The Times
Ill wind blows no good for U.K. firms: Only a third of the value of new U.K. offshore wind farm projects is being spent with British companies, according to analysis.
Bank orders loans review as consumer debt rises: An increase in personal loans and rising levels of debt on credit cards have led the Bank of England to announce a review into whether the U.K.’s biggest banks have let their lending criteria become too loose.
Ex-Alliance Boss’s £1.2 million golden goodbye: The former Chief Executive of Alliance Trust collected more than £1.2 million in pay and bonuses last year for less than three months’ work.
Exclusive caterer is gobbled up by hotel chain Accor: A 197-year-old catering and hospitality company that was founded by a Parisian master pâtissier and a chef at the French court looks about to be swallowed by Accor Hotels and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.
Parts maker gives approval for investment after Brexit: One of Europe’s biggest players in the automotive supply chain, which is going through the Continent’s biggest flotation of the year, has committed itself to keep investing in a post-Brexit Britain.
Job vacancies outpacing applicants: Britain’s booming jobs market is getting stronger with companies creating new positions faster than they can be filled, the online jobs search engine Adzuna said.
Investor threatens board of Akzo on rejected €22 billion bid: An American activist investor pushing Akzo Nobel to open takeover talks with PPG Industries has renewed the threat to convene an emergency meeting to remove the Dutch group’s senior management.
Digital tax plan ‘will cost firms £3,000’: The government’s plan to digitise tax records could cost small businesses up to £3,000 extra a year, the Chairman of the Treasury select committee said.
The Independent
YouTube could lose up to $750 million from advertisers’ boycott over extremist content: YouTube’s revenue could take a $750 million hit as a result of dozens of multinationals suspending advertising contracts with the Google-owned video platform, according to analysts at one bank.
Santander staff receive ‘one hour a month’ contracts: Santander has advertised for “on-call” staff who are guaranteed just one hour of work per month, it has been revealed.
Brexit trade deals ‘may not have economic benefits’: British Brexit negotiators risk signing trade deals that are damaging, politically-motivated and “unlikely to have many economic benefits”, according to the expert who is training the Government’s officials on negotiations.
Trump healthcare defeat helps pound to seven-week high against dollar: The pound has surged to a seven-week high against the U.S. dollar after Donald Trump’s flagship healthcare bill failed to secure enough support from Republicans on Friday, calling some of the President’s other promised policies into question.
Bank stress test models weak profits and more fines for lenders: The Bank of England will this year stress test banks on a new scenario in which their profits remain chronically weak and they continue to be hit with large misconduct costs by regulators.
Time running out to spend old coins, government warns: Britons are being urged to spend or bank their old £1 coins before they become worthless later this year.
Ahead of Brexit, big companies are making few strategic changes: A survey of more than 70 large, publicly-listed companies in the U.K. has revealed that businesses remain broadly confident, and firms are not making major changes to their strategies and operations as the U.K. creeps towards an uncertain, post-Brexit world.
No Brexit deal would mean a ‘painful and costly’ EU departure: Theresa May’s suggestion that no Brexit deal was better than a bad deal risked condemning U.K. manufacturing to a “painful and costly” exit from the EU, an employers’ body warns.
Businesses demand action on unreliable broadband: Almost a quarter of U.K. small businesses are being held back by unreliable internet connections despite Government promises to roll out “superfast broadband” across the U.K. by the end of the year.
Financial Times
Johnson hopeful of persuading Trump on climate change action: Britain has told the Trump administration that global efforts to combat climate change must be continued, the foreign secretary has disclosed.
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Saudi Arabia slashes Aramco’s tax rate to woo IPO investors: Saudi Arabia has slashed the tax rate for state energy company Saudi Aramco as the company woos private investors and seeks the highest possible valuation ahead of its planned initial public offering in 2018.
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Banks face stiff test for EU ‘passport’ after Brexit: The eurozone’s top banking watchdog has warned it will take a tough line in policing banks that relocate operations from the U.K. in response to Brexit, saying that lenders must move enough staff and resources to the continent to cope with the risks that they would run.
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Bank investors cool down after heady post-election ride: Investors who piled into bank stocks as part of the “Trump trade” are now pulling back, fearing that the president’s defeat over healthcare could bode ill for his plans to lower taxes or ease rules around the financial sector.
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Bill Gross settles feud with Pimco for $81 million: Pimco has agreed to pay $81 million to settle a lawsuit from its Founder Bill Gross, in a detente that was almost as startling as the two-and-a-half year feud that has gripped the world of bond investing.
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Number of bank lawsuits at London’s High Court jump by a third: The number of lawsuits that the world’s 50 largest banks have been forced to defend in London’s High Court has jumped by a third in the past year, according to a new study.
