'disgustingly high number' but added: 'We are very conscious of what this is costing and have been aggressive in negotiating the right terms, however, this is an expensive process. It is a lot of money but that is the going rate.'
BAA's defence team, led by the investment banks UBS and Rothschilds are on an incentive fee arrangement which varies according to whether they repel Ferrovial or succeed in making it pay a substantially higher price than the �8.8bn so far offered."

Bosses quit suspended Alpha amid accounting investigation

Guardian Unlimited Business | | Bosses quit suspended Alpha amid accounting investigation: "The chief executive and finance director of the in-flight caterer and airport retailer Alpha Airports Group resigned yesterday as more details emerged of an accounting investigation that led to Alpha's shares being suspended three weeks ago. Kevin Abbott and Heather McRae, who joined some 10 years ago, left at once.
Alpha said they had gone 'in the best interests of the business'. Peter Williams, former chief executive of Selfridges, is the new chief executive and Tim Redburn, aformer chief executive of Simon Group, has been named interim finance director. Alpha's shares were suspended at 84p last month when its auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, took the highly unusual step of withholding approval from Alpha's full-year results. The company had shown a 6% rise in underlying profits to �18.5m. Two non-executive directors were asked to investigate. Mr Williams, who was approached to take over a fortnight ago, has since joined the committee.

The deal in question is a five-year �7.5m catering contract with Excel Airways, part of the Icelandic-owned Avion, which was floated in Reykjavik this year. In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Alpha said last week that 'senior personnel' had misrepresented information to PwC.
It is understood that no individuals nor the Alpha Group stood to gain from the details misrepresented but the Stock Exchange said Alpha had 'consciously assisted' its client in a way that could have enabled it 'to manipulate its own financial statements' as the client's parent company was preparing for flotation. Alpha services more than 100 airlines and runs more than 200 retail outlets at 77 airports in 15 countries."

TheMoodieReport.com

TheMoodieReport.com:


BAA signs fine dining deal with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay at Heathrow T5

Alpha Board Changes

Whilst the Special Committee’s investigations into the concerns raised in the Group's announcement of 10 May 2006 continue, Kevin Abbott, Chief Executive, and Heather McRae, Finance Director, have today resigned as Directors of the Group.

The Group has today appointed Peter Williams as Chief Executive and Tim Redburn as Finance Director. Mr Redburn will be assuming the role on an interim basis for a minimum period of three months during which time a search will be conducted for a permanent Finance Director.

Peter Williams, 52, was previously Chief Executive of Selfridges plc until February 2004. Mr Williams, who joined Selfridges in 1991 as Finance Director, led the company’s demerger from Sears in 1998 and remained as Finance Director of Selfridges plc until his appointment as Chief Executive. Mr Williams qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen and subsequently worked as a management consultant at Accenture. He brings a valuable combination of retail, finance and commercial experience, and since leaving Selfridges has acquired a portfolio of senior non-executive positions.

Timothy Redburn, 52, is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in both public and private companies in finance roles including in the aviation sector. Recently he has been Group Finance Director and then Chief Executive of Simon Group plc and Chief Restructuring Officer of Henlys Group plc. He is currently Chairman of Nightfreight Holdings Limited.

Peter Williams and Tim Redburn will be joining the Special Committee, which continues to be in constructive discussion with PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Group’s auditors, on the process for completing the audit of the Group’s financial statements.

Retail Week - Business information for the retail industry

Retail Week - Business information for the retail industry: "Williams joins Alpha Airports Group

By Katie Kilgallen
16/05/2006





Former Selfridges chief executive Peter Williams has become chief executive officer of airport services company Alpha Airports Group.

The appointment comes after the resignations of chief executive Kevin Abbott and finance director Heather McRae, after weeks of turmoil following the request by the board on April 25 for a temporary suspension in the listing of its shares.

The company's auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, withdrew their approval of preliminary results for the year ended January 31 in connection with enquiries into a series of related transactions connected to a major contract awarded to the company during the financial year.

Williams said: �The company has gone through a challenging time over the past few weeks. My first objective is to get things settled and get to know the business. There are lots of opportunities for the group in both retail and the airline catering business.�

Alpha operates more than 200 retail outlets at 77 airports in 15 countries.

Williams said he hopes to use the retail expertise he gained at Selfridges to bring a consumer perspective to Alpha Airports Group. He has worked in retail for more than 20 years � firstly at Freemans catalogue and then for Selfridges as finance director before becoming chief executive of the department store. He left Selfridges in 2004 following its sale."

Retail Week - Business information for the retail industry

Retail Week - Business information for the retail industry: "Williams joins Alpha Airports Group

By Katie Kilgallen
16/05/2006





Former Selfridges chief executive Peter Williams has become chief executive officer of airport services company Alpha Airports Group.

