BUS company Arriva has pledged to work with bus operators to resolve competition concerns following its takeover of the Wales and Borders rail franchise. The transport company, based in Sunderland, has been told by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to give undertakings to address fears that the takeover will be bad for competition in the North Wales and Border counties region. Arriva already operates a large proportion of buses in the area and recently secured most of the rail services through Wales and Borders. The OFT said it was concerned that competition from rival bus operators would be harmed if Arriva introduced integrated tickets valid on only Arriva's bus and rail services.

LOSSES CUT: Fast food-to-accident repair group Gowrings said strong trading at its Burger King restaurants had helped reduce annual losses by 80 per cent. Gowrings, which employs about 1,700 people, has undergone a restructuring that has seen it shed its motor dealerships to focus on restaurants. It also has three accident repair centres. Pre-tax losses fell to £853,000 last year from £4.3m as the company benefited from an internal strategy to boost margins at its restaurants.

INFLATION DOWN: Weakness in clothing prices following the January sales helped reduce the inflation rate by 0.1 per cent, according to the latest figures. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell to 1.3 per cent last month from 1.4 per cent during the previous month, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.