Tobacco Litigation Fears Cloud Imperial Float

Imperial is Britain's second biggest tobacco firm after B.A.T Industries and its brands include Embassy, John Player Special and Superkings cigarettes as well as Panama and Castella cigars.

It is one of four arms of the mighty Hanson conglomerate being spun off into separate floated companies to unlock value.

In the 10 years since Hanson took over Imperial, it has slashed costs, cut its brands to 33 from 150 and raised productivity by 195 per cent. 1995 profits were