Below are the key morning headlines from today’s papers, featuring the Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Pressure on Ted Baker (TED) boss grows. Ray Kelvin, the founder and chief executive of Ted Baker, arrived for work at the retail chain’s London headquarters yesterday as more details emerged about his alleged workplace practices. More than 200 members of staff have made complaints, accusing him of forced hugging, making sexual innuendos and stroking people’s necks. In one claim, a woman who was an employee told BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat: “When you had to hug him . . . It was . . . intense body contact.” Ted Baker shares closed 8.4% lower at £14.20.
Thomas Cook boss Peter Fankhauser rules out using rights issue to pay £389m debt. Thomas Cook Group (TCG) chief executive has ruled out using a rights issue to raise money for the travel firm’s growing debt pile. Peter Fankhauser is understood to have told shareholders that a share offering will not be pursued despite growing fears over its £389million debt mountain. Fankhauser, 58, said the group will instead continue with its strategy of developing the own-brand hotels division and growing its online business. Shares fell another 3.9%, or 0.9p, to 22.72p, taking losses since last week’s profit warning to 53%
Sir Martin Sorrell’s new firm confirms £117m merger with US firm Mightyhive following weeks of speculation. First it was a mere ‘peanut’. But Sir Martin Sorrell now says his new ad agency is morphing into ‘a coconut, growing and ripening’ after another takeover. The tycoon’s company, S4 Capital (SFOR) , confirmed its £117million merger with US firm Mightyhive following weeks of speculation. It is the second major deal struck by Sorrell, 73, since he walked out of WPP amid claims he had used company money to pay for a prostitute – allegations he denied. And in a wink to his former employer, Sorrell appeared to suggest his new outfit was gaining ground. He had claimed S4 was ‘a peanut in comparison’ to WPP when asked if it posed a challenge.
BT loses legal bid to switch to a cheaper pension rate and reduce fund’s £11bn black hole. BT Group (BT.A) has lost another legal battle to cut payouts for thousands of pensioners, dealing a blow to the company’s plans to shrink the black hole in its retirement fund. The telecoms giant wants to change the way it calculates pension rises for 83,000 current and former workers, switching the measure of inflation from the retail price index (RPI) to the consumer price index (CPI). This would lead to lower payments to those members and reduce the amount of funding required for the scheme. However, the company needs court approval for the switch, with judges asked to decide if it has the power to switch to CPI.
GTR and Southern owner Go-Ahead hit with sanctions by the Government after timetable change chaos that caused commuter misery. Go-Ahead Group (GOG) will not be stripped of its Govia Thameslink franchise, but will have to fork out £15million for service improvements and will make no profit this year after May’s disastrous timetable changes, the Government said today. The Department for Transport said it is ‘holding GTR to account’ for its role in the disruption caused by the new timetables, but was letting Go Ahead continue run the franchise as a termination would ‘cause further and undue disruption for passengers’. Train companies, including Govia Thameslink – which runs Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express services – overhauled their timetable in May. The changes caused widespread disruption and delays across the rail networks.
Online trading platform IG Group Holdings (IGG) warned of falling customer numbers and sliding sales as it grapples with European regulations on spread-betting. In an effort to protect inexperienced traders, who can suffer big potential losses, EU authorities introduced rules regarding how these services can be marketed and sold. IG Group said that in the four months since the changes came into force on August 1, revenue in the UK and EU region was 20% lower than the same period last year. This pulled the whole group’s revenue down by 10%
Advertising business Taptica International (DI) (TAP) has plunged after sneaking out a worrying announcement on Monday evening. It said chief executive Hagai Tal had been found guilty in a US court for fraudulently concealing weaknesses in his former business Plimus when he sold it to private-equity firm Great Hill. He has stood down from Taptica’s board, and Great Hill want Tal and the other defendants to return the £90million it paid for Plimus.
Pay goes up for pilots in Ryanair Holdings (RYA) deal. Plagued by industrial disputes with flight crews for more than a year, Ryanair said yesterday that it had signed a peace deal with its German pilots. Europe’s largest short-haul airline said that the four-year agreement involved pay rises and a five-days-on, four-days-off working roster. Germany is the largest passenger airline market in Europe, into which Ryanair is expanding to take on Lufthansa and Easyjet. Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, has been signing off on pay deals of up to 20% since disputes erupted last year, which have weighed heavily on profitability. Ryanair reported a 7% dive in profits at its most recent results.
