News roundup--Farepak case collapses, more

A legal case brought against directors of Christmas saving scheme Farepak has collapsed in what the Telegraph claims is a “humiliating blow to the government”. According to the article, the case was withdrawn after it emerged that the directors had done their best to protect customers’ cash but had been turned down by their bank HBOS—twice. This meant there was more money to be distributed to secured creditors, in this case the bank, when Farepak collapsed.

Dixons is reaping the rewards of its “renewal and transformation plan” with a sales growth of 3 percent in the full year, and a 5 percent rise in the final quarter. Sales in the UK and Ireland were up 2 percent to £3.83 billion and chief executive Sebastian James says the “new financial year has got off to a good start with the trends seen in the final quarter of last year broadly continuing”. He adds that the business continues to “plan cautiously and manage costs aggressively”. Underlying pretax profit was down from £85.3 million to £70.8 million in the year ended 28th April, as good progress in the UK, Ireland and Northern Europe regions was offset by weaker performances in Southern Europe and Pixmania.

Ebay has appointed Vladimir Dolgov, a former Google manager and chief executive of Russian online retailer Ozon, to oversee its recently launched Russian marketplaces business.