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.
Hundreds of jobs to go as stores crisis deepens. House of Fraser to pull down shutters on four more outlets. Britain’s department stores suffered another battering yesterday as Sports Direct International (SPD) announced the closure of four more House of Fraser stores while shares in Debenhams (DEB) slumped by more than a fifth amid fresh fears for the company’s future. Mike Ashley, the boss of House of Fraser’s parent company Sports Direct, issued a stark warning to landlords over the need to cut rent levels after announcing that all four stores owned by Intu Properties (INTU) faced closure as a result of a failure to agree new terms. Debenhams, which last month reported the biggest loss in its 240-year history, suffered its biggest one-day fall on the stock market in percentage terms. Its shares fell by 21%, or 1½p, to 5¼p. The retailer’s stock is down 87% in the past year. The shares tumbled after a report in Drapers, the trade magazine, that some suppliers had stopped working with the group following cuts to its credit insurance. Adding to the sector woes, British Land Company (BLND) swung to a £42 million loss in its first half as the challenging retail climate led to a 4.5% fall in the value of its retail property portfolio. It said that it had suffered a £14.7 million hit over the past 18 months from retailers in its portfolio carrying out company voluntary arrangements or going into administration.
Humiliation for Lloyds over £1bn small firm fraud: Bank forced to compensate whistleblower over damning dossier on scandal at HBOS Reading. Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) has been forced into a humiliating settlement with a whistleblower who claimed executives covered up a notorious fraud. It yesterday apologised to Sally Masterton, who compiled a bombshell dossier about criminal bankers and advisers linked to its HBOS Reading unit. In a highly significant admission, the bank did a U-turn on its stance that she produced the 2014 report on her own initiative. It has now conceded that she wrote it after bosses had asked her to document her concerns. Masterton has been paid an undisclosed sum in compensation for her ordeal.
Israeli tech billionaire Teddy Sagi cashes in £23m of shares in gambling firm Playtech. Israeli tech billionaire Teddy Sagi has cashed in £23million of shares in Playtech (PTEC) , the gambling firm he founded in 1999. The 47-year-old has reduced his stake in Playtech to 4.8% from 6.4%. He offloaded the shares through his holding company Brickington Trading, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands tax haven.
Debenhams shares dive on supplier fears: Worst-ever hit for struggling chain. More than £17million was wiped off the value of Debenhams (DEB) in its worst-ever daily decline. Shares in the department store chain plunged more than a fifth as the crisis engulfing the High Street grew deeper. They have fallen by more than 80% in the past year alone. The trigger was disappointing sales figures from Britain’s beleaguered department stores.
Sainsbury’s continues to sell flavoured e-cigarettes pulled from US over underage vaping fears. Vaping products that have been pulled from sale in the US over fears about underage buyers remain on shelves at Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) in the UK. The US e-cigarette giant Juul, which struck a deal with the British supermarket earlier this month, has banned the sale of several of its flavoured cartridges after an outcry in the US. The company has also stopped using social media sites including Twitter and Instagram to promote its products in an attempt to extinguish criticism that it markets its products to children, and strengthened its age verification processes to restrict sales to those who are under 21 years old.
RBS lines up its first female boss: Alison Rose appointed deputy chief exec of NatWest Holdings. Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) has moved senior female banker Alison Rose into pole position to become its next chief executive. Rose, 48, has been appointed deputy chief executive of NatWest Holdings, which is RBS’s main British retail banking business, signalling she is the leading internal candidate to take over from boss Ross McEwan. A mother-of-two, she has for some time been seen as the frontrunner.
Sir Martin Sorrell eyes more deals after his new ad business snaps up work for Instagram, Mondelez and Tommy Hilfiger. Sir Martin Sorrell said his new advertising outfit S4 Capital (SFOR) is growing strongly and had snapped up work for brands such as Instagram and Tommy Hilfiger. The media mogul set up the company after quitting as chief executive of WPP amid claims that he used the company’s money to pay for a prostitute. He has strongly denied the allegations. He downplayed suggestions S4 will compete with his old employer, saying it was a ‘peanut’ by comparison.
