Almost 60 percent of shareholders voted against WPP’s remuneration report at an annual meeting in Dublin on Wednesday, in the latest example of opposition to excessive boardroom pay that has been dubbed Britain’s “Shareholder Spring.”

The backlash has cost some executives such as Aviva boss Andrew Moss, and Sly Bailey, head of newspaper group Trinity Mirror, their jobs.

However Sorrell, who has built a business with 160,000 employees across 108 countries and has much of his personal wealth tied up in it, is expected to survive given that investors widely accept the success of his leadership.

Votes against remuneration reports are not binding but they can be deeply embarrassing for board members and critics hope they will add to pressure to give shareholders more control over executive pay.

“Ultimately, the market will decide. The shareholders have spoken, obviously we’re disappointed with the vote. We’re taking the result into consideration and the board will be consulting with shareholders and share owners again,” Sorrell said.

Business minister Vince Cable has spoken of “ludicrous” levels of executive pay that are “way out of line with performance” and is proposing to enhance the voting rights of investors, including introducing an annual binding vote on future remuneration policy.

A number of advisory groups and leading shareholders at WPP had criticised Sorrell’s pay deal because it far exceeds the scale of returns enjoyed by investors.

But Sorrell argued that he deserved his 60 percent pay rise last year given a track record that had seen him turn WPP into the world’s leading advertising group.

He has also noted that he has much of his personal wealth tied up in WPP in the form of a 1.4 percent stake worth over 130 million pounds and argued that his pay should be in line with CEOs at other major global media groups. John Wren, the chief executive of the world’s second-largest advertising group Omnicom was paid $15.4 million in 2011.

Sorrell’s pay rise comes after bosses at major British retailers Sainsbury and Tesco took pay cuts and follows shareholder revolts at Barclays, Inmarsat and Prudential.

Shares in WPP, which had been trading 1.4 percent lower ahead of the result, extended their losses to trade down 2.3 percent at 750.5 pence by 3.22 p.m and were underperforming a flat FTSE 100 bluechip index.

“The message from shareholders was unambiguous and cannot be ignored,” said Guy Jubb, Global Head of Governance & Stewardship at Standard Life Investments which is among WPP’s 10 biggest shareholders. “It is now in the compensation committee’s gift to reach out to WPP’s leading shareholders to address their concerns.”

WPP, which is expanding rapidly in faster-growing emerging markets with a steady stream of acquisitions, said on Wednesday that it had made a strong start to the year.

“2012 has started well with all geographies and sectors growing revenues,” Chairman Philip Lader told shareholders.

“Operating profit is above budget and last year and the increase in margin is in line with the group’s full-year margin target of 0.5 margin points improvement.”

(Writing by by Paul Hoskins; Editing by Erica Billingham)

Almost 60 percent of shareholders voted against WPP’s
remuneration report at an annual meeting in Dublin on Wednesday,
in the latest example of opposition to excessive boardroom pay
that has been dubbed Britain’s “Shareholder Spring.”

The backlash has cost some executives such as Aviva
boss Andrew Moss, and Sly Bailey, head of newspaper group
Trinity Mirror, their jobs.

However Sorrell, who has built a business with 160,000
employees across 108 countries and has much of his personal
wealth tied up in it, is expected to survive given that
investors widely accept the success of his leadership.

Votes against remuneration reports are not binding but they
can be deeply embarrassing for board members and critics hope
they will add to pressure to give shareholders more control over
executive pay.

“Ultimately, the market will decide. The shareholders have
spoken, obviously we’re disappointed with the vote. We’re taking
the result into consideration and the board will be consulting
with shareholders and share owners again,” Sorrell said.

Business minister Vince Cable has spoken of “ludicrous”
levels of executive pay that are “way out of line with
performance” and is proposing to enhance the voting rights of
investors, including introducing an annual binding vote on
future remuneration policy.

A number of advisory groups and leading shareholders at WPP
had criticised Sorrell’s pay deal because it far exceeds the
scale of returns enjoyed by investors.

But Sorrell argued that he deserved his 60 percent pay rise
last year given a track record that had seen him turn WPP into
the world’s leading advertising group.

He has also noted that he has much of his personal wealth
tied up in WPP in the form of a 1.4 percent stake worth over 130
million pounds ($202 million) and argued that his pay should be
in line with CEOs at other major global media groups. John Wren,
the chief executive of the world’s second-largest advertising
group Omnicom was paid $15.4 million in 2011.

