Published: 24 April 2024
By Suzanne Evans, Director, Political Insight
Thames Water is planning to pay out £2bn in dividends over the next decade – up to £290m per year - despite growing fears the company could collapse, The Telegraph reveals this morning. This intention is apparently “buried” in a spreadsheet containing more than 100 tables submitted to Ofwat in its revised business plan, in which it also asked last week to increase customer bills by 45% over the next five years. “The attempt to continue investor payouts during a time of turmoil is understood to have stunned senior industry figures,” the newspaper says.
Tourist Tax: Heathrow airport has again urged the Chancellor to reintroduce VAT-free shopping for tourists to inject fresh momentum into the economy, as data from Visit Britain shows spending by overseas visitors was down 10% in real terms in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same period four years earlier. “Ministers should rethink anti-growth policies like the “tourist tax” that discourage international visitors from spending in the UK; and unnecessary travel visas for transiting passengers that risk the UK’s global connectivity and Heathrow’s hub status,” the airport said in a statement. “A supportive policy environment for aviation would deliver a much-needed economic boost by encouraging people to visit, spend and do business here in the UK,” it added.
Harvey Nichols has reported a revenue of £216.6m for the year to 1st April 2023, up from £191.6m.Pre-tax losses were cut from £30.4m to £21.2m over the same period. The last time Harvey Nichols reported a revenue of more than £200m was the £222.1m it reported for the year to 28th March 2020, before Covid lockdowns and other restrictions.
Ryanair has launched a lawsuit against the National Air Traffic Services (NATs) over the network-wide failure on 28th August last year which saw thousands of flights grounded following a network-wide failure of the system. The budget airline has instructed lawyers Stephenson Harwood to file a commercial contract and arrangement claim. “Our legal team is reviewing the claim and will respond as required,” a NATs spokesperson told City AM.
Puregym has reported a 15% increase in revenue to £549m in the 12 months to December 2023, helped by the opening of new sites, including 40 in the UK. It says it plans to keep expanding and open between 60-70 new gyms this year across its global market.
Ithaca Energy has agreed to buy nearly all of Eni's UK-based oil and gas producing assets for about £754m. The combined entity would be able to produce more than 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day until at least 2028.
PZ Cussons, the FTSE 250-listed toiletries firm is planning to sell its St Tropez tanning brand “to an owner better placed to capture the brand's significant long-term potential," it said this morning.
Marks & Spencer: the M&S pension scheme is facing “huge potential losses after pumping cash into a Home REIT sister fund that is now under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA),” City A.M. reveals. Home Long Income Fund (HLIF), a vehicle set up by Home REIT investment manager Alvarium in 2018, attracted hundreds of millions of pounds from City investors, including fund managers handling M&S pension cash, on the promise of alleviating homelessness and providing a steady return to investors. However, since the now scandal-hit former FTSE 250 social housing trust collapsed, its value halved to around £200m between June 2022 and the end of 2023, according to previously unreported regulatory filings from its Nasdaq-listed parent group Alti. Many of Home REIT’s charity tenants have gone bankrupt; it has lost considerable rental income; and the value of its portfolio has fallen by around 60%.
Getir is said to be pursuing a plan to exit from the UK and Europe, and that its investors have drawn up provisional plans to commit tens of millions of pounds more into the food delivery service to achieve that end. Its operations in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands are all expected to be shut, with discussions ongoing about the fate of its Fresh Direct arm in the US, which it only acquired a few months ago, Sky News says. The restructurin will leave Getir as a business focused on its domestic Turkish market. Sky revealed last week that its withdrawal from the UK was likely to put about 1,500 jobs at risk.
KPMG UK is hiring former prisoners as part of the Government’s push to cut reoffending rates. The ‘big four’ accountant has emerged as the first white-collar business to take on ex-offenders after joining a new scheme led by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Telegraph reports. The former prisoners have joined a range of positions, including its technology department. One described the auditor’s programme as a “lifeline”. “It was rejection after rejection, businesses never looked beyond my criminal record. It felt quite belittling because no one’s looking at your skills and experience – that generates a lot of anger and frustration, it was very tempting to give up,” he said. According to the MoJ prison leavers in full-time employment are 10% less likely to re-offend after they’ve been released. CEO Jon Holt said: “Our longstanding focus on social mobility is about giving everyone – regardless of their background – the chance to succeed. I believe reformed prison leavers should be no exception”.
Tesla is cutting around 400 jobs at its German gigafactory near Berlin, Reuters reports, some 3% of the factory's total workforce. Elon Musk’s firm cited challenges posed by a softening sales market for electric cars for the decision, which it hopes will be achieved through voluntary measures rather than compulsory layoffs. Meanwhile, the electric vehicle maker is also speeding up plans for a range of cheaper cars costing around $25,000 (£21,500) to take on a wave of cut-price cars made by the Chinese.
Baltimore Bridge collapse: Shipowner Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine is seeking to limit its liabilities for the disaster to about $43m, despite estimated costs of between $1bn and $3bn, by invoking pre-US Civil War law introduced after the Titanic sank in 1912. Under this law, shipowners are allowed to cap liability to the value of their cargo. The Baltimore ship, known as Dali, was carrying more than 4,600 containers on route to China when it crashed into the bridge. Two people died and four people are missing and presumed dead from the disaster. However, lawyers for Baltimore City say the companies were negligent and should bear more responsibility for the disaster, insisting the Dali was “clearly unseaworthy”.
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