Daniel Godfrey, director general of the AITC, said: “We will try to produce an objective rating system to show how much of a split’s portfolio is in non-split assets, how much is cross-invested and how much is bank debt.”The task will take the AITC six months to complete because of the complexity of the bewildering number of cross holdings. Mr Godfrey hopes the new level of disclosure will give investors a chance to analyse the differences between funds.. Lloyd’s of London is preparing to pursue 220 names for legal costs that could be as high as £25m if it wins the five-year case against them that is currently with the Court of Appeal. Most of that action is now over and in many cases Lloyd’s has not pursued its legal costs.The remaining case, involving 220 individuals, began in 1997 and is led by the name Sir William Jaffray. Sir William’s group allege Lloyd’s governing body knew asbestosis claims would rocket in the early 1990s and deliberately attracted individuals into the market to get them to help shoulder the financial burden.The Jaffray case went to the Court of Appeal in March and a decision is expected to be handed down this month.

Lloyd’s won the High Court case and observers believe Lloyd’s will also prevail in the Court of Appeal one.The dispute between Lloyd’s and the individuals who have invested in its market, known as names, has been acrimonious. Some names even committed suicide in the 1990s because they could not meet the enormous bill for claims they faced because they underwrote the market on an unlimited liability basis.Lloyd’s is anxious not to pre-judge the Court of Appeal decision and would not confirm its intention to go for costs from names. A spokesman said: “We will wait for the outcome before commenting in detail.”But it is understood that the society believes while there have been some genuine cases of hardship in the past, some names are easily able to pay outstanding claims as well as their legal costs. Lloyd’s is likely to be selective about who it pursues, going after those who have the funds to cover the legal costs.. Smiths Group, the aerospace conglomerate, is soliciting venture capital bids for its £1bn sealings business. But it has made no secret of its plans to concentrate on its aerospace and medical divisions.

Keith Butler-Wheelhouse, the chief executive, has promised eventually to jettison a raft of other industrial businesses.The sealings business comprises John Crane and Polymer Sealing Solutions, a plastic seals business. It made operating profits of £128m last year on sales of £1.2bn, but has been affected by a slowdown in demand in some of its markets, particularly in the US and for industrial products in Europe.Analysts believe the two halves could be sold separately, but that trade buyers may struggle to raise the cash for acquisitions, given the effects of the economic slowdown “Smiths have been very positive on the polymers side … but they have been worryingly silent on John Crane,” one analyst saidMr Butler-Wheelhouse has insisted the group is in no hurry to sell off its non-core divisions, but observers said the approaches to private equity buyers could mean the company will be able to move fast to raise funds if a big aerospace acquisition presented itself.. City shareholders in the entertainment giant EMI are being urged to eject its two senior directors from the board in a row over pay.

Yet a takeover – or a change of control, in City terminology – could occur whether EMI has performed well or not.An NAPF spokesman said: “The issue is that they have contracts which potentially mean that they would benefit from a change of control – if they had to move on, in other words. Usually a change of control means that the company is weak or is badly managed and it seems to us wrong that this should lead to a higher pay-off.”The NAPF produces a report on all FTSE-350 companies ahead of their annual meetings and normally recommends abstention if is concerned about an issue.”This is a point of principle,” the NAPF spokesman said. “We are highlighting issues shareholders should be aware of and we are saying vote against.”. Kingfisher, the UK retail giant, will this morning launch a £2bn rights issue after an independent bank ruled last night in its favour over its £3.2bn bid to take over Castorama, the French DIY group. The bank delivered its preliminary findings to both sides on Friday night to give them an opportunity to make final representations.Castorama had hoped that Rothschild would recommend a higher price. However, the collapse in stock markets in the past few weeks made such a recommendation increasingly unlikely.