but we wanted to get it out of the way before the start of the close season and we all go into purdah." Mr Strachan said the group had sounded warning notes about the two businesses at the heart of yesterday's warning at the time of the preliminary results in March.Sealing systems had a good future, with two big new models in the US. Andrew Dougal said he was confident that the handout would be tax-free to both UK and US shareholders.Shareholders who do not wish to hold on to shares in any of the demerging businesses will be offered a low-cost dealing facility, similar to that offered at the time of last year's demerger of a clutch of smaller US businesses under the umbrella of US Industries.No firm details of the demerger costs were available, but Mr Bonham sought to assure shareholders that much of the preparatory work was done in-house. Hanson Brick, the UK's largest clay brick maker, experienced weaker demand.Hanson said yesterday it was in negotiations with the Inland Revenue and US tax authorities over the distribution of shares in the three new companies to existing Hanson shareholders. The company, which is the second largest UK manufacturer of tobacco products, said it was targeting the high growth markets of the Far East, which account for more than half the world cigarette market.In the core building operations, ARC was hit by lower government spending on roads in the UK but sales of Grove cranes continued to move ahead and profits rose from pounds 15m to pounds 23m.

Andrew Dougal, finance director, said that reflected both "new" Hanson's intrinsic cyclicality and the need to reassure bond holders whose long-term debt would remain with Hanson.The demerger details emerged as Hanson revealed first-half profits of pounds 794m compared with pounds 623m last time, although that figure included a pounds 160m one-off disposal profit from recent sales such as that of Cavenham Forest Industries. Flat underlying profits reflected a better than expected performance from Eastern Group, the former regional electricity company acquired last year, which offset a sharper than forecast fall in profits from Quantum, where lower prices reversed last year's exceptionally high return and profits tumbled 60 per cent to pounds 84m after an 18 per cent sales decline.Imperial Tobacco, whose brands include Lambert and Butler cigarettes and King Edward cigars, increased profits by 9 per cent to pounds 174m, increasing its UK market share to over 38 per cent. The rump building materials business will retain the Hanson name.The chemicals arm, which takes in the Quantum and SCM chemicals businesses as well as Hanson's remaining stake in Suburban Propane and flavouring company Glidco, has been assigned between pounds 1.3bn and pounds 1.4bn of the debt pile, but still believes it will attract an investment grade rating from Standard & Poor's and Moody's.Imperial Tobacco and Energy will both adopt just over pounds 1bn of group borrowings each, while the rump will take less than pounds 200m. Derek Bonham, chief executive, took the opportunity to unveil names for two of the four businesses to be created. The chemicals arm, which trades mainly in the US and will be quoted only in New York, will be known as Millennium Chemicals. The tobacco business reverts to its former name of Imperial Tobacco.Both will be spun off on 1 October, with the as yet unnamed Energy division following at the end of January 1997. The stake was purchased in 1985 with a view to developing commercial ties that never, however, materialised.

It was also seen in Scottish circles as a guarantee of the bank's independence.Sources say that Sir Bruce reacted badly to Standard Life's decision, fearing that it has put the bank's independent strategy at risk. In the recent past, Barclays and HSBC have informally expressed an interest in BoS.Since Standard Life's announcement there has been a chorus of veiled warnings from the Scottish political establishment about the dangers of for- eign predators. Michael Forsyth, the Scottish secretary, expressed the hope to Sir Bruce that there would not be a hostile bid.Comment, page 21. Hanson's rule as Britain's leading conglomerate will officially end in less than eight months, a year after it stunned British business by announcing it was breaking itself up. The group yesterday put dates on the proposed demergers of its chemicals, tobacco and energy arms and said the process was "firmly on track". Announcing better than expected first-half figures, the company also spelt out plans to allocate the pounds 3.5bn debt mountain that will remain even after recent disposals which have raised more than pounds 2bn. The core business, which will still be headed by Lord Hanson, will take on negligible borrowings, sparking speculation yesterday that a new round of takeovers may follow the demergers. Analysts broadly welcomed the new detail yesterday, with some increasing their estimates of the conglomerate's break-up value from around to 210p to 215p.

JSir Bruce Pattullo, governor and group chief executive of the Bank of Scotland, resigned unexpectedly yesterday from the board of Standard Life, Britain's leading life mutual. His departure came just days after Standard Life announced it intended selling all or part of its 32.5 per cent stake in the bank. Bank sources said Sir Bruce's decision was a response to a potential conflict of interest, but there were also reports of a flare-up between the two august Edinburgh houses. In a letter to Norman Lessels, chairman of Standard Life, Sir Bruce said he would continue to work constructively "in order to find an acceptable solution if Standard Life decides to sell some or all of their shareholding in the bank".Standard Life, which is being advised by Lazards, said it had decided on the move because the near pounds 1bn stake, representing over 7 per cent of its UK equity investments, had become too large for a well-balanced portfolio. The company is also hoping to secure a pounds 3.5m EU grant as Sardinia is designated a disadvantaged area.It sounds mouthwateringly good, as prospecting schemes always do The institutions' reaction will be awaited with interest.. NM Rothschilds in Perth has a 17 per cent stake and is considering investing a further A$6m (pounds 3m). Though four open-pit mines are planned here and the first gold is scheduled to be poured in the autumn, it is currently nothing more than a rocky outcrop.But there is gold here aplenty the geologists say. Production of 25,000 ounces of gold a year is the target with the ratio of waste to gold-bearing ore a healthy one.A joint venture between a re-named Australian company and the Sardinian government, Gold Mines of Sardinia already has some blue chip backing.