Below are the key morning press headlines, featuring the The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Saudi Arabia has given the go-ahead to the long-delayed sale of its state-owned oil company Aramco, in what will be the biggest stock market flotation in history. The milestone market debut could value Saudi Aramco at $1.5tn, significantly below initial expectations of up to $2tn, as it courts international investors for the first time. Despite the lower valuation, Aramco’s initial public offering will be the biggest in history, raising $40bn-$45bn, surpassing the record $25bn raised by China’s tech firm Alibaba in 2015. But in further signs of behind-the-scenes wrangling, the precise details of the offer price and amount of shares available are not expected to be released until 9 November, with full trading slated to begin around 12 December. It is understood that only a small portion of shares will be released on to the Riyadh market, likely to be in the range of 1% to 3% of the total stock.
Just Eat (JE.) has warned a digital services tax would cost it £7m a year and hammer the UK’s burgeoning tech industry, amid a fight for the delivery firm. It urged a rethink of Conservative plans for levy on online sales. The concerns are thought unlikely to deter suitors Prosus and Takeaway.com. Just Eat said that last year it generated around £386m of its revenue from the UK and paid corporation tax of £22.4m. The Tory plan for a 2% charge on sales by large internet firms would push this annual tax bill up by £7m, it said, slightly less than analyst forecasts.
AstraZeneca (AZN) is buying back a factory two years after it was sold as it seeks to avoid the collapse of a second site. The pharmaceutical group is in talks to reacquire the facility in Reims, northeast France, from Avara, the start-up contract drugs manufacturer and distributor, owned by Leonard Levie, an American former Lehman Brothers banker turned industrial investor. Astrazeneca’s planned acquisition comes after about half the sites bought by Avara from big pharma companies have failed or been taken back. They include the 100-acre Avlon site near Bristol, employing 230 workers, which produced Astrazeneca’s blockbuster Crestor statin. Avara appointed David Rubin & Partners as administrator in February, two years after it had been sold by Astrazeneca for £1. Astrazeneca agreed to set aside up to £12 million to cover redundancy payments at Avlon amid criticism from MPs, union leaders and employees after The Times helped bring the dispute to light.
The owner of the Daily Mail is on track to clinch a takeover of the i newspaper, in a move to consolidate the declining print market. Daily Mail and General Trust A (Non.V) (DMGT) , the listed group wholly controlled by Jonathan Harmsworth, Viscount Rothermere, is understood to be likely to seal the deal with the i’s hedge fund owners in the coming days. Sources this weekend said an agreement was on the cards this week, but cautioned that the timetable of a sale process that has taken weeks longer than expected could yet slip again. The price of the title, part of the former Johnston Press stable that now trades as JPI Media, is expected to be a multiple of the £24m paid for it when it last changed hands in 2016.
Former investment banker has emerged as the leading internal candidate to succeed Lord Blackwell as chairman of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) . Lord (James) Lupton is a former co-treasurer who has donated £2.5m to the Tory Party. He joined the board of Lloyds in 2017 to be chairman of the non-ring-fenced part of the bank, which deals with large corporate customers. Lupton, 64, came to public attention as the owner of La Fortaleza, a 17th-century fortress on Mallorca, the lair of fictional arms dealer Richard Roper in the TV adaptation of John Le Carré’s The Night Manager. He was also deputy chairman of Baring Brothers in 1995 when the bank was brought down by rogue trader Nick Leeson, and served until two years ago as chairman of Greenhill Europe, a boutique investment bank, having co-founded the London office. A headhunter close to the bank said Lupton was the likely choice to replace Blackwell, 67, who was paid £743,000 last year. It was announced last week that Blackwell was stepping down. He plans to retire before the annual meeting in 2021, by when he will have been on the board for nine years. A formal search process will start next year. Lloyds declined to comment.
GVC Holdings (GVC) is preparing to appoint a new chairman after a series of governance scandals. The company is expected to reveal that retail and leisure veteran Barry Gibson will lead the board. He will replace Lee Feldman, who has been in the role for 11 years. GVC will hope the appointment of Gibson, 68, first reported by Sky News, will draw a line under a torrid year. In March, Feldman and chief executive Kenny Alexander sold £20m of shares in one day, driving the price down 20%. In July, The Sunday Times revealed that GVC had offloaded its Turkish business to three men, one of whom is Alexander’s partner in a stud farm. Their friendship was not disclosed to the market.
Redrow (RDW) is braced for an investor revolt this week after making it easier for bosses to earn bonuses. Investor advisory groups have told shareholders to vote against the firm’s long-term bonus scheme at its annual general meeting in the City on Wednesday morning. Glass Lewis has taken issue with Redrow for lowering earnings targets that executives must hit to achieve bonus payments. The company said it had lowered objectives for its executives because of changes to the Government’s Help To Buy scheme – which will now only be available to first-time buyers – and ‘macroeconomic uncertainty’. ISS also recommended a vote against executive pay at Redrow because of historic long-term bonus conditions set for Steve Morgan, who stood down as chairman of the firm in March.