SKINFLINT'S CITY DIARY

Jacob Rothschild is a wit. After RothsChilds had lost the Viyella account he told a friend of mine, "Joe Hyman should be told to stop being so promiscuous with his bankers."

Here is the Allied/THF story. Jacob Rothschild advised Allied Breweries supported by Trust Houses Forte renegade directors Lord Crowther and Michael Pickard in the takeover bid for Sir Charles Forte's Trust House Fortes Group. Fortes were advised by Warburgs. Now the bid has failed, Crowther and Pickard have their own bill from Securities Agencies, another merchant bank. I hope they had board approval, or they will have to fork out themselves. Patrick Hutber, the Financial Editor of the Sunday Telegraph, told his readers a fortnight ago to back Sir Charles Forte and THF. Hutber said that if they wanted cash they should sell now as the shares Might fall after the failure of the Allied bid. If they were patient THF under Sir Charles Forte should be a good investment. A lot of money has been committed to buying THF shares by Rothschilds on their own account and for Allied. Sir Charles Forte has borrowed EIO million and now controls 35 per cent of THF. An aggressive advertising campaign by Rothschilds culminated at the weekend in large h ,advertisements in the Sunday Te /egrap Sunday Times and Observer. Patrick Hutber printed rather courageously the facsimile of a letter from Jacob Rothschild dated January 7 finishing:

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i appropriate to take advertising space n Your this Sunday's edition in the hope that it too may contain some pleasant surprise." The Sunday Telegraph contained something rather nasty for Jacob in not only reprinting this letter bbt dealing Lord Crowther a thrashing for good measure. Sir Charles Forte was described as behaving with dignity. The large Rothschild advertisement was Put on another page but the smaller Warburg space was Placed by Hutber's column.

ViSit to Chequers Jacob Rothschild, thirty-five, was invited to Chequers by the Prime Minister for a well-publicised discussion two weeks ago. Before Jacob Rothschild is entrusted with g any delicate national mission it may be as )E well if Ted Heath makes him promise to resist the itch to put it in writing when he 0 has scratched someone's back and is now I feeling like a little tickle himself. There may be other Jack Andersons over here 0 ready to print Jacob's personal letters 0 The Observer and the Sunday Times got generous advertisements from Jacob 0 Rothschild and his men at New Court. Did these financial editors get warm letters 0 signed by Rothschilds' Allied team? No one's telling, but a yOung man on the Sunday Times Business News, Aziz KhanPanni by name, wrote a piece backing Rothschild and Allied. John Davis, the Observer's business editor, has a wellknown reputation for being ready to puff a good share. He bent double producing a piece that hasn't annoyed anyone, least of all the Observer's advertising manager.

Granada in action

Lord (Sid) Bernstein's Granada Television World in Action decided to devote next week's thirty minute programme to the THF/Allied battle. Granada planned to come down heavily against Sir Charles Forte and for the old Trust Houses management. Now that Lord Bernstein's arch-rival in the motorway curly sandwich stakes, Sir Charles Forte, has won the THF battle he will laugh off the Granada men's attempts at a would-be-tough documentary. This seems increasingly likely now that all the principals in the takeover battle have turned down the attempts of Michael Beckham and Michael Ryan, the producers of the documentary, to obtain filmed interviews.

Takeover code

During the Allied/THF battle Rothschilds at one time announced that they were sellers for THF. They also announced that they were buying Allied which increased Allied's price. Soon after they were back buying THF again.

This week Jessel Securities have announced that they have sold some shares in Alfred Herbert and Staveley Industries in which they have about a 10 per cent holding. They are not required to say how many shares they have sold or to announce their future intentions, though they may soon say they are back in the market.

It is time this practice of " shaking the cherry tree" was stopped, though I suppose that this is highly unlikely, since the Takeover Panel reports to the Issuing Houses Committee, which means in effect the merchant banks.

The Labour party, it is not generally known, decided to set up inquiries that might have led to City reform and they have these plans in store for the future. They were advised that it would be economically damaging even to announce the possibility of an inquiry whilst the balance of payments was threatened. As a Labour politician told me: "We couldn't admit even to doubting the slot machines at Paddington Station at that time."

Empire made?

It is extraordinary that the BBC's charter permits it to go into partnership with Time-Life Books to produce an expensive part work, The British Empire, over ninety-eight weeks at 25p per copy. The programme series The British Empire, that started on Tuesday of this week, has little to do with the part work but will give it an enormous free advertising thrust.

Bumbly BBC publications are one thing, but the part work market with its questionable appeal to self-improvement and the less well-off is a Matter that will need, and I trust receive, scrutiny when the BBC charter comes up for removal.

Trafalgar's Waterloo?

The mysterious sinking of the 'Queen Elizabeth I' in Hong Kong harbour should draw the market's attention to the old Cunard company now owned by Trafalgar House, being still owed £2 million by the original purchasers who failed to complete before going into liquidation. Nigel Broackes and Trafalgar House will have to be quick on their feet in going back into their real business, takeovers, if they are not to be dragged down by debt-laden Cunard, or they will regret forever being induced to buy.