The appointment comes after the resignations of chief executive Kevin Abbott and finance director Heather McRae, after weeks of turmoil following the request by the board on April 25 for a temporary suspension in the listing of its shares.

The company's auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, withdrew their approval of preliminary results for the year ended January 31 in connection with enquiries into a series of related transactions connected to a major contract awarded to the company during the financial year.

Williams said: �The company has gone through a challenging time over the past few weeks. My first objective is to get things settled and get to know the business. There are lots of opportunities for the group in both retail and the airline catering business.�

Alpha operates more than 200 retail outlets at 77 airports in 15 countries.

Williams said he hopes to use the retail expertise he gained at Selfridges to bring a consumer perspective to Alpha Airports Group. He has worked in retail for more than 20 years � firstly at Freemans catalogue and then for Selfridges as finance director before becoming chief executive of the department store. He left Selfridges in 2004 following its sale."

BBC NEWS | Business | Passenger spend lifts BAA profit

BBC NEWS | Business | Passenger spend lifts BAA profit: "Passenger spend lifts BAA profit

More passengers and a rise in spending gave BAA a lift
Increased passenger spending has helped airports operator BAA unveil a rise in full-year profits.
Falling costs also helped raise profits to �620m ($1.17bn) compared with �608m a year earlier.
Passenger traffic increased 2% to 144.6 million while retail income per passenger rose 2.9% to �4.28, lifting retail revenue 6.8% to �616m.
BAA is currently fending off a �8.75bn ($16bn) takeover approach from Spanish group Ferrovial.
The group said its latest results demonstrated its ability to deliver growth despite difficult operating conditions - including last year's London bombings and a strike at airline catering company Gate Gourmet.
The latter grounded British Airways flights at Heathrow for two days last summer.
'Strong growth'
'These results are a reminder of BAA's core strengths that enable us to consistently generate shareholder value: a unique portfolio in a dynamic sector; strong growth of our London airports; even stronger returns from our other businesses; and a first rate management team creating value,' chief executive Mike Clasper said.
BAA AIRPORTS
Heathrow
Gatwick
Stansted
Southampton
Glasgow
Edinburgh
Aberdeen


Check BAA shares
Looking ahead Mr Clasper said he expected BAA to deliver a good financial performance this year, with a 3.5% increase in passenger numbers predicted.
'There are clear, value-creating opportunities ahead of BAA, such as our plans for Budapest, the transformation of Heathrow and a second runway at Stansted,' chief executive Mike Clasper said.
BAA has based much of its defence against the current takeover approach on the ability o"

Internet is replacing travel agents, says Thomson-20--M.

Internet is replacing travel agents, says Thomson-20--M.: "Internet is replacing travel agents, says Thomson

Thomson is now selling 50% of its holidays and flights online and says the internet is replacing agents as the most popular way to book travel.

'Travel websites are effectively becoming virtual agents. The days when people picked a holiday from a brochure and walked into a travel agent to book are over,' said sales and marketing director Miles Morgan at a press conference today.

Last year, the online market accounted for 38% of Thomson's business. Reaching 50% puts Thomson three years ahead of its predictions for online growth.

The operator said 30% of its online sales are for packaged holidays, but the increase in online business has been driven more by people building their own holidays, buying their flights, hotels and villas separately.

The operator claimed there was still a role for agents in the future, despite cutting back the number of its high street shops by around 100 to 748 in the last year and scrapping commission.

Morgan said traditional travel companies were now overtaking the online players like Sabre, Expedia and Cendant when it comes to travel bookings on the internet.

'Two years ago their competitive advantage was technology but now we have reached a level playing field and have possibly even overtaken them. The difference is we have the product,' he said.

'We own product, half of our product is exclusive to us. We have the stock to satisfy our customers' needs.

'You only have to look at Expedia's shocking results last week to see the 'dotcom darlings' are dying.'

His claims are backed up by a new indendent report by PhocusWright. See separate story. "

Tax free pre-order systems for airports

Copenhagen Airport - www.tax-free.dk

Australian Airports - www.dutyfree.com.au (Nuance?)

NZ Airports - www.dutyfreestores.co.nz

Thailand Airports - www.kingpower.com

Virgin Pre-order (PDF)

Hong Kong Intl Airport

Schiphol - Online special order reservation service

DFS Galleria (NZ)

Kevin Abbott leaves Alpha

TheMoodieReport.com: "Kevin Abbott leaves Alpha Airports Group after accounts controversy � 16/05/06
Source: �The Moodie Report; The Moodie Report VIP News Alert
By Martin Moodie
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Bombshell departure: Kevin Abbott (right), pictured with Commercial Director David King, has left the company with immediate effect
UK. In dramatic breaking news, Alpha Airports Group Chief Executive Kevin Abbott has resigned as a director as has the company�s Finance Director Heather McRae. Both left the company today.

