HOUSEBUILDER George Wimpey counted the cost of last year's weaker housing market to reveal a 16 per cent fall in full-year profits yesterday. The group said pre-tax profits for 2005 fell from a record £437.6m in 2004 to £366.5m last year, after its UK business suffered from increased incentives to promote sales in a weak market. But Wimpey looked to a stronger this year after a rally towards the end of last year showed signs of continuing. Buckinghamshire-based Wimpey also announced that chief executive Peter Johnson will retire on June 30 to be succeeded by his deputy Peter Redfern. Although Wimpey struggled in the UK last year, Wimpey's US arm Morrison Homes benefited from another strong year. Group turnover was up one per cent to £3bn, as a five per cent sales fall in the UK was offset by a 20 per cent increase in the US. Completions in the UK fell from 12,232 in 2004 to 12,100 last year, while the average selling price was down from £185,300 to £178,000.

Make it a date: Speed trading - a concept based on speed dating but for the business world - will be on the agenda at a networking trip next month. Durham Business School (DBC) is giving small and medium-sized business across the region a chance to make contacts at an event in Scotland. Business leaders will try out the speed trading craze, which is rapidly taking over from traditional networking as the way to do business. Christine Yule, DBC's development director, said: "Speed trading is a very quick and effective way to find out whether you can do business with the person you're talking to and vice versa." DBC is staging the event with Glasgow South Business Club at the city's Ibrox Stadium on Tuesday, March 21. Tickets cost £32 for non-members, which includes return coach travel. For details, call 0191 388 4488.

WORK PRESSURES: Most people have admitted that their personal lives had suffered because of work pressures, according to a report yesterday. A survey of more than 2,000 employees by employment law firm Peninsula found that most of those aged under 40 put their career before their family. Three out of four of those questioned said they worked overtime for no extra pay