13 FEBRUARY 1971, Page 27

SKINFLINT'S CITY DIARY

The collapse of Rolls-Royce, due in part to an unwise commitment to the aa211 project, left in its wake a severe fall in the price of the shares of Alfred Herbert Limited.

Shareholders in Alfred Herbert may like to question the direction in which they are being taken by their chairman, the battered but unbowed Sir Richard Young. Richard Young (then plain Mr) came to Alfred Herbert from Tube Investments. Alfred Herbert's had been run by a wise old bird much respected in the machine tool industry called Colonel Clark. Some people in the city and Mr Wedgwood Benn thought Alfred Herbert's was not a front runner in the industry although there was nothing old- fashioned with the figures they produced for 1965: Profits £5.99 million. Cash etc., £5.19 million. Assets £25.8million. Indebtness nil.