Below are the key morning and weekend press headlines, featuring the The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
High street retailers are braced for their worst Christmas in more than a decade as they struggle with high taxes, economic fears and frenzied discounting only weeks into the season. The bosses of major chains have shared their concerns with The Mail on Sunday as Government efforts to ease the burden of tax on retailers appear to have foundered. Vital legislation designed to cut property tax for retailers in struggling high streets failed to make it though Parliament before it was closed down last week. Research by The Mail on Sunday has revealed that business rates have remained rigidly high despite rents falling as landlords cut lease demands for struggling shops. More than 12,000 high street stores are now paying more in business rates than in rent compared with around 500 in 2017, according to business rates consultants Altus
City bosses have drawn up a plan to woo Chinese giants after Brexit and transform London into the ‘prime international location’ for Beijing firms to list their shares, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Policymakers at the City of London Corporation – the body representing the interests of banks, insurers and other organisations in the Square Mile – believe there is an ‘urgent need’ to enhance relations with China and attract new financial services investment after the UK leaves the European Union. Documents seen by this newspaper say London is well placed to take advantage of the trade war with the United States, which has seen President Donald Trump threaten a crackdown on Chinese firms listing on its markets.
Company dividends could be under threat, with British businesses near the bottom of international league tables for dividend sustainability after a long spell of payouts growing more rapidly than profits. Dividend cover is expected to be at its lowest level in a decade this year, according to Henderson International Income Trust, an investment trust. Companies making large payouts to the detriment of capital growth may find that it becomes unsustainable, forcing them to cut dividends and to fall into a “dividend trap”. Global dividend payments topped £1 trillion for the first time last year after profits reached a record £2.3 trillion. This year dividends are expected to rise again, by 8.7% to £1.1 trillion, outstripping profit growth of 5.6%.
FirstGroup (FGP) new chief, David Martin, the former Arriva chief who replaced ousted Wolfhart Hauser, is to meet investors at the end of a whistle-stop tour of the US on Oct 31, The Daily Telegraph understands. In his first meeting with them since taking office in August, Mr Martin will be hoping to convince investors that he has the right team and strategy in place to reinvigorate the company’s fortunes after months of disquiet. Coast Capital Management, the Wall Street activist and First’s biggest shareholder, will likely provide a stern test of Mr Martin’s resolve.
Analysts have claimed that Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) could be heavily exposed to the City watchdog’s plan to crack down on alleged overcharging of loyal customers, with the company facing a probable one-off hit to its earnings and possible damage to its brand once regulators announce final measures next year. Britain’s home and motor insurers have all found themselves under fire, after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a ban on companies unfairly hiking prices for existing customers – a practice known as “price walking” or the “loyalty penalty” – after finding that millions of people overpaid when renewing their insurance last year.
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) is understood to have stepped up its succession planning as analysts and headhunters bet that its chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio will go within a year. Lloyds is understood to be in the “initial research” stage of finding a successor as speculation grows that Mr Horta-Osorio, who has long been tipped as a potential candidate for the top job at HSBC, is eyeing his exit. “I believe we will see Antonio move to step down from the board of Lloyds within the next 12 months,” said John Cronin, a banks analyst at Goodbody. Investec’s Ian Gordon said it would be “a surprise” if the 55-year-old stayed for more than another two years given he became CEO in 2011.
AA (AA.) has launched a hunt for a new chairman two years after it ousted Bob Mackenzie, a former executive chairman, for punching a senior director. The motoring organisation has hired Korn Ferry, the consulting firm, to find a successor to John Leach by next summer, Sky News reported. Mr Leach, 71, joined the AA as a non-executive director in 2014 and took on the chairman role after Mr Mackenzie, 62, was dismissed for alleged gross misconduct in 2017. A legal dispute between Mr Mackenzie and the company over his removal is continuing.
Land Securities Group (LAND) is close to sealing the £650m sale of a portfolio of cinemas, restaurants and indoor ski slopes as it builds a war chest for deals in London’s real estate market. The company is understood to have agreed to sell its 95% share of X-Leisure unit trust to private equity investor CIT. London offices make up almost half of Land Securities’ £11.7bn property port–folio, and chief executive Rob Noel, who is due to step down next year, is looking to push further into the market despite the shadow cast by uncertainty over the future of WeWork. Mike Prew of the investment bank Jefferies said the co-working provider’s rapid expansion had artificially inflated rents, and this was likely to unwind as the company slows its growth in the capital and focuses on reducing its losses.
Letter and parcel deliveries could grind to a halt at Christmas if workers at Royal Mail (RMG) agree to a strike this week. About 110,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have been balloted over action. The results on Tuesday are expected to lead to a mass walk-out. The planned strike — over pay, conditions and employment terms — comes at a crucial time for the former state-owned monopoly. It is battling against slumping letter volumes, the rise of competitors, such as Yodel and Hermes, boardroom upheaval and Labour’s renationalisation threat. The industrial action also risks undermining the attempts of boss Rico Back to improve productivity and expand parcel deliveries.
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) could be forced to sell brands including Paddy Power to appease competition watchdogs, analysts say. The company, which this month announced a £10bn merger with Canada’s Stars Group, could face demands for remedies from the Competition and Markets Authority to win approval for the deal, according to Canaccord Genuity. The stockbroker said the most “logical decision” would be to sell Paddy Power’s digital and retail business, given the importance of Stars Group’s Sky Betting & Gaming operation in America. While Flutter, which also owns Betfair, would want to hold on to Paddy Power, the combination with Sky Bet will mean it owns three of the UK’s top seven online betting brands, which could lead to concerns over choice. Canaccord said that any sell-off would be an emotionally “difficult decision”, given the enlarged group’s intention to have its headquarters in Dublin, where Paddy Power is based.
Fund manager Terry Smith has been left red-faced after the brokerage firm he used to head was slapped with a £15.4million fine. Tullett Prebon, now a part of TP ICAP (TCAP) , was found by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to have ineffective controls around broker conduct in its rates division between 2008 and 2010. This, combined with a culture of lavish entertainment, allowed improper trading to take place. At one point, a Tullett Prebon broker claimed more than £15,000 from the company to pay for a luxury holiday to the US with his friend, a trader at a client bank. Tullett Prebon ended up paying for the ten-day trip to Las Vegas and California, during which time the broker racked up bills from dinners in expensive bars and restaurants, and hired two top-end sports cars as amusement.