SSE says merger with Npower is ‘in doubt’ blaming Government’s price cap on energy bills. Energy giant SSE (SSE) says its planned merger with Npower may be off, claiming the Government’s price cap on energy bills had thrown a spanner in the works. The tie-up to create the second-biggest energy company in the UK behind British Gas, was first thrown into doubt last week. SSE said then that it and Npower’s owner Innogy were working on ‘potential changes’. It blamed the delays on the Government’s recently introduced plans to cap energy bills at £1,136 a year.
US activists savage The Restaurant Group’s Wagamama takeover. Two US activist investors have attacked Restaurant Group (RTN) £560m takeover of Wagamama, claiming it will “destroy shareholder value”. GrizzlyRock Capital and Vivaldi Asset Management, which own almost 2% of the FTSE 250 company, said they would “unequivocally oppose” the deal. The pair said the acquisition “dramatically weakens the balance sheet”. The Restaurant Group, which counts the Frankie & Benny’s and Garfunkel’s chains among its portfolio, announced terms for a £315m deeply discounted rights issue on Monday. The acquisition and rights issue will be put to the vote at a general meeting on November 28.
Prudential boosted by Asian business as it cashes in on wealthy ageing population. Prudential (PRU) reported a 17% rise in new business profits for the first nine months of the year as it continues to cash in on its fast-growing Asia arm. The insurer told investors in Singapore on Wednesday that its prized Asia unit would continue to grow as it expects the region, where many remain underinsured, to represent 88% of the world’s middle class population by 2030. Setting out its strategy in Asia, the company pointed to “significant long-term growth” as people get older and richer. It said that China now has more senior citizens than all European Union countries combined.
Retail wobbles drag property investor British Land to a loss. Property investor British Land Company (BLND) plunged to a half-year loss as gains in its London-focused office portfolio failed to make up for the falling value of its retail properties, which include Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre. The value of the FTSE 100 company’s portfolio slumped 1.9% between March and September to £12.9bn, led by a 4.5% fall in retail amid mounting woes in the sector. It also missed out on £6m of rents as Poundworld and Fabb Sofas fell into administration and Mothercare closed a number of shops through a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). British Land booked a £42m loss for the period, down from pre-tax profits of £238m last year.
Grainger taps investors for £350m to ramp up build-to-rent investment. Grainger (GRI) , one of Britain’s biggest residential landlords, plans to ask its shareholders for £347m as it looks to ramp up its investment in private rented flats. The FTSE 250 company has agreed to spend £396m on the 75pc of investment trust Grip REIT that it does not already own in a move that will add 1,700 homes to the more than 8,000 it already has. Grainger launched Grip as a joint venture with Dutch pension fund APG in 2014 and already manages the properties on its books. Helen Gordon, chief executive, said the deal would add £32.5m of annual rents to Grainger’s coffers. “It’s so unusual that you get an opportunity to buy a business that you’ve been running for five years,” she said.
GVC dodges £700m payout over purchase of Ladbrokes. Shareholders in GVC Holdings (GVC) , the owner of Ladbrokes, were counting their winnings yesterday after a government U-turn on fixed-odds betting machines spared the gambling operator a potential £700 million payout. Shares of GVC jumped by 43½p to 821p — an increase in its value of £253 million — as Theresa May caved in after a Commons revolt and brought forward the introduction of a £2 maximum stake on the machines. The reduction in the maximum wager from £100 will come into force in April, six months earlier than planned, a move hailed by anti-gambling campaigners as a “stunning victory”. GVC has more than 3,500 betting shops under the Ladbrokes and Coral brands, employing 28,000 staff.
Eastern promise is boost for flexible Workspace. Steady demand for offices in London has helped Workspace Group (WKP) to report a 2.7% rise in rental income during the first half. The listed property company, which provides office and workshop space for businesses, said that like-for-like rental income had risen to £76.8 million. Enquiries and lettings were in line with the previous year. Net asset value per share, a key performance indicator for the property industry, rose by 3.7% to £10.75p. Jamie Hopkins, its chief executive, said that in spite of an uncertain political scene, “we believe that we have the right strategy, owning and actively managing our assets alongside building direct relationships with customers, and a strong balance sheet to take advantage of opportunities and deliver value for shareholders”.
