Newspaper Summary
The Times
Lionel Messi’s latest venture is a luxury hotel for €30 million in Sitges, Catalonia: The Barcelona footballer has bought a four-star hotel near his adopted home for €30 million.
Britons will save £1.4 billion as phone roaming charges are axed in EU: Millions of consumers will pay less to use their mobile phones on holiday in Europe from this week, after EU roaming charges were scrapped.
New banknotes are too slippery for cash machines: Banks are coming under pressure to upgrade their cash machines because many of them cannot cope with the new generation of “slippery” polymer notes.
New Zealander plans to make it cheap and easy to get satellites into orbit: Peter Beck, a New Zealander and Founder of Rocket Lab, may not share the profile of his fellow rocket men, but he has been notching up impressive space flight milestones.
Social housing investment fund to test nervous IPO market: A social housing fund is to be one of the first companies to test investor appetite in the nervous post-election era. Residential Secure Income will become the second real estate investment trust to invest in social housing as it announces its intention to float and raise £300 million.
David Lloyd Leisure shows strength with swoop for fitness club in Milan: David Lloyd Leisure is beefing up its overseas operations by acquiring its first club in Italy.
Business confidence crashes amid post election uncertainty: Business confidence has plunged since the election and company Bosses blame uncertainty over the make-up of the government, according to a poll by the Institute of Directors.
Royal Ascot Week helps Owners to reduce debt: A 10% increase in ticket income from Royal Ascot week last year helped produce cantering profits growth at the company which runs the event. Ascot Authority (Holdings) has reported pretax profits of £5.1 million for 2016, up by 16%.
British Gas launches repair service through Local Heroes website: British Gas has unveiled plans to revive its home services business by launching the “Uber of the plumbing and boiler world”.
French finance Minister Bruno Le Maire tries to broker Greek debt deal: With a Greek crisis threatening the European Union once again France’s government is sending Bruno Le Maire, the finance Minister, to Athens to try to broker a breakthrough in stalled bailout negotiations and contentious debt talks.
The Independent
Air bnb gets green light in Japan after government passes home-sharing law: Air bnb will now be able to operate in Japan without the risk of running into regulatory hurdles after the government passed a law that sets out rules for home sharing.
The Daily Telegraph
Uber Boss Travis Kalanick considers leave of absence: Uber’s Chief Executive and Founder Travis Kalanick is weighing up a temporary exit following an extraordinary series of scandals that has thrown the U.S. technology giant into chaos.
U.S. Federal Reserve poised to raise interest rates: America’s central bank is poised to raise interest rates for the second time this year as policymakers take another step towards normalisation amid an improving economy.
Gulf crisis threatens Qatar’s £160 billion World Cup building plans: The diplomatic crisis engulfing Qatar threatens to derail the £160 billion building programme the country needs to finish to be ready to host the 2022 World Cup.
Guardian to go tabloid as it abandons Berliner presses in print deal with Trinity Mirror: The Guardian newspaper will soon abandon its European-style “Berliner” print format and go tabloid to help stem heavy losses.
Zopa hunts for 40 tech whizzes as it narrows focus on bank launch: Britain’s largest peer-to-peer lender has heightened its focus on building a bank, firing the starting gun on a recruitment push that will see it hire at least 40 developers for the project.
Tax hikes in emerging markets put brake on tobacco growth: Aggressive tax hikes in emerging markets are holding back the number of cigarettes some of the world’s largest tobacco companies are able to sell.
O2 Arena Owner to limit bags amid terror threat: The company which owns London’s O2 Arena said it is likely to restrict bags being brought into the venue amid concerns about another terror attack.
Cuadrilla’s cuts costs to stem losses as shale project faces further opposition: Cuadrilla has cut deep into its spending and reduced its workforce by a fifth to stem its mounting losses as it faces yet further delay to its flagship shale fracking project.
Germany faces an uncertain future as the Eurozone’s magic money tree: The EU has had a good few weeks, starting with the election of Emmanuel Macron as President of France, backed up by a series of strong economic figures from just about everywhere in Europe, and culminating in the Remainers’ Revenge last Thursday in the U.K..
