Boots, the health and beauty retailer, is moving into the leisure market with plans to open two health clubs next year as it seeks to expand beyond its high street chemists business which is under pressure from the major supermarkets. The centres will be called Boots Body 360 and feature swimming pools and gyms as well as a range of "lifestyle" treatments for weight management and giving up smoking. The first centres will open in Northwich, Cheshire and an unspecified Greater London location next spring. The capital cost will be £10m, with Boots seeing potential for 50-100 centres."There is a huge interest in a 'whole life' approach to health, beauty and well being and Boots is uniquely positioned as the trusted provider to meet this growing need," said Ken Piggott, managing director of Boots the Chemists.The company also announced plans to expand its chain of in-store dentistry outlets to 50 stores. Larger stores will also see a wider range of treatments introduced for osteopathy, physiotherapy and beauty treatments from the autumn.

Ranges such as compact discs will be phased out to make room.But the plans failed to impress the City where concerns remain that margin pressure will be a major problem within the main Boots the Chemists operations.Boots shares fell 8 per cent to 512.5p as it reported a 5 per cent increase in underlying group profits to £587m but admitted to margin pressures. Gross margins within Boots the Chemists fell by 0.8 percentage points in the second half with the fourth-quarter margins further affected by price cutting in compact discs.Boots claimed it could maintain its margins though reducing supplier costs and by the introduction of higher-margin ranges such as its own-label Botanics skincare products.There were also concerns over Boots the Chemists' weak sales, which were up by just 1.8 per cent over the year on an underlying basis."The underlying situation is that sales are disappointing and prices continue to weaken," said Tony Shiret at Credit Suisse First Boston. "All the dynamics in the core Boots the Chemist market look negative," he said.Mr Shiret cut £20m from his current-year profit forecasts to £580m.Group sales rose 5.6 per cent to £5.2bn Boots lifted its dividend by 5.9 per cent to 25.2p. Halfords performed strongly with a new store format to be rolled out.. Dixon Motors, the listed car dealer, yesterday announced that it had broken industry ranks and abandoned the practice of advertising so-called "recommended retail prices" ahead of Government action expected to clamp down on manufacturers' ability to fix prices. Dixon Motors, the listed car dealer, yesterday announced that it had broken industry ranks and abandoned the practice of advertising so-called "recommended retail prices" ahead of Government action expected to clamp down on manufacturers' ability to fix prices. Dixon said that as of yesterday, it would ignore car prices set by suppliers, which retailers have up to now been obliged to promote despite the fact that they almost always charge lower tariffs to their customers.

The decision comes in expectation of measures by the Secretary of State, firstly to prohibit manufacturers from imposing contract terms on dealers that prevent or inhibit them from advertising prices at which they are willing to sell, and secondly to ban suppliers from refusing their services to dealers who do so.Paul Dixon, chief executive of Dixon Motors said: "We think we've put a big stake in the ground We felt we needed to bring some clarity to the marketplace. Customers have been lost in a sea of confusion with all this talk of the difference between UK prices and European prices." The Dixon Real Price List will lead to savings of between 10 per cent and 32 per cent on headline prices, bringing the cost of a Vauxhall Vectra estate down from £15,920 to £10,895 while a Nissan Patrol, which was previously advertised at £31,200, will now retail at £23,695.Mr Dixon said he welcomed Stephen Byers' announcement on 10 April that he would not rule out a ban on recommended retail prices if it were necessary to stamp out price-fixing Dixon shares yesterday closed down 3.5p at 160p. They recently rose as much as 35 per cent after the company teamed up with Direct Line, the insurer, to sell cars on the internet.. The new head of the International Monetary Fund said yesterday he was not opposed in principle to the creation of an Asian Monetary Fund. Horst Köhler, who replaced Michel Camdessus as the IMF's managing director a month ago, added that he supported a recent initiative for Asian countries to pool reserves in order to defend currencies under speculative attack. The new head of the International Monetary Fund said yesterday he was not opposed in principle to the creation of an Asian Monetary Fund. Horst Köhler, who replaced Michel Camdessus as the IMF's managing director a month ago, added that he supported a recent initiative for Asian countries to pool reserves in order to defend currencies under speculative attack. He also said the introduction of capital controls in certain circumstances could not be "taboo".

His comments helped the Indonesian rupiah jump 2.6 per cent, to 8,450 against the dollar yesterday as traders speculated he would discuss exchange controls in a forthcoming meeting with Indonesia's president.The managing director's comments came as the World Bank published a report saying that, although severe structural problems remained, there was no reason the countries affected by the Asian currency crisis should not regain the "miracle" growth rates they enjoyed in recent decades.It predicted growth in the short-term would run at 5-7 per cent a year in China, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, and 4-6 per cent in Indonesia and the Phillippines.Speaking in Bangkok, Mr Köhler caused some surprise with his comments welcoming the idea of a separate Asian Monetary Fund. The plan was first floated in mid-1997, after the onset of the crisis, but was firmly squashed by the G7 countries and IMF at the time. There is no formal proposal even now, but the idea has recently made a comeback as Asian nations have regained their economic confidence.. MEPC yesterday unveiled a £3.5bn agreed bid to take the company private, which will see its directors sharing a bonus pool worth up to £65m. MEPC yesterday unveiled a £3.5bn agreed bid to take the company private, which will see its directors sharing a bonus pool worth up to £65m. Analysts have been expecting a large bid in the beleaguered sector for years, and said that the offer could be the start of a series of offers for quoted property groups. Companies in the sector typically trade on the stock market at large discounts to their net asset value.Sir John Egan, MEPC's chairman, said: "The sad thing is that the market knows our growth strategy but we still trade at a big discount [to asset value]. We are business people and, given that, we have got to do what's right for shareholders." Yesterday's deal followed a strategic review by MEPC, which considered a number of options - one of which was a return of cash to shareholders through a bid for the company.GE Capital, the venture capital house, and Hermes, which manages BT's pension fund, joined forces to offer 550p a share in cash for MEPC.

The takeover vehicle, Leconport Estates, will be headed by MEPC's chief executive, Jamie Dundas. Charles Alexander, president of GE Capital Europe, said: "No matter what they did, it had no effect on their share price. We liked their portfolio and it was easier to analyse than other companies as they have fewer, larger, properties."The move, which is made up of £1.9bn for the equity and net debt taken on of £1.6bn, came at a 25 per cent premium to MEPC's closing share price on Wednesday. However, the offer, is a steep 17 per cent discount to the net asset value that MEPC reported yesterday, along with its interim results, of 665p-a-share.