The Mövenpick group has announced that sales rose 11 per cent to SFr1.26 billion last year. The company, which owns a chain of restaurants, hotels and makes premium foods, described the result as 'very satisfactory'.

The Mövenpick group has announced that sales rose 11 per cent to SFr1.26 billion last year. The company, which owns a chain of restaurants, hotels and makes premium foods, described the result as "very satisfactory".

"Hotels and resorts have been especially successful in the Middle East, where Egypt is recovering very quickly, that was fantastic for us," said Mövenpick spokesman Chris Bradshaw.

"As for our premium foods division we had a very succesful launch of our ice cream in the Asia Pacific region," he added.

In other business news, Zurich Financial Services has received a boost in its plan to launch a real estate company onto the Swiss stock market. PubliGroupe, an advertising concern based in Lausanne, says it will transfer half of its real estate holdings, worth more than SFr200 million, to the company, PSP Swiss Property.

The real estate involved includes prime office space in Zurich and Geneva.

After the transaction, PSP will have a portfolio with an estimated value of SFr1.3 billion. Analysts say the sell off of property holdings represents a trend among companies allowing them to concentrate on core businesses.

The deal will give PubliGroupe a six per cent stake in PSP.

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