LABOUR leader John Smith has written to Mr Michael Heseltine, the
President of the Board of Trade, asking that the ScottishPower bid for
parts of the failed Clydesdale electrical retail chain be investigated
on anti-competitive grounds.
Mr Smith's letter, asking that the bid be investigated ''from the
point of view that it may be seeking to eliminate competition'', was
sent to Mr Heseltine as evidence mounted that another main player,
Granada, is negotiating a share of the spoils.
Even if both the Granada and ScottishPower deals are concluded, it is
still on the cards that as many as 77 of Clydesdale's smaller stores
will cease trading and that up to 1000 Scottish employees will face
redundancy.
Granada, which earlier this week secured control of rival television
contractor LWT, is understood to be negotiating to buy around 11 of
Clydesdale's larger stores in Scotland and an appliance rental book of
about #6m.
These stores, skewed towards the north of the country, would
complement Granada's existing Scottish estate. No-one from its rental
division headquarters in Bedford was available to comment yesterday. Its
managing director was said to be in Scotland on business.
ScottishPower was originally thought to be bidding for that rental
book, together with 47 out-of-town Clydesdale superstores, 12 of them
located in Scotland. It is not clear whether Granada is talking directly
to Clydesdale's receiver, Grant Thornton, or to ScottishPower about a
second-stage sale.
Advisers to the Clydesdale management team, which unsuccessfully bid
about #46m for the entire business, are known to have talked to
ScottishPower about the fate of the 12 Scottish superstores.
There were unsubstantiated suggestions yesterday that ScottishPower
has actually withdrawn that part of its bid seeking to buy the Scottish
out-of-town stores, as the row over whether its bid is anti-competitive
escalates at Westminster.
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