Sorrell’s pay rise comes after bosses at major British
retailers Sainsbury and Tesco took pay cuts
and follows shareholder revolts at Barclays, Inmarsat
and Prudential.

Shares in WPP, which had been trading 1.4 percent lower
ahead of the result, extended their losses to trade down 2.3
percent at 750.5 pence by 1522 GMT and were underperforming a
flat FTSE 100 bluechip index.

“The message from shareholders was unambiguous and cannot be
ignored,” said Guy Jubb, Global Head of Governance & Stewardship
at Standard Life Investments which is among WPP’s 10 biggest
shareholders. “It is now in the compensation committee’s gift to
reach out to WPP’s leading shareholders to address their
concerns.”

WPP, which is expanding rapidly in faster-growing emerging
markets with a steady stream of acquisitions, said on Wednesday
that it had made a strong start to the year.

“2012 has started well with all geographies and sectors
growing revenues,” Chairman Philip Lader told shareholders.

“Operating profit is above budget and last year and the
increase in margin is in line with the group’s full-year margin
target of 0.5 margin points improvement.”

PLUS said in an emailed statement that while the “headline
consideration from GMB appears greater… the GMB proposal is
materially less attractive in terms of net financial benefit”.

The exchange, which said it received on Thursday a letter
outlining a takeover offer by GMB, also said a GMB statement
about its approach released late on Thursday contained
inaccuracies.

PLUS rejected GMB’s claim that its move on Thursday was a
revised offer because it had not made a formal approach. PLUS
denied the GMB bid was “substantially in excess” of ICAP’s, as
the bank claimed.

ICAP has already agreed to buy the stock exchange unit of
PLUS Markets, which had planned to shut down if it failed to
attract an acceptable takeover bid.

The world’s largest inter-dealer broker announced on May 18
that it had agreed to buy the division for 1 pound ($1.54),
subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

The terms of the GMB offer have not been dislcosed.

“The Board does believe that ICAP represents an appropriate
owner of PLUS-SX,” PLUS said on Friday.

The pledge should offer ICAP confidence as the PLUS deal is
central to the British broker’s plan to move aggressively into
futures trading for the first time and tackle the dominance of
exchanges NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse.

“ICAP is well positioned to leverage PLUS’s exchange status
to offer new products and solutions for its customers including,
in time, listed derivatives,” the broker said when it announced
the deal with PLUS in May.

ICAP’s takeover is seen by analysts as a move by the broker
to pay a cut price for PLUS’s exchange licence, a potentially
attractive asset as global regulators look to force more of
ICAP’s core over-the-counter derivatives markets to use
exchanges.

Shares in Europe’s biggest home improvements retailer rose as much as 3 percent, however, on hopes that with the sun now shining it can make up lost ground, particularly as Jubilee celebrations in Britain to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 60 years on the throne and the London Olympics improve the public mood.

“It’s a pretty challenging start to the year but it is a long way to go. This is our smallest quarter and we’ve got a good set up for the summer,” Kingfisher Chief Executive Ian Cheshire told reporters on Thursday.

“When the sun’s come out we’ve been happy with the reaction so if we can combine a bit of sunshine, a positive Jubilee and lots of golds at the Olympics, we might have a slightly different feel-good factor,” he said on a conference call.

Kingfisher, with about 950 stores in eight countries in Europe and Asia, said on Thursday its retail profit fell 8.6 percent to 160 million pounds ($248.5 million) in the three months to April 30.

Several analysts said, however, that the first quarter results were largely as expected and had done nothing to change their “buy” or “hold” recommendations on Kingfisher shares, which rose 1.

The stock had already fallen 12 percent since the start of April and has substantially outperformed both peers and the broader market since the onset of the credit crisis in 2007.

Kingfisher, the world’s No. 3 home improvements retailer behind U.S. groups Lowe’s (LOW.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Home Depot (HD.N: Quote, Profile, Research), has performed better than many peers, offsetting weak demand with a drive to improve profitability by buying more goods centrally, and directly, from cheaper manufacturing centres like China.

Investec analyst David Jeary, who has a ‘hold’ rating on the stock, told clients he would not be changing his forecasts.

