News Wrap: Oftel, BT, Tesco, Amazon, Just2clicks

Just2clicks.com, the business to business (B2B) internet site, has announced restructuring plans which could include putting itself up for sale.

The company, which reported pre-tax losses of £37.8m earlier this month, said it will sell off three of its divisions in order to conserve its cash. It will also consider putting the whole business up for sale if an offer delivered value for shareholders. Earlier this month the company denied rumours that it was up for sale.

Oftel keeps control of BT

UK telecoms watchdog Oftel said it will extend its controls placed on BT's prices for residential calls when the current arrangements run out in August.

Oftel said the extension is necessary due to the continued lack of competition in the market, although it admitted the extent of competition is increasing.

The watchdog, which said the controls will save consumers an estimated £270m over the year, said it will also continue with price controls on BT's wholesale network charges for operators that interconnect with BT's network.

Tesco rules the shoppers

UK supermarket chain Tesco is the world's most popular online supermarket retailer, according to a report from research group Datamonitor.

The report found that around £398m worth of groceries were sold in the UK last year, with Tesco grabbing more than half of the market. However, the online grocery market is worth just £2.4bn, with online food shopping in the UK accounting for just 0.4 per cent of the total food market.

UK internet bosses get top salaries

A chief executive of a UK dotcom that has not yet floated banks about £170,000 a year, according to a survey by ePay. The average dotcom chief executive salary last year was £120,000.

After so many dotcom failures, hard cash is now the preferred form of renumeration over stock options or other equity-related incentives.

Amazon faces $20m rent bill for warehouse closure

Amazon.com, which this week announced that 1300 jobs would be cut following the closure of its Atlanta distribution centre, must continue to pay $2.6m in annual rent for the next eight years, according to its landlord.

"They have eight years remaining on the lease, and they are obligated to pay the rent," Michael Brennan, chief executive of First Industrial Realty Trust, told US press.

However, Amazon can reduce its costs by sub-letting the 80,000 square foot site. Amazon spokesman Bill Curry said: "We're going to plan a very aggressive marketing strategy with the community to get a new tenant there. It's in our interest and it's in the community's interest to get someone in there and provide a lot of jobs."