PEOPLE & BUSINESS

SIR Willi Purves, who is due to retire as chairman of HSBC at the end of the month, yesterday lost his chance to become the next chairman of the British Horseracing Board (BHB), the shadowy body which runs racing in this country.

The BHB's nine-strong committee decided at their meeting in Portman Square, London, to appoint millionaire entrepreneur Peter Savill as chairman instead.

Not that "officially" anything happened at all. So opaque is the horse racing set-up, so mired in the past, that "officially" there wasn't even an election, let alone a list of candidates or a formal vote. The problem is that a chairman has never been selected before.

Lord Hartington was the first chairman, when the Jockey Club set the BHB up. His successor, Lord Wakeham, popped up unopposed at the prompting of a government committee. When Lord Wakeham announced he wanted to step down, all sorts of names were touted to replace him, including Sir Peter Middleton, chairman of Barclays Capital.

But yesterday Mr Savill, who made a pounds 40m fortune through publishing and tourism in the Caribbean, came from behind to beat Sir Willi by a head.

Sir Willi, 67, former chairman of the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, said he "congratulated Peter Savill on his election as chairman of the BHB and wished him every success in what is a challenging and important position for British horseracing."

A spokesman for Sir Willi, when asked what the former chairman will do instead when he retires, said: "He hasn't said yet. Of course, right up until the minute of his retirement he will devote all his energies to the interests of the shareholders of HSBC."

SAVE Scribes! Down with the Corporation!

Let me explain this insurrectionary outburst. Scribes Cellar, the private members' club off Fleet Street which hosts the Stock Market Reporters' Club, is to close.

And, if that isn't bad enough, the Carmelite Street boozer and talking shop is to shut its doors at the orders of the Corporation of London, so that the building can be redeveloped.

This has all the makings of a classic PR disaster. The City Corporation has managed to alienate all the journalists in London working as market reporters in one fell swoop. Where will the Club's meetings on the last Thursday of each month be held now?

John Arthur, who helped set up Scribes 21 years ago and has owned it for the last 10 years, said yesterday: "The Corporation served notice on us last December to terminate the lease in June. This is despite the fact that they [the Corporation] haven't put in for planning permission yet. I've found it extremely difficult to find out what's going on. It's a great shame."

Mr Arthur says he has been "inundated" by over 50 members offering to petition the Corporation to save Scribes.

"I've found it extremely difficult to get an explanation from them [the Corporation] on what's going on.... We've had no contact with any developers ... the Corporation, as usual, has been totally obtuse," Mr Arthur concluded bitterly.

A spokeswoman for the Corporation did try to get a comment for me yesterday, but was unable to do so at the time of going to press. In the meantime - anyone got some club premises going cheap?

GAVIN Hastings, former captain of Scotland, The British Lions and all- round rugby hero, is heading up a new joint venture in public relations in Edinburgh.

The much-capped Scottish full back retired from international rugby after the last World Cup two and a half years ago, and since then has been building up his own sports consultancy, Hastings International, through which he brokers sponsorship deals for people like the Scottish cricket team.

Now he has teamed up with the London-based PR outfit Craigie Taylor International to form Craigie Hastings, which will operate independently of Hastings International.

"My profile up here should help open doors to clients," says Gavin. "There's a tremendous buzz in Scotland linked with the new Scottish Parliament. As far as this business goes, the sky's the limit."

As for playing the game, Gavin has only donned a rugger shirt in anger twice this year, including last Saturday when he played in a benefit for his old colleague Derek White.

I wonder if he will cross paths with Jack Rowell, the former England rugby manager who yesterday moved sideways from being chairman to acting chief executive at Celsis, the troubled drug company?

As Celsis's former chief executive, Arthur Holden, prepares a bid for the underperforming company, I'm sure Big Jack could use all the positive spin he can get.