“There may be some trimming of forecasts within the market, some overdue on currency moves. It may be that the market starts to cool on Kingfisher, but we have started to feel warmer towards it,” Jeary wrote.

Richard Cathcart at Espirito Santo Investment Bank said his “buy” case was intact while Panmure Gordon’s Philip Dorgan said he remained a buyer of the stock, noting better weather in recent days.

“We expect that Q2 will see a pick up in momentum – look out of the window,” he wrote.

BUTTS & BUNTING

Britain & Ireland proved particularly weak. Sales at UK market leader B&Q dived as poor weather sapped appetite for building products and lopped 30 percent off sales of seasonal goods.

Sales of barbecues at B&Q plunged 57 percent and hosepipes dropped 45 percent as a UK ban on their use following an unusually dry winter saw people turn to water butts instead.

The firm, which also owns the Screwfix and Brico Depot brands and a stake in Germany’s Hornbach, also faced tough comparisons after buoyant trading last year when sales were boosted by fine spring weather and the marriage of Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince William.

The company said it had so far sold 100,000 metres of Union Jack bunting, more than 3,000 Royal Queen and Royal King garden gnomes and over 10,000 Diamond Jubilee cushions ahead of this weekend’s festivities across Britain.

The tough first quarter also reflected the impact of a weaker euro and Polish zloty, according to the company, which counts on France and the British Isles to each contribute over 40 percent of its annual turnover of more than 10 billion pounds.

Even excluding foreign exchange fluctuations, sales at stores open over a year fell 4.8 percent year-on-year, driven by a 10.4 percent drop in the UK & Ireland.

First quarter like-for-like sales rose 0.7 percent in France – weaker than in the previous quarter but better than the UK due to a lower reliance on seasonal product ranges. ($1 = 0.6438 British pounds)

(Additional reporting by James Davey; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Helen Massy-Beresford)

Reporting another jump in profit on Wednesday, Burberry said
it would invest up to 200 million pounds ($316 million) in the
business over the coming year with about one third of it going
towards larger format outlets including a relocated store on
London’s Regent Street and a rebuild in Chicago.

Chief Executive Angela Ahrendts said major global cities
accounted for the lion’s share of the world’s luxury goods
market and that Burberry still had room to grow in them.

“We do feel that we’re underpenetrated in those markets
versus our peers which is why we’re focusing there but we also
feel that those flagship markets are somewhat sheltered from the
overall global economic environment,” she told reporters.

Luxury goods shares have wobbled in recent months over
worries about Europe’s debt crisis and slowing growth in some
emerging markets like China, where runaway demand for high-end
goods has offset weaker trends in the United States and Europe.

In April even fast-growing Burberry reported a slowdown in
quarterly sales growth, while Aquascutum, another upmarket
British brand, fell into administration before being sold
earlier this month.

Ahrendts said 156-year-old Burberry, known for its raincoats
lined with the company’s distinctive camel, red and black check
pattern, was not worried about the prospect of weakening Asian
demand.

“No, we have tremendous brand momentum, our products have
never been better, we have more consumers engaging with the
brand across every social media platform,” she said during a
conference call.

Chief Financial Officer Stacey Cartwright noted that
Burberry was not as dependent on travelers from the far east as
some imagine: “We have the Russians, the Middle Easterns,
Indians, South Americans from Brazil travelling in all of the
big flagship markets in the world, it’s not just about Asia or
China in particular.”

Helped by high profile marketing campaigns starring the
likes of supermodel Kate Moss and Harry Potter actress Emma
Watson, Burberry has evolved over the last decade from a
venerable outfitter of British royalty into a coveted global
fashion brand.

The FTSE 100-listed group made an underlying pretax profit
of 376 million pounds ($594 million) in the year to March 31, up
26 percent on the previous year and in line with analysts’
expectations.

Revenue rose 24 percent to almost 1.9 billion pounds with
underlying growth rates ranging from 15 percent in Europe and
the Americas to 41 percent in Asia Pacific which has now
overtaken Europe as the group’s biggest region by sales.

Burberry said it planned to increase retail selling space by
12 to 14 percent in the coming year, opening about 15 new
outlets weighted towards bigger stores, emerging markets and
major global cities.

“They are heavy tourist markets, you’ve got huge population
density and you typically have a higher percentage of high net
worth individuals. We do make a disproportionate amount of our
profits from those flagship cities,” Ahrendts said.

