Also on his Hands...

That shrewd investment in the TV rental industry in 2000 is continuing to cause headaches for Guy Hands, by the way. The Boxclever deal is coming under legal scrutiny - indeed, Terra Firma were due in court today to talk about it; the trial was delayed by two days though as Terra Firma's co-defendants in the case have entered into settlement negotiations.

Natixis is suing because it believes that senior people in Terra Firma knew that the BoxClever deal was flawed, but somehow forgot to tell investors; a year after the company was formed from the merger of Radio Rentals and Granada's rental businesses, the company defaulted on a massive loan.

The apparent settlement with CIBC and WestLB means Terra Firma having to stand alone to fight Natixis' claims, which is more than interesting simply because of the EMI connection. The trial is set to bring much of Terra Firma's way of operating into the public domain and, analysts claim, the cash being demanded by Natixis could strain the finances of Terra Firma even further.