The Guardian
Private schools to save £522 million in tax thanks to charitable status: Private schools are set to get tax rebates totalling £522 million over the next five years as a result of their controversial status as charities, according to a study of local council records.
Boohoo co-Founder sells £80 million in shares as he reveals ‘supersite’ plan: The co-Founder of Boohoo.com has cashed in on the fast-growing popularity of the online fashion group by selling more than £80 million in shares.
Co-op Bank draws interest from Qatar conglomerate: A Qatar-based company has been identified as part of a consortium interested in making a bid for the troubled Co-operative Bank.
Daily Mail
Morrisons faces bonus backlash with Boss David Potts set to pocket £10 million over the next three years: Morrisons has been criticised over ‘soft’ bonus targets and excessive boardroom pay. Chief Executive David Potts could pocket £10 million over the next three years after his long-term share award was increased from 240% of his salary to 300%.
McLaren Chief puts flotation in pole position: Woking firm set to follow in rival Ferrari’s footsteps: Supercar maker McLaren Automotive could be set to follow in rival Ferrari’s footsteps with a stock market float.
Tesco’s growth spurt continues: Grocer expected to report bumper first quarter sales: Britain’s largest grocer is expected to report further sales growth in the first quarter of its financial year this week.
World’s biggest public sector investors hoarding gold amid Trump and Brexit uncertainty: Uncertainty driven by the election of Donald Trump and last year’s Brexit vote has led to the gold reserves of the world’s largest public sector investors to reach an 18-year high.
Daily Express
Used car website Auto Trader’s profits up 18%: Shares in used car website Auto Trader fell 5% after the release of its 2016/17 results.
Consumers feel the pinch as annual spending falls for first time since 2013: Consumer spending has fallen annually for the first time in nearly four years, in signs that more households are reining back on purchases amidst rising prices and stalling wage growth.
The Scottish Herald
Scots growth picks up as services rises: Growth of the Scottish private sector economy accelerated in May but remained modest, as services returned to expansion, a survey shows.
Holyrood malt whisky project launches £5.5 million funding bid: The people aspiring to distil the first single malt whisky in Edinburgh in 90 years have launched a £5.5 million investment drive to help fund its development.
Thomson targets growth through deals: A Glasgow-based wealth management firm has targeted acquisitions after moving to new premises which it says will allow it to double in size.
Scottish businesses demand rethink on Brexit: Businesses across Scotland have come together to call on Theresa May to abandon any thoughts of a hard Brexit after the General Election ended in a hung parliament.
The Scotsman
Franchise firm Platinum on crest of a wave: The Founder and Managing Director of an Edinburgh-based franchising consultancy is aiming for it to be a £1 million turnover business in the next three to four years as it looks to harness international growth potential.
CMC profits spread more thinly amid ‘quiet markets’: Spread-betting firm CMC Markets blamed “quieter markets” for a 9% fall in pretax profits to £48.5 million in its first full year as a public company.
L’Oreal in talks over £880 million sale of The Body Shop: L’Oreal has entered into “exclusive” talks to sell The Body Shop to Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer Natura Cosmeticos in a deal that could be worth €1 billion (£880 million).
City A.M.
Business deluded over migration changes, says leading think tank Resolution Foundation: Businesses are “totally unprepared” for likely changes to levels of immigration to the U.K., a leading think tank has warned.
Goldman Sachs Boss Lloyd Blankfein joins Mark Carney and Jes Staley on list of bankers hoodwinked by the email prankster: Goldman Sachs Boss Lloyd Blankfein has been duped by the email prankster that has already embarrassed Bank of England governor Mark Carney and Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley, it was claimed.
Retirees have spend a record £3.7 billion paying rent in the last year: Retirees in Britain have paid £3.7 billion in rent in the last year, up a whopping 216% from the £1.2 billion they paid in 2007.
London is the best place for investment in the build-to-rent sector, according to Knight Frank: The U.K.’s build-to-rent sector will be worth £70 billion by 2021 with London gobbling up 65% of the investment in the market, according to a new research by Knight Frank.
Nisa Retail drafts in advisers as it explores mutual structure shake-up: Convenience store Nisa Retail has called in bankers from Lazard to explore a sale of the member-owned firm, according to reports.