The company said total capital expenditure in the current
year would be between 180 million and 200 million pounds.

The cost and timing of the investment will result in a lower
operating margin from retail and wholesale during the first half
of the year but for the full year the company said it expected a
further modest improvement in profitability.

Shares in Burberry, which have outperformed this year with
gains of 17 percent and are worth six times what they were at
the start of 2009, were down 2.3 percent at 1,354 pence by 1211
GMT. That compared to a 1.8 percent drop for the blue-chip FTSE
100.

“Whether this momentum can be maintained … is of some
concern to investors, whilst the situation in Europe, and to
some extent the U.S., are undoubtedly a drag on overall growth,”
said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The world’s third-biggest retailer, which issued a shock
profit warning in January, also said on Tuesday its top 5,000
managers would receive a reduced annual bonus representing 16.9
percent of their maximum entitlement.

Executive directors will get 13.5 percent of the maximum.

Tesco shares have lost almost a quarter of their
value this year after the supermarket group warned it needed to
invest around 1 billion pounds in a bid to stem market share
losses in Britain.

“I decided at the beginning of the year that I would decline
my annual bonus for 2012,” Clarke said in a statement emailed to
Reuters.

“I wasn’t satisfied with the performance in the UK and I
won’t take the bonus. I’m confident that we’re tackling the
right issues.”

Clarke, a former Tesco shelf stacker, would have been
entitled to a payout of about 372,000 pounds had he taken the
13.5 percent being paid to other executive directors.

His decision comes amidst a round of high profile
shareholder revolts over executive pay at companies like
Barclays, Inmarsat and Prudential in a
phenomenon dubbed the “shareholder spring”.

Investor resistance to big pay rises at underperforming
firms has also led Aviva boss Andrew Moss, and Sly
Bailey, head of newspaper group Trinity Mirror, to quit
this month.

Richard Marwood, a fund manager at AXA Investment Managers,
one of Tesco’s top 20 investors, welcomed Clarke’s decision.

“I think Clarke’s move is laudable. It shows sensitivity to
both the current investor mood on remuneration and the
challenges facing Tesco,” he said, adding this was his personal
view rather than that of AXA.

Others, however, were concerned about the impact on morale
among Tesco managers.

“(These are) troubling times for the company and the
widespread cut in bonuses could threaten a senior management
brain drain,” said a UK fund manager who no longer holds shares
in Tesco.

Tesco’s annual report, published on Tuesday, shows Clarke’s
overall package for the 2011/2012 business year was 1.16 million
pounds, including a salary of 1.09 million. That’s almost half
the 2.26 million pound package he enjoyed in 2010/2011.

His base salary will be little changed in 2012/13.

In March, Clarke jettisoned the head of Tesco’s UK arm,
assumed his duties and is now directly in the firing line if his
plans fail to halt a slide in sales.

Last year, Tesco won over shareholders with a simpler and
longer-term focused executive pay scheme following years of
disputes over how it rewards management. In 2010, over 40
percent of its shareholders either opposed or abstained in a
vote over management pay.

At 1400 GMT, Tesco shares were broadly flat at 310.1 pence.

“Demand in London remains strong,” IAG said in a results statement on Friday. “The Spanish and wider euro zone macro-economic background deteriorated in Q1, and this is reflected in a worsening commercial performance from our Madrid hub.”

The company reported an operating loss of 249 million euros before exceptional items in the traditionally weak first quarter of the year, up from a 102 million euro loss a year ago.

Analysts had expected a figure of between 230 million and 250 million euros, according to the company.

Revenue for the quarter rose 7.8 percent versus a year earlier to 3.9 billion euros.

Chief Executive Willie Walsh said strong demand for premium long-haul flights out of London, particularly on transatlantic routes, showed no sign of abating with the British capital having apparently sidestepped the latest recession.

“The sales and revenue side of the (British Airways) business is doing very well, it’s the fuel cost that’s the main headwind we face,” he told reporters during a conference call.

The group’s fuel costs for the quarter were 24.9 percent higher than a year earlier at 1.4 billion euros.

Traffic figures from British airport operator BAA, which is majority owned by Spain’s Ferrovial (FER.MC: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), also indicated that premium and business travel remains strong out of London, even if the lower end of the market is still shrinking.

The operator said 5.8 million passengers passed through Heathrow during April, marginally up on a year earlier after what it described as “another record month” for London’s main long-haul hub.

