Permira snaps up UK's Dr Martens

BRITISH boot brand Dr Martens has been snapped up by private equity firm Permira in a STG300 million ($A507.14 million) deal, ending more than 50 years of family ownership.

It means the boots - footwear of choice for generations of skinheads, punks and students - will join a stable of brands which also includes Hugo Boss and New Look.

The Northamptonshire-based Griggs family, who have been making shoes since 1901, will retain control of around 20 per cent of the business.

Dr Martens employs 700 people worldwide, including 350 in the UK, and its products are sold in 63 countries.

The deal, expected to complete in January, will see Permira take control of parent company R Griggs.

Chief executive David Suddens says the brand's authenticity and the millions of customers who have used "Docs" as a symbol of self-expression for over half a century are what makes Dr Martens unique.

"The Permira funds respect that heritage and want to support the management team in nurturing it," Suddens said.

Cheryl Potter, partner and head of the consumer sector team at Permira, says Dr Martens is an iconic brand with a passionate fan base of followers.

Dr Martens has enjoyed a revival in fortunes in recent years as a new generation of stars such as Miley Cyrus, Emma Watson and Agyness Deyn took up the "bovver boots" whose popularity - once espoused by the likes of The Who's Pete Townshend - had been on the wane.

The deal follows reports of the Griggs family looking to exit the business after more than five decades running the brand that last year made STG15.3 million pre-tax profits on revenues of STG110 million, following an abortive sale attempt last year.

Permira is thought likely to try to expand Dr Martens' online and store presence into new international markets.

The Griggs family started producing the Dr Martens boots in 1960 after the development of a revolutionary new air-cushioned sole by the Germans Klaus Martens and Herbert Funck.

It still pays an annual fee to the families of the two men.

Production was moved to Asia, but the original Northamptonshire factory was reopened in 2007 to produce vintage styles.

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Roma family removals probe in Ireland

IRELAND'S police watchdog will review the cases of two Roma families having children removed from their homes amid claims they could not prove their identity.

Two reports have been ordered on the controversial action by gardai and health officials after a seven-year-old girl was taken from her south Dublin home for 48 hours and a two year-old boy from his home in Athlone in the Midlands overnight.

Both children were subsequently proven to be members of the families with the girl returned home after DNA tests.

The police watchdog, the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission, said it has not received any complaints but has demanded copies of a report by the Commissioner Martin Callinan.

"We have requested this in order to inform ourselves fully of the circumstances of events so that we can take an appropriate position," a spokesman for the Ombudsman said.

Separately, the Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan will investigate why the children were removed from their families.

She will be furnished with two reports - from Mr Callinan and the Health Service Executive (HSE) - in two weeks time.

Both youngsters have blonde hair and blue eyes while their parents have darker complexions and hair, which is not out of the ordinary in the Roma community.

Amnesty International threw its weight behind calls from one of the families for an independent inquiry.

Colm O'Gorman, spokesman for the organisation in Ireland, said responses to reported child protection concerns needed to be proportionate and non-discriminatory.

"If it is found that the authorities' actions were discriminatory, steps must taken to ensure this is not repeated. There must be a public apology to the Roma families for the wrongdoing.

"The eyes of the world are now on Ireland, and the Government must show institutional discrimination will not be tolerated."

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Spain's unemployment rate falls

THE number of unemployed people in Spain dropped by 72,800 to 5.9 million in the third quarter, pushing the unemployment rate down to 25.98 per cent.

The drop in the number of jobless people in the third quarter, compared to the same period in recent years, was the sharpest since 2005, the National Statistics Institute reported in its Labour Force Survey on Thursday.

Employment rose by 39,500 to 16.82 million in the July-September period, marking the first rise in the third quarter of a year since 2010, with the labour force participation rate hitting 59.59 per cent, the Labor Force Survey said.

The unemployment rate for men in the second quarter was 25.50 per cent, while the jobless rate for women was 26.55 per cent.

The youth unemployment rate - calculated for those younger than 25 - was 54.39 per cent in the third quarter, down 1.75 percentage points.

The number of households with all members of the labour force unemployed fell by 13,400 in the July-September period, but it still stands at a high 1.8 million, the report said.

The Bank of Spain said in its latest economic bulletin Wednesday that the country climbed out of recession in the third quarter, growing 0.10 per cent from the previous three-month period to end a streak of nine consecutive quarters of contraction.

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Bad bushfire conditions set to linger

BUSHFIRE-WEARY NSW residents shouldn't expect any respite just yet, with dangerous fire weather expected to linger for at least another three days.

Scores of fires continued to burn around the state late on Thursday as the bushfire crisis entered its second week.

But none burned at emergency level overnight.

A Rural Fire Service spokesman has warned that warm weather and strong winds were expected to plague the state until early next week at the least.

He conceded some residents may become "frustrated" after days of being urged to leave their homes, then being allowed to return.

But he pleaded for locals in bushfire-affected areas to continue to heed official warnings because the danger remained real.

Governor-General Quentin Bryce is expected to tour bushfire-hit parts of the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, on Friday.

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