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Fallout from China Huishan Dairy spreads: Chinese bank Ping An on Monday acknowledged a large indirect holding in China Huishan Dairy, which had $4.1 billion wiped from its market value last week, highlighting wider risks from exposure to the financially distressed company.
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Carlos Slim teams up with Chinese to focus on Mexican market: Carlos Slim’s Giant Motors will begin manufacturing cars in Mexico in a joint venture with China’s JAC Motors as they focus on the Latin market.
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Cobham investigated by FCA over handling of inside information: The Financial Conduct Authority has launched an investigation into Cobham over its handling of inside information ahead of one of its many profit warnings in the past year.
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Aston Martin launches £530 million bond to support new car: Aston Martin has followed the launch of its latest sports car, the DB11, with a £530 million bond offering to refinance existing debt and support a plan to expand the type of vehicles produced by the U.K. manufacturer.
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Brussels clears $145 billion merger of Dow Chemical and Dupont: Brussels cleared the $145 billion merger of Dow Chemical and Dupont on Monday in the first of three mega deals that could reshape the global agrichemical industry.
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Viacom picks former Fox film Chief to run Paramount Pictures: Viacom, the owner of Nickelodeon and MTV, has turned to former Fox film Chief Jim Gianopulos to revive its ailing Paramount Pictures division, hoping that he can restore the studio behind The Godfather, Saturday Night Fever and Top Gun to its former glory.
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Huishan Dairy confirms it missed interest payments: Huishan Dairy, the Chinese company whose share price plunged 90% last week in Hong Kong, has confirmed it met with nearly two dozen creditors after failing to make interest payments and revealed it has lost contact with the head of its treasury operations.
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Record fine puts BT’s Openreach arm back in spotlight: Just weeks after securing the future of Openreach, BT has been hit by another problem at its infrastructure arm after the British telecoms watchdog levied a record £42 million fine over a “serious breach” of rules governing its national broadband network.
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Privacy fears boost Deutsche Telekom cloud service: Deutsche Telekom has found strong demand for its “German cloud” computing service, which, it says, offers companies a higher level of security than competitors in Silicon Valley.
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Avianca files counter suit in bitter airline battle: Colombia-based airline Avianca filed a counter lawsuit in New York on Monday in the latest round of a no-holds-barred legal battle between two Latin American tycoons over the strategic control of one of the region’s biggest carriers and its mooted alliance with United Airlines.
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IAG retreats after advice to ditch long-haul airlines: British Airways owner IAG was a faller on Monday after Merrill Lynch advised ditching long-haul airlines.
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Lex:
Snap: rose-tinted: For its first month as a public company, Snap got an overwhelmingly negative reception from Wall Street analysts. The first 10 research notes rated the messaging app either “sell” or “neutral”, according to Bloomberg data. With only $400 million in revenues last year and a $500 million loss, those analysts decided it was not quite worth 70 times sales. Good for them: it is not.
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Tronc/Oaktree: Follow the buyout money: Private equity is generally the winner when embroiled in a boardroom brawl. Tronc, the media company once known more sensibly as Tribune Publishing, spent most of last year fighting off bids from Gannett, a rival publisher. Now its two largest investors are at odds with each other. Shareholders should follow the example of the third biggest — Oaktree Capital — and sell.
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BT: tough customers: On Monday, Ofcom imposed a fine on BT following a complaint from Vodafone. In the U.K. telecoms market, BT’s legacy as state-owned provider has left it with a near monopoly on crucial physical infrastructure. Other companies, including Vodafone, must pay it for access to the pipes and cables that connect homes and businesses to broadband and telephone networks — and try to compete with it on prices. They have complaints on both counts.
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Lombard:
Tesco may need a better way with words to land Booker prize: So secretive were Tesco and Booker during months of takeover talks that an analyst called their £3.7 billion deal “one of the corporate surprises of the retail century so far”. Retail Week claimed their skilful subterfuge “left many a retailer, analyst and journalist in a state of stunned silence”.
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Babcock and bull story: Back in January, reports of a wayward Trident missile test firing from a navy submarine had all eyes searching for a dummy warhead and a company to blame. But contractor Babcock, being responsible only for propelling the missile out of the water — and not the land mass that it might later mistakenly head for — found itself in the clear. Then, on Monday, its contract to clean up 12 of Britain’s old 1960s Magnox nuclear reactors — won via its majority owned Cavendish Fluor Partnership — was cut short by nine years. But, again, Babcock, being not responsible for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s apparently flawed procurement process, emerged largely unscathed. Although it will lose about £800 million from its £20 billion forward order book, the revenue hit is only £100 million from 2020-21, which industry observers suggested it could make up elsewhere.