Reflecting the broader economic weakness, traffic at Stansted airport, which is popular with budget airlines flying into London, was down 2.7 percent and group-wide cargo was 1.1 percent weaker, driven by a 2.5 percent drop at Heathrow.

The airline operator said Iberia made an operating loss of 170 million euros in the first three months of the year while the loss at British Airways was less than half that at 62 million pounds.

European airlines often lose money in the post-Christmas lull which is a traditionally quiet time for holiday travel.

For the full year IAG said the prospect of a 1 billion euro rise in its fuel bill, combined with 90 million euros worth of restructuring costs stemming from its acquisition of bmi, meant it would struggle to make any money this year, predicting operating results would be “around the breakeven level”.

Shares in the group were down 2.2 percent at 159.4 pence at 0813 GMT, underperforming a 0.4 percent weaker bluechip FTSE index .FTSE.

“IAGs second year is going to be much less good than its first,” Charles Stanley analyst Douglas McNeill wrote in a note to clients. “We retain our positive view on the stock on the grounds that the market underestimates the benefits that will flow from the original merger and the more recent acquisition of British Midland (bmi).”

(Editing by Neil Maidment)

“Demand in London remains strong,” IAG said in a results
statement on Friday. “The Spanish and wider euro zone
macro-economic background deteriorated in Q1, and this is
reflected in a worsening commercial performance from our Madrid
hub.”

The company reported an operating loss of 249 million euros
($322.7 million) before exceptional items in the traditionally
weak first quarter of the year, up from a 102 million euro loss
a year ago.

Analysts had expected a figure of between 230 million and
250 million euros, according to the company.

Revenue for the quarter rose 7.8 percent versus a year
earlier to 3.9 billion euros.

Chief Executive Willie Walsh said strong demand for premium
long-haul flights out of London, particularly on transatlantic
routes, showed no sign of abating with the British capital
having apparently sidestepped the latest recession.

“The sales and revenue side of the (British Airways)
business is doing very well, it’s the fuel cost that’s the main
headwind we face,” he told reporters during a conference call.

The group’s fuel costs for the quarter were 24.9 percent
higher than a year earlier at 1.4 billion euros.

Traffic figures from British airport operator BAA, which is
majority owned by Spain’s Ferrovial, also indicated
that premium and business travel remains strong out of London,
even if the lower end of the market is still shrinking.

The operator said 5.8 million passengers passed through
Heathrow during April, marginally up on a year earlier after
what it described as “another record month” for London’s main
long-haul hub.

Reflecting the broader economic weakness, traffic at
Stansted airport, which is popular with budget airlines flying
into London, was down 2.7 percent and group-wide cargo was 1.1
percent weaker, driven by a 2.5 percent drop at Heathrow.

The airline operator said Iberia made an operating loss of
170 million euros ($220.3 million) in the first three months of
the year while the loss at British Airways was less than half
that at 62 million pounds ($100.2 million).

European airlines often lose money in the post-Christmas
lull which is a traditionally quiet time for holiday travel.

For the full year IAG said the prospect of a 1 billion euro
rise in its fuel bill, combined with 90 million euros worth of
restructuring costs stemming from its acquisition of bmi, meant
it would struggle to make any money this year, predicting
operating results would be “around the breakeven level”.

Shares in the group were down 2.2 percent at 159.4 pence at
0813 GMT, underperforming a 0.4 percent weaker bluechip FTSE
index.

“IAGs second year is going to be much less good than its
first,” Charles Stanley analyst Douglas McNeill wrote in a note
to clients. “We retain our positive view on the stock on the
grounds that the market underestimates the benefits that will
flow from the original merger and the more recent acquisition of
British Midland (bmi).”

Clinton Cards, said it had no option but to agree to a
proposal by the new owner of the debt, its biggest supplier
American Greetings, that it should be placed in
administration as it could not repay a 35 million pounds ($56.5
million) loan.

The company, which employs over 8,000 people in the UK,
warned on its outlook in March, amid tough trading conditions,
and as it battles intense competition from supermarkets and the
Internet.

British shoppers’ disposable incomes have been squeezed by
rising prices, muted wage growth and government austerity
measures, hurting less diversified retailers like Clinton Cards,
and causing a growing number to fall by the wayside.

Analysts said the expected administration was a surprise,
however, as the supplier had enforced the loan.

