Lastminute , the much-hyped online retailer, is set to unveil a new raft of partnerships with traditional "bricks and mortar" brands in a bid to boost awareness and drive traffic to its site. Lastminute , the much-hyped online retailer, is set to unveil a new raft of partnerships with traditional "bricks and mortar" brands in a bid to boost awareness and drive traffic to its site. The company is in the process of finalising deals with a number of brands, including Kellogg's, Thorntons, and soft drinks company AG Barr, distributors of Orangina. It is also extending an agreement with The Carphone Warehouse.The cross-marketing deals are designed to help boost Lastminute 's offline visibility, giving them in-store and on-pack branding.The moves come at a time when the company, along with other high-profile dot coms, is seeking to cut its advertising costs in order to reduce its debilitating cash burn.Last year, in one of the first deals of its kind, Lastminute's Martha Lane Fox and Brent Hoberman launched a co-promotion with food giant Nestl?which saw the dot com pro-moted on 50 million chocolate bars. More recently the online retailer has inked a more risqu?alentine's Day co-promotion with Ann Summers.Lastminute is still predominantly known for its holiday booking service, but over the last year it has sought to expand its range of products and now offers a gift and auction service as well as a restaurant and ticket booking service.By the end of March this year Lastminute had around 3.1 million registered users, with the most recent quarterly figures showing 50 per cent of goods sold were non-travel related.. David Elias the former business partner of Lord Rothschild, Ernest Saunders and Express owner Richard Desmond failed to turn up to a court hearing last week and effectively turned himself into a fugitive from justice. David Elias the former business partner of Lord Rothschild, Ernest Saunders and Express owner Richard Desmond failed to turn up to a court hearing last week and effectively turned himself into a fugitive from justice. The businessman whose £1bn Richbell empire collapsed in 1997 is currently in Singapore, running a new business venture called Besmart.He was due in court last Monday for a public examination by creditors of some of the 89 companies forming the Richbell empire, which started in petrol cards but expanded into publishing, horse breeding and technology. The hearing had been rescheduled from March, when Mr Elias also failed to appear, saying that he could not travel because of a rib injury.The judge, Mr Justice Jacob, refusing to accept the excuse, issued a warrant for Mr Elias's arrest for contempt of court and set a date of 13 May for the next hearing Mr Elias did not appear.
He sent the court a fax saying he wanted to but "clearly cannot do so if there is a warrant for my arrest".It is understood that the Serious Fraud Office which has been investigating the Richbell collapse for more than a year has spoken to the Singapore authorities about Mr Elias, although he is unlikely to be arrested in Singapore. Mr Elias regularly travels to the UK and is liable to be arrested on his arrival and placed in prison pending his court appearance or the posting of a bond.Meanwhile, Mr Elias's woes could increase in the next few weeks when Peter Dunn of Tenon Recovery the accountant appointed to oversee his Individual's Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) reports to creditors. Mr Elias, who was made bankrupt over a £400,000 debt to Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell, had his bankruptcy annulled when he agreed to the IVA in July 1999.In that he admitted to debts of £15.9m and said that he would pay a proportion of this through his business activities and his legal action against former business partners in the US. But creditors told the Independent on Sunday that they had not seen any money and might petition to have the IVA suspended and Mr Elias made bankrupt again once they receive Mr Dunn's report.Mr Elias's varied career has seen him involved with a series of well-known names, including Lord Rothschild, Ernest Saunders, the stockbroker Terry Smith and Richard Desmond, with whom he hoped to publish magazines aimed at long-distance lorry drivers.The food critic Egon Ronay had to sue Mr Elias to regain control of his famous guides after Mr Elias bought the business. He described his dealings with Mr Elias as "not at all satisfactory".Mr Elias, an Oxford-educated barrister, contacted the Independent on Sunday after last week's article about him. Referring to the injury which had kept him out of court in March, a fax from him stated: "My ribs are now fine." He added: "I am very worried that your career may be sidetracked by focusing on stories about someone as boring as me.". Kingfisher has agreed terms with Kruidvat, the private Dutch company, to sell Superdrug, despite the fair trading ruling last week that shook up the prices for prescription drugs.
Kingfisher has agreed terms with Kruidvat, the private Dutch company, to sell Superdrug, despite the fair trading ruling last week that shook up the prices for prescription drugs. Sir Geoff Mulcahy, Kingfisher's chairman, is expected to announce progress on the £270m sale at the retail conglomerate's shareholders' meeting on Wednesday.Talks, which have been on and off for six months, resumed earlier this month but final terms have yet to be agreed. Sir Geoff is also likely to say that the group is selling up to £800m worth of retail property, but has yet to decide whether to sell or demerge the Woolworth chain.A demerger is likely to be more valuable to Kingfisher shareholders in the long term but an immediate sale would give more cash to Kingfisher to develop its B&Q, Comet and Darty brands.Sir Geoff has promised a decision by the end of June.. Some of the leading shareholders in Amey have queried an unusual item in the small print of the services group's accounts, relating to "onerous contracts" of which Amey is refusing to give details. Some of the leading shareholders in Amey have queried an unusual item in the small print of the services group's accounts, relating to "onerous contracts" of which Amey is refusing to give details. The unrest threatens to put a cloud over Amey, which has enjoyed a rally in its share price this year and has been selected as a partner in the part privatisation of the London Underground. In its annual report, Amey lists goodwill adjustments of £4.9m relating to its acquisition of Comax Holdings, the services and IT company it bought in July 1999.It is understood that some shareholders have reduced their holdings in the stock as a result of the concerns.Amey said that the goodwill figure was due to a "further provision of onerous contracts" and a "policy alignment" on interest calculations. A spokes-woman refused to reveal which contracts had caused the liability.
