View from City Road: More confusion from Grand Met

Big restructurings - or re-engineering as we must now learn to call the process of 'right sizing' - have become a fact of corporate life in the cost-cutting 1990s. But for Grand Metropolitan to announce its second revamp in a year (51 weeks to be precise) seems a bit rich.

Analysts have struggled for years to attach any meaningful interpretation to Grand Met's trading results with their habitual restatement of the already restated. Yesterday's announcement will only add to the confusion. The last restructuring was worth pounds 70m in savings on an annualised basis. This one will be worth pounds 90m, the company insists, with the bulk of the savings being achieved in the IDV drinks and Burger King fast food offshoots.

With so much weight to lose, it's a wonder Grand Met hasn't attracted a break-up bid.