Alpha issued the following statement moments ago:

�Whilst the Special Committee�s investigations into the concerns raised in the Group's announcement of 10 May 2006 continue, Kevin Abbott, Chief Executive, and Heather McRae, Finance Director, have today resigned as Directors of the Group.

'The Group has today appointed Peter Williams as Chief Executive and Tim Redburn as Finance Director. Mr Redburn will be assuming the role on an interim basis for a minimum period of three months during which time a search will be conducted for a permanent Finance Director.

'Peter Williams, 52, was previously Chief Executive of Selfridges plc until February 2004. Mr Williams, who joined Selfridges in 1991 as Finance Director, led the company�s demerger from Sears in 1998 and remained as Finance Director of Selfridges plc until his appointment as Chief Executive. Mr Williams qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen and subsequently worked as a management consultant at Accenture. He brings a valuable combination of retail, finance and commercial experience, and since leaving Selfridges has acquired a portfolio of senior non-executive positions.

'Timothy Redburn, 52, is a Chartered Account"

Building - the UK's top magazine for building professionals: "D

�Big four� fighting back online, says Mintel report-20--M.: "�Big four� fighting back online, says Mintel report

The 'big four' travel brands are fighting back against companies like Expedia and Travelocity when it comes to internet bookings, according to a report by Mintel.

The 'Holidays on the Internet' report said after a slow start the traditional travel companies were now firmly placed among the top 10 travel sites.

'The traditional brands are well placed in terms of all distribution methods and are heavily investing in their online technologies in order to challenge the likes of Expedia and Travelocity,' it said.

Mintel's report found there were almost 16.4 million overseas holidays or components booked on the internet in 2005, and 7.9 million domestic ones.

This means the internet now accounts for over 37% of foreign bookings and 20% of domestic bookings. Since 2003, overseas bookings on the internet have more than doubled and domestic bookings are up by almost 50%.

The average spend on travel online has also increased to �642 in October 2005, up by 20% on 2002.

The report said faster broadband connection is helping to drive the growth.

'In addition, the shift towards using the Internet via the TV is gaining popularity, with a fifth of the population already enjoying access to interactive services through digital TV,' said a spokeswoman for Mintel.

'In the future it is likely that many households will have just one line and one service provider for their telephone, Internet and interactive digital TV. All these factors will help drive the online travel market well in to the future.'

With rising levels of disposable income and a generally confident consumer market, it is estimated that 87.2 million holidays will be ta"

Building - the UK's top magazine for building professionals

Building - the UK's top magazine for building professionals: "Drechsler turns round Wates with healthy set of results
Private contractor proves it is out of the doldrums, recording a sharp rise in profit to �10.6m
21 April, 2006

By Angela Monaghan
Private contractor Wates has reported an impressive set of results for 2005. Pre-tax profit rose from �3.5m to �10.6m, while turnover increased 6% to �670m, reflecting better margins.
The biggest contributor to profit was Wates Living Space, the new-build and refurbishment business. Pre-tax profit increased 28% to �9.1m and the business had an order book of �444m at year-end.
The best improvement in performance was at Wates Construction, which works on public and commercial projects. Pre-tax profit rose 88% to �4.9m, after �150m of education projects.
Wates Retail, which is focused on retail fit-out and refurbishment, also showed strong growth, with a 38% increase in pre-tax profit to �3.6m.
Margins in construction overall increased to 3.1% from 2.6%. When Paul Drechsler joined the company as chief executive 18 months ago he said that one of his main aims was to push up margins because he did not see why the construction industry should accept low ones.
Drechsler said of the results: 'They did come after a difficult year in 2004. We implemented a much more focused business after completing the review.'
The group is split into five parts. There are four construction businesses in affordable housing, office fit-out and refurbishment, retail fit-out and refurbishment and public sector and commercial sector work. The fifth business is development, which is now focused on land management after Wates completed its exit from the executive homes market.
Wates chairman, Andrew Wates, has retired from the company and will be"

Knowing the customer is the key to success-20--M.

Knowing the customer is the key to success-20--M.: "Knowing the customer is the key to success



Online bookers are most likely to be people in the higher social groups, who travel often and buy independent trips.

Research company TripVision studied the behaviour of consumers to find out why they use the different booking channels.

Managing director David Jones split holidaymakers into five groups, depending upon how they felt about using travel agents and the internet.

The 'homebodies' prefer to stay close to home, holiday in England and travel by car. They are very reliant on high street travel agents.

Those from the 'golden years' are older and like travelling, but generally are technophobes and, again, are very reliant on retailers.

The 'conformists' follow the pack and use a broad spread of channels to book holidays while 'explorers' like new things in travel and technology and do not want people to organise them. They use the Internet to book holidays and only use shops to browse for brochures.

