Newspaper Summary
The Times
BT’s pension payout cut is ‘unlikely to set precedent’: BT’s plans to reduce retirement pay-outs for about 80,000 members of its final-salary scheme will not open the floodgates for other employers to make a similar move, a leading pensions expert has predicted.
I have copy of RBS scandal report, claims Noel Edmonds: A row over a confidential regulatory report into the activities of Royal Bank of Scotland’s restructuring division has descended into farce after Noel Edmonds claimed to have a copy.
Virgin Group and Stagecoach took £47 million dividend from west coast main line: Virgin Group and Stagecoach took £47 million in dividends from the west coast main line last year as they tried to renegotiate their contract for the troubled east coast franchise.
Interserve is under fire after Adrian Ringrose receives payoff: The Chief Executive who presided over profit warnings at Interserve and a collapse in its share price has been given a payoff, triggering criticism of the board.
Maxims rolls the dice on London casino sale: Maxims, the exclusive Kensington casino, has been put up for sale by its Malaysian owner with a price tag of at least £40 million.
Hiya Car applies the Airbnb model to vehicle sharing: An app that hopes to do for motoring what Airbnb did for accommodation has entered a partnership with local government to enable employees to drive each other’s cars for work trips rather than use council-owned vehicles.
Apple and Google named the world’s most valuable brands: Apple and Google have been named the world’s most valuable brands for the fifth consecutive year. Interbrand raised the value of Apple’s brand to $184 billion last year. Amazon, Facebook and Netflix also crept higher in its rankings.
Simon Cope moves to top of food chain at Byron burgers: Simon Cope, who joined the posh burger chain backed by Hutton Collins in July as managing Director, is expected to be promoted to the role that Andy Manders left in May after only a few months in the job.
Former Bank of Scotland HQ to become Gleneagles club: The former Bank of Scotland headquarters in St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, is to become an outpost of the luxury Gleneagles golf resort. Ennismore, which acquired the Ryder Cup venue two years ago for about £150 million, is believed to have the bought the city centre listed building from Lloyds Banking Group for conversion to a Gleneagles Club.
The Independent
Ryanair: after worst week ever, airline slashes fares for the winter to win back passengers: Fly to France for under £5, and to much of the rest of Europe for less than £10: that is the offer from Ryanair as it seeks to get flight bookings back on track after the worst week in its history.
Extreme weather to cost U.K. billions and leave 2.5 million homes at risk of flooding unless Ministers take action, warns WWF: Floods, droughts and heatwaves could cost the economy tens of billions of pounds and hundreds of thousands of jobs by 2050, according to a new report commissioned by conservation charity WWF.
EU ‘wants €50 billion from U.K.’ as part of Brexit negotiations, according to senior Diplomats: Europe is set to seek a €50 billion (£44 billion) divorce bill to break the stalemate as Britain haggles over a deal to leave the European Union, according to senior European diplomats.
Businesses should foot the bill for the pollution they cause, says UN Environment Chief: The United Nations has said those responsible for pollution should foot the bill for the damage being wreaked on the planet.
The Daily Telegraph
Queen Angela commands a German economy unfit for the 21st Century: The German economic supercycle peaked two years ago. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s unenviable task over her fourth term is to manage national decline, whatever the make-up of the next coalition.
Biotech patents voice recognition software that can tell if you’re ill: A London listed biotech group is ¬developing voice recognition software that can diagnose illnesses like Parkinson’s disease and depression just from the sound of your voice.
Gender pay gap widens to £12,000 for female managers: The pay gap between male and female managers is worsening with women earning an average £12,000 less than their male colleagues, figures show.
Imagination Technologies’ Chinese suitor on hunt for fresh U.K. deals: The Boss of the Chinese-backed private equity firm behind a proposed £550 million takeover of Imagination Technologies is already eyeing further acquisition opportunities in the U.K.
Battle over plans for new £3 billion contract for new Army vehicle: A behind-the-scenes battle is taking place between industry and the Ministry of Defence over plans to equip the Army with hundreds of new armoured vehicles.
Fears for thousands of British jobs as U.S. court prepares to rule on Bombardier subsidy row: A court decision in America that could threaten thousands of British jobs is expected.
Leon wraps up a jump in sales but swings to loss on expansion drive: Halloumi wraps and “porridge of the gods” helped boost Leon’s sales by 58% last year ahead of the healthy fast-food chain ramping up its ambitious expansion plans.
Immigration to fall by hundreds of thousands as the U.K. becomes less attractive: Annual immigration into the U.K. is expected to fall by 100,000 even if a smooth deal is agreed very quickly in the Brexit talks, according to economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) as a stronger eurozone economy encourages EU workers to stay put.
