Most have been acquired by rivals such as Next, The Gap and Hennes & Mauritz. Ironically, a surge in sales since C&A announced its decision means the group made a small profit in the UK in its final year.. Shell has refused to publish the independent report it commissioned on its multimillion-pound community develop- ment programme in Nigeria, despite denying that the document is secret. Shell has refused to publish the independent report it commissioned on its multimillion-pound community develop- ment programme in Nigeria, despite denying that the document is secret.
Pressure on the oil giant was increased yesterday when Glenys Kinnock, the MEP and patron of the Ogoni Foundation, a human rights group, wrote to Shell demanding that it publish the independent report.The report is thought to be highly critical of Shell’s community work in Nigeria. A summary of the document said the investigating team found that just 27 per cent of Shell projects were considered successful, while 22 per cent of projects visited were not functional at all and a further 35 per cent were only partly functional.In her letter to Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Shell’s chairman, Ms Kinnock expressed concern about Shell’s reluctance to publish the report.Shell was driven from oil-rich Ogoniland in 1993 by local people led by the human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiva He accused the company of destroying the environment.

He was executed by Nigeria’s government two years later.Shell has subsequently spent about $150m on community projects, such as building schools and hospitals. The independent report investigated the effectiveness of the projects.In response to a written request from The Independent last week to see the document, Sir Mark wrote back: “It was never our intention to formally publish the report.” He declined to make it available.Sir Mark told the company’s annual general meeting earlier this month that it was “erroneous” to suggest that the report was secret. But Phil Watts, another company director and Shell’s designated future chairman, told the meeting Shell would be happy to present the results to “interested parties”.In his letter Sir Mark wrote: “Shell Nigeria wanted a full and frank report on which it could take action, and a report for public consumption would inevitably have led to important details being withheld, not least to avoid provoking conflict within communities identified.”Sir Mark pointed out that Shell discussed the report in the company’s People and the Environment publication. This states that the inspectors found that 64 per cent of projects were “thought to be fully or partially successful”.. The Co-operative Union is to take a leap into the 21st century with the introduction of the .coop domain name suffix, it announced yesterday. The Co-operative Union is to take a leap into the 21st century with the introduction of the .coop domain name suffix, it announced yesterday.
The union made the move after the movement overwhelmingly backed plans that will lead to a radical shake-up of the 150-year-old organisation.More than 800 delegates at the Co-op’s annual congress in Birmingham at the weekend approved recommendations made by the Co-op Commission three months ago.The commission’s proposals, backed by the Prime Minister Tony Blair, called for sweeping measures to modernise the movement and help it compete.The decision to introduce .coop in the UK will mean any co-operative business across the country will have access to the domain name, which is the Co-op’s alternative to .co.uk, , and.

It is to be implemented by the end of the year.The Co-operative Union represents co-ops in the UK and will become responsible for registering UK co-ops for .coop status if they adhere to co-op values and principles.The Co-operative Union’s chief executive Pauline Green said: “We want .coop to become the hallmark Co-ops ­ identifying not only a fair and democratic business structure but also positive social objectives, trusted and understood internationally.”The Co-op spans activities as diverse as food retailing, farming, funeral homes, travel agencies and banking. But it has been dwarfed in recent years by the large supermarket chains.. The hotel industry should start to show signs of recovery next year as industry bounces back from the foot-and-mouth crisis and GDP growth starts to pick up. The hotel industry should start to show signs of recovery next year as industry bounces back from the foot-and-mouth crisis and GDP growth starts to pick up.
Overall UK occupancy is expected to decline by 1 percentage point this year, according to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Its forecasts assume that the UK economy will slow but avoid an outright recession. However, PwC predicted that growth in revenue per room will rise next year to 3.2 per cent, from 1.1 per cent this year.”Limited new room supply construction, an effective tourism agenda for recovery and a strong PR and advertising campaign to overcome the negative foot-and-mouth publicity, with an improving US economy, should support occupancy recovery,” PWC predicted. However, the accountancy firm said weakened demand, caused by tourists putting off travelling because of the foot-and-mouth crisis, will have a significant impact this year. It expects to see occupancies fall by 1.3 per cent in London and by 2.1 per cent outside the capital.”Following a year of occupancy decline, average daily rate growth is likely to be restrained in the future,” PWC said. It noted that average daily room rates in the UK are expected to grow by 2.2 per cent in 2002 to £77.31.London hotels might achieve daily rate growth of 2.7 per cent to £120.61, PWC said, with hotels outside the capital expected to demonstrate 2.2 per cent growth to £63.10.. British Telecom is considering entering the cable television market in a move that would see it go head to head with the existing cable operators NTL and Telewest. British Telecom is considering entering the cable television market in a move that would see it go head to head with the existing cable operators NTL and Telewest.
BT had been banned by the regulator from making such a move to allow other operators to build up market share.

However, that restriction expired in January, leaving the struggling giant free to enter the industry if it chooses.A BT spokesman said: “We are looking at all sorts of possibilities. Through BT Openworld we already have deals with a number of content providers and provide entertainment over broadband. It’s something we’ll be looking at making the most use of.”A move into cable could see BT offering television programmes to its residential customer base over its telephone network, although it is likely to need a content partner. BT is also thought to be considering selling a variety of other services such as gas and electricity to its customers. Sir Christopher Bland, who recently joined BT as chairman from the BBC, has the arduous task of redefining the core BT business and considering new markets.The company was forced to undergo a massive restructuring in a bid to reduce its £30bn of debt. Its new plans include demerging its mobile phone business by the end of this year as well as selling off assets.BT has already sold its stakes in mobile phone companies including Japan Telecom, Airtel of Spain and Maxis of Malaysia.