There is a degree of risk for the private sector in that if road usage fails to live up to

There is a degree of risk for the private sector in that if road usage fails to live up to expectations, then it is the road builder that bears the cost In essence, however, the Government ends up paying. If this is the future for road building in Britain, then the already beleaguered contracting and engineering sector might as well close down for good.But this is only half the problem with private sector roads. The second is that they are not really private sector at all; funded via"shadow tolls" they are eventually paid for by the exchequer. However much the Chancellor might protest that a reinforced private finance initiative can substitute for such expenditure, everyone knows that as far as road building is concerned, this is just so much tosh.There are four road building schemes presently out to tender under the Government's design, build, finance and operate programme, but little sign of any progress being made in actually letting these schemes. There is no whiff of crisis yet at Sainsbury's Stamford Street headquarters. The company is bigger than Tesco, more profitable and remains one of the country's most highly regarded retailers.

But it needs to recover its pace and edge - fast.The Chancellor can expect little mercyCapital expenditure is almost always the first victim of an organisation looking for cuts and the Government is no exception. Even under plans already-published, a 10 per cent real fall in public investment is envisaged for the two years to April 1997. If the purported leaks of the present spending round turn out to be correct, those cuts are now going to be made even deeper, with what is left of an already emasculated road building programme the chief casualty. By comparison, Sainsbury's has 12 executive directors, four non-executives, plus 44 departmental directors who participate in a web of committees that implement board policy A pruning seems overdue. Tesco has been driven over the last two years essentially by just two directors, backed up by chairman Sir Ian McLaurin The system is fast and efficient. Recent initiatives such as mini-trolleys for children and wider car parking spaces have failed to capture the imagination.

Its marketing has lacked Tesco's flair and the company's appointment of a new, younger, marketing director last week, appears to recognise as much.More changes to its somewhat lumbering structure may be needed. It has tried to re-assert its higher quality, better service proposition - only to find the real battle returning to price. Archie Norman has been wheeled out as the consumer's champion.Sainsbury's marketing efforts look pretty tame by comparison. Asda has attacked price maintenance agreements on books, magazines and medicines and is even backing the two minute silence on Armistice Day.

It has stood by and allowed rivals to capture the imagination of shoppers with a series of initiatives. Tesco has been prepared to accept lower margins to grow sales. It is experimenting with derivative formats such as the Tesco Metro and has launched the first loyalty card, which has already signed up seven million customers. Sainsbury's problems centre not so much on mistakes, but inaction. This is miserable stuff compared to the 10-20 per cent profits growth the company has enjoyed over the last 10 years The great profits engine seems to have stalled. While Tesco is on a roll the wheels on Sainsbury's trolley seem to have jammed Yesterday's figures spoke volumes. Profits over the half year were more or less static and are forecast to rise by a paltry one per cent over the full year.

The supermarket battle continues to drift Tesco's way and try as David Sainsbury might, he appears unable to wrest the initiative back. For a business that styles itself as "everyone's favourite ingredient" Sainsbury's is not looking particularly unappetising these days. Earnings per share of 23.7p (21.6p) allowed a 7.5 per cent increase in the interim dividend from 5.35p to 5.75p Investment column, page 26.. After an 8.5 per cent rise in sales from pounds 1.22bn to pounds 1.33bn, profits before tax increased by 9 per cent to pounds 155.7m (pounds 143.1m). Mr Justice Creswell ruled in favour of the Merrett Names Association in its High Court claim for damages from underwriter Stephen Merrett, Merrett Syndicates and auditors Ernst & Young.