The Guardian
Royal Bank of Scotland delays introduction of low-rate credit card: Royal Bank of Scotland has postponed plans to introduce a cut-price credit card amid concerns about the £200 billion of lending amassed by U.K. households.
Deliveroo valuation hits £1.5 billion after food delivery firm raises new funds: Deliveroo has achieved a valuation of more than $2 billion (£1.5 billion) after the British takeaway food delivery firm raised $385 million in new funds.
Caseload almost doubles at U.K. antislavery body as remit widens: The U.K.’s antislavery body has launched 185 investigations since May, nearly double its total for the whole of last year, after assuming powers that allow it to look beyond the food and farming sector.
Daily Mail
Suppliers stand up for beleaguered Toys R U.S. after it secures £1.5 billion loan and files for bankruptcy protection: Beleaguered retailer Toys R Us has been thrown a lifeline by suppliers who pledged to stay on board after the firm filed for bankruptcy protection.
Comparethemarket’s South African owners handed bumper payout: The South African families behind the price comparison website Comparethemarket.com have been handed a £138 million payout.
Formula One team slumps from £4 million profit to £6 million loss: Formula One racing team McLaren slumped to a £6 million loss last year – down from a £4 million profit in 2015.
Investors suing lender for up to £700 million force bankers to explain toxic takeover: The disgraced bankers who brought Lloyds to the brink of collapse through its catastrophic takeover of HBOS are being hauled before the High Court to explain themselves.
Debt worries for Staffordshire aerospace firm Doncasters: One of Britain’s oldest engineering companies is sitting on debt of £1.2 billion, accounts reveal – 12 times earnings at Staffordshire aerospace firm Doncasters.
Brexit ‘bad boy’ Arron Banks widens the net as he prepares to pump more cash into his Isle of Man bank: Arron Banks is poised to pump more cash into his Isle of Man bank as he launches a major push in secured business lending across the U.K.
Daily Express
ONS to confirm sluggish growth rates for the April to June period: Britain’s economy grew by just 0.3% during the second quarter, data from the Office for National Statistics will confirm on Friday.
Markets betting on hike before the end of the year: It may yet be another false dawn but there now seems to be a real chance that the Bank of England will finally raise interest rates before the end of the year.
Debenhams takes a stake in top on-demand beauty services company blow LTD: Debenhams is investing in the U.K.’s largest on-demand beauty services provider blow LTD to accelerate its growth in the sector.
Ryanair pilots recruited by Norwegian following airline chaos: Norwegian will be looking to heap the pressure on low-cost rival Ryanair by snapping up more of its pilots when it opens a new hub in Dublin later this year.
The Scottish Herald
Why the renewables industry needs more hot air from politicians: ScottishPower has called for political support to develop more onshore windfarms after hitting a record high of power from the sector
With a hard Brexit looming the parties face tough choices: Theresa May started the week in Canada and ended it in Florence. Predictably, her Florence speech was underwhelming. Its main substance was the proposal of a two-year transition period out of the EU with associated budget payments intended to ease the Brexit divorce.
The Scotsman
Jeremy Corbyn under pressure over single market stance: Jeremy Corbyn has come under pressure to soften his policy on Brexit, with dozens of senior party figures and a majority of its membership calling for a Labour government to keep the U.K. in the EU single market and customs union.
SNP air tax cut will “benefit richest” and spark race to the bottom: SNP plans to cut Air Departure Tax will trigger a “race to the bottom” between the Scottish and U.K. Governments, the interim Labour leader at Holyrood will warn.
City A.M.
Sportswear brand Castore runs away with £1.2 million of funding from investors including New Look’s Founder: Premium men’s sportswear brand Castore has raised £1.2 million from a group of private investors, including the Founder of high street fashion chain New Look.
Treasury takings from tax probe into U.K. construction sector rise: Tax investigations into the construction industry netted the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) £147 million last year – up from £102 million the previous year – according to a new study released.
Crunch time for Carillion this week as investors brace for the worst ahead of first-half results: Ailing construction services company Carillion is in talks to offload some of its Middle East operations, as the business embarks on a radical reshaping plan and attempts to pull back from the brink of collapse.
U.K. government must do more to attract private infrastructure investment, says RICS: The U.K. must adopt international standards in order to encourage infrastructure investment as Brexit negotiations continue, according to a new paper published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Buyout firm Carlyle has had its interest sparked by cigarette distributor Palmer & Harvey: U.S. buyout firm The Carlyle Group is emerging as the frontrunner in a deal to buy tobacco supplier and forecourt wholesaler Palmer & Harvey (P&H), according to reports.
Carnival to reveal extent of hurricane season’s impact on Caribbean and U.S. cruise business: Cruise ship operator Carnival is set to update markets this week on how the recent hurricane season has impacted its business.