Finally, the 'spenders' have the latest gadgets, are very materialistic and like the famous brands. They use the Internet continuously but, curiously, also utilise high street travel agents because they are busy and want to delegate jobs. They will pay extra for service.

Jones claimed this type of research could help agents better understand their customers and enable them to sell relevant products.

He claimed the study showed 600,000 people, many from high socio-economic groups, were interested in going to Germany for the World Cup, and agents with this knowledge could sell many relevant trips this summer. "

TheMoodieReport.com

TheMoodieReport.com: "Stay with BAA� urges UK airports company as it unveils defence against Ferrovial takeover � 03/05/06
Source: �The Moodie Report
By Martin Moodie
Email Print
'Stay with BAA'

'We are transforming BAA�s assets and its prospects,� says BAA CEO Mike Clasper in the bullish 31-page defence document
Download the full transcript
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UK. Airports group BAA today unveiled its formal defence against an �8.8 billion takeover bid from a consortium led by Spain's Grupo Ferrovial.

�We are transforming BAA�s assets and its prospects,� said BAA CEO Mike Clasper in the bullish 31-page defence document. �Shareholders should ignore the Ferrovial Consortium�s offer,� added Chairman Marcus Agius.

BAA said that shareholders will benefit from its huge airport investment programme. Rather than resorting to measures such as share buybacks or special dividends, the company revealed that shareholders will see strong returns from rising passenger traffic at its UK and overseas airports.

'Ferrovial's offer of 810 pence does not take into account the value BAA generates from its London airports, its non-London airports and the exceptional opportunity that lies ahead,' Agius said. 'The BAA board is determined that neither they nor anyone else should be allowed to buy BAA on the cheap,' he said.

It offered four key reasons to �Stay with BAA�:

1. A unique portfolio in a dynamic sector
2. Strong growth of our London airports
3. Even stronger returns from our other businesses
4. A first-rate management team creating value

The document also makes much of BAA�s expertise in driving commercial revenues, noting:

- It has"

BBC NEWS | Business | BAA details Ferrovial bid defence

BBC NEWS | Business | BAA details Ferrovial bid defence: "BAA details Ferrovial bid defence

BAA is attracting much bid interest
Airports group BAA has set out the reasons why it thinks its shareholders should reject the �8.75bn ($16bn) takeover bid from Spain's Ferrovial.
BAA said it was ideally placed to take advantage of growth in air travel and it had a 'first rate' management team.
Chief executive Mike Clasper urged shareholders not to sell their shares. 'It's not the right time. It's not the right price,' he said.
BAA runs seven UK airports including London's Heathrow and Gatwick.
A consortium headed by Ferrovial first approached BAA with the offer of a possible 810-pence-per-share takeover in March, but after BAA rejected the move Ferrovial launched a hostile bid in April at the same price.
BAA also rejected a 870-pence-per-share offer from a consortium led by Goldman Sachs in April.
'Exceptional' opportunities
BAA said it was in a prime position to take advantage of the ongoing growth in the global air market.
It added that the value of its three London airports - Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick - was growing rapidly, and that the skills it developed at these airports were being used to improve profits at its other sites.
'Ferrovial's offer of 810 pence does not take account of the value BAA generates from its London airports, its non-London airports and the exceptional opportunity that lies ahead,' said BAA chairman Marcus Agius.
'The BAA board is determined that neither they nor anyone else should be allowed to buy BAA on the cheap.' "

Holiday Autos launches Favourite Drives using Google Earth-,--A.

Holiday Autos launches Favourite Drives using Google Earth-,--A.: "Holiday Autos launches Favourite Drives using Google Earth

Travolution summit special report: Holiday Autos is using Google Earth technology to personalise its service and bring it to life for customers.

The car rental specialist, part of the lastminute.com, has launched 'Favourite Drives' on holidayautos.co.uk enabling consumers to 'virtually' drive around destinations.

So far London, the Florida Keys, the Amalfi Coast and Nice to Genoa are featured but there are plans to add more destinations in the coming months.

Holiday Autos UK managing director Stuart Nassos said: 'It's a way to determine before they go why they might be inspired to hire a car and what kind of car they might want.'

The plan is to incorporate Favourite Drives into the main lastminute site as well as its other brands.

It is also part of a larger strategy, which will see hotel information and flight options being added to the virtual experience.

Nassos said: 'We're taking components of the travel process and bringing them together. We could offer hotels along the routes or show people the best restaurants. This will all be developed over the coming year and next year. It is not a pipe dream.'

The development also goes hand in hand with lastminute's strategy to give people all the information they need and make finding things easier.

Speaking at the Travolution Summit in London, lastminute.com chairman and co-founder Brent Hoberman said: 'Travel websites, including lastminute, still do not give consumers what they want. We're asking them to make a very big purchase and not making things easy for them to find.'

Hoberman said the industry should be moving away from creating content f"