“The supplier has pulled the rug, so it’s by no means a
usual sequence of events. The question really is why the
supplier hasn’t been more supportive,” independent retail
analyst Nick Bubb told Reuters.

American Greetings could not immediately be reached for
comment.

Bubb added that he expected to see job losses and store
closures as a result of a the administration.

A spokesman for Clinton Cards said an administrator was
expected to be appointed later on Wednesday, adding that around
half of the company’s 8,000 employees worked part-time.

The Essex-headquartered firm, which trades from 767 stores
under the Birthdays and Clinton Card brands, said it was in
breach of some conditions attached to the loans.

The group said it was informed overnight that its banks
Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which had
given it temporary waivers over the breaches, had sold the
loans.

Both Barclays and RBS, 82 percent owned by the UK government
since a 2008 bailout, declined to comment when asked by Reuters
whether they knew before selling the loans to American Greetings
that it planned to enforce it.

Clinton Cards said that it had not been party to
negotiations leading up to the deal but that it had anticipated
American Greetings would extend the waivers granted by the banks
and start talks with a view to supporting it.

The firm said it had planned to restructure its business and
further details regarding its plans were due to be published in
the coming weeks following the completion of a strategic review
led by Chief Executive Darcy Wilson-Rymer, a former Starbucks
executive, who joined in October.

Clinton Cards said in March that it had slumped to a first
half loss and warned that its prospects for the second half were
worse than originally anticipated.

Shares in Clinton Cards, which have lost more than 80
percent of their value since the start of 2010, closed at 6.75
pence on Tuesday before being suspended from trading on
Wednesday, valuing the group at about 14 million pounds ($22.6
million).

BSkyB, already 39 percent-owned by Murdoch’s News Corp
, was dragged firmly into the centre of the hacking
storm engulfing Murdoch’s British newspaper business when its
Sky News channel admitted last month that it hacked into emails
on two occasions.

The channel said it had acted in the public interest but has
been reprimanded for breaking the law by Judge Brian Leveson,
who is leading an inquiry into press standards that is rocking
the British establishment by delving into ties between
journalists, politicians and police officers.

Shares in BSkyB had been riding at their highest level in
almost 10 years until revelations in July 2011 that an
investigator for Murdoch’s now defunct News of the World
newspaper had hacked into the voicemail messages of murdered
school girl Milly Dowler.

Murdoch’s son, James, was chairman of BSkyB when the scandal
first broke and its shares have subsequently lost almost 20
percent of their value, despite continued growth of the business
and moves to placate disgruntled shareholders.

BSkyB last year announced it would hand 1 billion pounds
back to shareholders via a buyback and James Murdoch, once
tipped as heir apparent to his father’s media empire, last month
quit his chairmanship.

The damage to BSkyB’s shares was all the greater because the
scandal derailed moves by the Murdochs to take full control of a
company that is much more profitable than their newspapers.

Father and son were hauled before Leveson’s inquiry just
last week to give three days of evidence, and James’ departure
as chairman of the broadcaster was widely seen as a
damage-limitation measure ahead of this week’s publication of a
damning report by members of parliament.

On Tuesday, lawmakers found Rupert Murdoch unfit to run a
major international company and accused News Corp of showing
“wilful blindness” about the scale of hacking at the News of the
World tabloid.

Despite all the negative headlines, analysts expect the
company to report higher third quarter earnings at 0600 GMT on
Wednesday.

Operating profit in the first nine months of its business
year is expected to be 14 percent higher than a year earlier at
902 million pounds ($1.46 billion) on the back of a 5 percent
rise in revenue to just under 5.1 billion pounds.

“We expect BSkyB to deliver reassuring results over the
coming quarters, with scope for further cash returns,” UBS
analyst Polo Tang wrote in a note to clients.

Tang has a “neutral” rating on BSkyB shares pending an
auction of English Premier League soccer broadcast rights where
competition is expected to be fierce, driving up prices.

Reuters reported last week that BSkyB, which has built its
British pay-TV business on the back of soccer rights, could face
a costly challenge from Qatari group Al Jazeera when the rights
are renewed this summer.

The most closely watched number on Wednesday is expected to
be subsciber figures. These are likely to show that BSkyB added
a total of 71,000 new customers in the third quarter to the end
of March, according to the average of seven forecasts compiled
by the company.