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The Daily Telegraph
Tesco shareholders rebel against ‘foolhardy’ £3.7 billion Booker deal: Two of Tesco’s largest shareholders have chastised the supermarket for its “foolhardy” £3.7 billion merger with wholesaler Booker, arguing the deal would destroy billions of pounds worth of value.
Virgin Atlantic set to plunge into the red as weak pound curbs profits: Virgin Atlantic is predicting it will make its first loss in four years this year thanks in part to the weakness of sterling.
Backing for post-Brexit Britain from Qatari investment fund and Siemens: Britain’s post-Brexit prospects have been given a boost with the support of two influential international investors shrugging off concerns about the country’s economy once it quits the EU.
Snap shares jump after Wall Street’s thumbs up: Snapchat’s parent company received a vote of confidence from Wall Street on Monday after a rocky opening month following its blockbuster flotation.
‘Increase black and minority staff numbers’, business Minister warns listed companies: Britain’s biggest companies have been urged to increase the number of black and minority ethnic people they employ – with hints that legislation could come to ensure this happens if improvements do not come voluntarily.
Barclays targets Netflix demand with special TV production loans: British TV producers targeting the demand for new programming from Netflix and Amazon are being offered specialist loans to help them bridge longer delays before they receive payment compared with traditional broadcasters.
The Guardian
Deliveroo riders plan legal action over employment rights: A group of Deliveroo couriers is planning legal action against the food delivery firm to claim better employment rights including the minimum wage, sick pay and holiday.
U.K. nuclear decommissioning debacle costs government nearly £100 million: The government has been forced to pay nearly £100 million in a settlement with two U.S. companies for mishandling the way it awarded a £6.1 billion nuclear decommissioning contract.
BrewDog backs down over Lone Wolf pub trademark dispute: BrewDog, the self-described “punk” beer company, has backed down in a row over the name of a family-run pub, blaming “trigger-happy” lawyers for the legal action.
Chinese firm MTR to help operate U.K.’s South West trains franchise: The Hong Kong state-owned metro operator MTR and FirstGroup are to take over the running of South West Trains, one of the Britain’s biggest commuter networks, in a seven-year deal that trade unions denounced for handing another franchise to a state-controlled foreign operator.
U.K. banks asked to draw up plans to show they are prepared for Brexit: The Bank of England has asked U.K. banks, insurers and other financial institutions to draw up comprehensive plans for how they will deal with Britain’s exit from the European Union, and will scrutinise them closely.
Daily Mail
Discovery of 1 billion barrels of crude off the Shetland Islands lifts oil explorer Hurricane Energy 8.7%: Hurricane Energy shares surged as it confirmed a major oil find off the Shetland Islands. The oil and gas business said independent data had indicated it may have made the largest ever undeveloped discovery on the U.K. Continental Shelf.
London is crowned global finance king… despite Brexit fears that jobs will go abroad: London has kept its crown as the world’s top financial centre in a big boost for Britain following the Brexit vote.
Money laundering and tax dodging scandals dent retiring HSBC Chairman’s hopes of a gong: HSBC’s £2.1 million-a-year Chairman Douglas Flint, 61, who is replaced by oikish ex-Prudential Chief Mark Tucker in the autumn, is unlikely to be honoured upon his departure. Scandals over the bank’s involvement in money laundering and Swiss tax dodging have put paid to that.
Family grocery dubbed the ‘Waitrose of the North’ hoping to win over Malaysians: Northern grocer Booths is venturing further afield – into Malaysia. Dubbed the ‘Waitrose of the North’, the 170-year-old family business has gained a foothold in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria.
Developer Persimmon’s £630 million Executive pay deal sparks shareholder revolt talks: Persimmon faces a fresh backlash over an Executive pay deal that could see the firm’s top brass share a windfall of £630 million.
Daily Express
Sir James Dyson ‘enormously optimistic’ for U.K. business after EU split: Billionaire inventor Sir James Dyson has declared his confidence in British business and said trade is set to thrive after the U.K. breaks from the European Union (EU).
Britain sees Sterling boost as May gears up to trigger Article 50: The pound surged to its highest level against the U.S. dollar in almost two months, as Britain gears up to trigger Article 50 and begin its formal exit from the European Union (EU).
Poundland’s 99p Stores fall into administration: 60 shops across the U.K. shut: High street chain 99p Stores has shut 60 stores, after the Poundland-owned company fell into administration.
BT fined £42 million in high-speed cables installation delay row: BT Group has been fined a record £42million and faces a £300million compensation bill over delays installing high-speed cables.
Major European banks routed more than £20billion through tax havens, says damning report: Major European banks routed £21.6billion through tax havens in 2015, according to a report by Oxfam International.
The Scottish Herald
Digital tech firms optimistic but fear halt of foreign talent: Scottish workers will be required to fill the majority of new roles in the country’s digital technology sector as the U.K. becomes a country of “decreasing attractiveness” for international talent.
Bowleven says no need for fire sale at oil company: Directors of Bowleven have said they will not conduct a fire sale of the oil and gas firm after launching a strategic review which they have said may result in the disposal of the business.
Loch Lomond broadens its global reach: Loch Lomond Distillers has highlighted its expanding global reach as it lifted turnover by nearly 10% to £47.3 million, its latest accounts show.
Spaceandpeople fall into losses but optimism reigns for current year: Promotional group SpaceandPeople saw shares surge by 49% in early trading before losing some of the gains after the group predicted it would return to sustainable profit in 2017.
North Sea firm makes progress: North Sea-focused Independent Oil and Gas has thanked the industry regulator for supporting the company’s work in the southern part of the basin, where it hopes to develop gas finds. London-based Independent noted the Oil and Gas Authority has granted an extension until 20 December of the licence containing the Harvey gas find.
Exova in talks with potential bidders for company: Shares in Exova have surged 13% after the Edinburgh-based materials testing firm said it was in talks with three potential bidders for the company.
Baillie Gifford cuts Monks fees: Edinburgh fund manager Baillie Gifford has altered the way it charges for running the £1.3 billion Monks Investment Trust, allowing investors to benefit from economies of scale.
Arrayjet lifted by Bronx deal: Arrayjet, the Midlothian company whose specialised printers can be used to speed up testing work for life sciences organisations, has secured a contract with The New York Bioscience Cluster.
St Enoch set for £1.5 million revamp: Glasgow shopping destination St Enoch Centre has received a £1.5 million investment to upgrade its food court. The capacity of the area, now called The Atrium, has been expanded to include 900 seats, while U.S.B charging points have been added to allows shoppers to use the free wi-fi. A revamped children’s area is due to be completed in April.
The Scotsman
Edinburgh’s biggest office building targets tech scene: The largest single office building in Edinburgh has officially opened after refurbishment to meet “unprecedented” demand from the city’s thriving technology sector.
Glasgow brewer turns leftover bread into beer: A Glasgow-based craft brewer has launched what is being described as Scotland’s first beer to be made from leftover bread.
Wood Group lands £40 million North Sea deal with Premier: Oil and gas services giant Wood Group has secured a $50 million (£40 million) contract to deliver operations and maintenance for two North Sea platforms.
Edinburgh set for £10 million boost from Avengers blockbuster: Filming on the new Avengers: Infinity War blockbuster in Edinburgh is set to spark a £10 million boost for the capital’s economy – more than is usually generated from a whole year’s worth of productions.
Scottish solar firm AES wins EU project backing: A Scottish manufacturer of solar panels is the only company of its kind in Europe to have been selected to work on an EU wide project which will promote the development of renewable technology.
Atlantis Resources targets infrastructure deals: Tidal power pioneer Atlantis Resources is eyeing acquisition targets and seeking to raise funds in a bid to capitalise on infrastructure opportunities.
City A.M.
U.K. publishing company sells magazine titles including Insurance Post and Risk.net to French B2B firm in £120 million deal: Business-to-business publisher Incisive Media has sold magazine titles including Insurance Post, Central Banking and Risk.net in a £120 million deal.
Aldi and Lidl stumble on building loyalty with customers: Aldi and Lidl may be hoovering up market share from the more traditional supermarkets, but new research suggests they aren’t winning the loyalty of the U.K. consumer.
Theresa May must not overlook mid-sized fast growth firms in Brexit talks: Pick your analogy. Whether it’s the starting gun being fired or divorce proceedings being issued, Theresa May’s Article 50 letter will be sent, kicking off the most complex set of negotiations in living memory.
Theresa May under fire for ignoring Brexit concerns from Lords committees: Prime Minister Theresa May’s government is ignoring Brexit concerns; two House of Lords committees have warned.
British financial services to accelerate post-Brexit after negotiating a tricky two years: Britain’s financial services sector will continue to grow over the next two years with an acceleration after Brexit, new forecasts show.
Investment bank Macquarie spies more U.K. opportunities and urges Australian government to “build stronger trade links” with Britain: Australian investment bank Macquarie is on the look-out for further deals in the U.K. and has encouraged its native government to “build stronger trade links” with Britain.
