The Times
Goldman told Green of BHS buyer’s bankruptcy: A top City investment banker has told a parliamentary inquiry that he had informed Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group that Dominic Chappell, the man who bought BHS, “had a history of bankruptcy” before the sale of the retailer.
Watchdog objects to Land Registry privatisation: The government’s plans to sell the Land Registry have been dealt a blow by the competition watchdog, which has warned that privatisation would harm consumers and restrict innovation in the online property market.
Port Talbot ‘rivals’ on same team: The management of the giant Port Talbot steelworks and the commodities group Liberty House are to wrap themselves in the Union Jack and portray their bid for Tata Steel U.K. as the right outcome for British industry.
Sun sets on crowdfunded £1 million project: A solar business that raised £1 million from almost 400 individual investors through crowdfunding less than 18 months ago has collapsed into insolvency.
Tchenguiz ready to check out of Hilton hotels: Vincent Tchenguiz is set to appoint property agents to sell ten Hilton hotels across England with a combined price tag of up to £600 million.
We’re ready to cut winter fares, O’Leary warns rivals: Air fares could fall by as much 12% next winter as European airlines try to keep passengers flying, the Continent’s biggest carrier has claimed.
The Independent
Waterstones to stop selling e-books: Waterstones, the U.K.’s largest book retailer, has announced it will stop selling digital books after e-books sales failed to take off.
Coca-Cola to halt production in Venezuela over sugar shortage: Coca-Cola is stopping production in Venezuela after a sugar shortage was brought on by an economic crisis in the country.
EU referendum: Brexit to create instant ‘DIY recession’, warns George Osborne: Brexit could plunge Britain into an instant recession, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have said in the starkest economic warning yet of the consequences of Britain leaving the European Union.
Thousands protest against seed giant Monsanto ahead of Bayer merger: Furious environmentalists have taken to streets around the world to protest against seed giant Monsanto at the same time as the company is facing a $62 billion takeover by Bayer, the German drugs giant.
Financial Times
U.K. commercial property lending rises 19%: Insurance companies and private equity groups have helped to increase the level of new lending against U.K. commercial property by one-fifth year on year, to a post-2008 high.
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Stock Spirits shareholders back rebels: Shareholders in embattled vodka distiller Stock Spirits have sided with rebel investors and voted in two non-Executive Directors nominated by Western Gate Private Investments, the vehicle of Portuguese businessman Luis Amaral.
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Virgin Media reveals next 10 U.K. ultrafast broadband areas: Virgin Media has revealed the next 10 areas of Britain that it will connect to ultrafast broadband, as the internet provider steps up a £3 billion plan to extend its services to two-thirds of the U.K.
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BofA’s $1.3 billion penalty dismissed by appeals court: U.S. authorities on Monday were dealt a setback in their efforts to hold banks accountable for the financial crisis when an appeals court dismissed a judgment and $1.3 billion penalty against Bank of America.
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Virgin Media reveals next 10 U.K. ultrafast broadband areas: Virgin Media has revealed the next 10 areas of Britain that it will connect to ultrafast broadband, as the internet provider steps up a £3 billion plan to extend its services to two-thirds of the U.K.
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Chinese investors to buy German tech company Aixtron for €670 million: A group of Chinese investors has offered €6 a share to buy Aixtron, valuing the German supplier of semiconductor equipment at about €670 million, in the latest case of a mainland acquisition of a western industrial company.
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China duo to buy stake in MP & Silva: China is set to deepen its investment in global sports and entertainment with the acquisition of a majority stake in MP & Silva in a deal valuing the Italian-owned media rights agency at just over $1 billion.
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Google makes final pitch in copyright trial with Oracle: Google on Monday made a final courtroom pitch to defend an approach to programming that has become second-nature to many software developers in the era of open-source.
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Lex:
Bank of America: the law lost: Bank of America chose to fight a Department of Justice fraud case in 2012. On Monday, an appeals court sided with the bank. Yes, Countrywide Financial, later acquired by BofA, knew it was selling mortgages to government-sponsored enterprises that did not meet standards agreed in a contract.
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Newspaper wars: private eyes: The valuation page in investment bankers’ pitch books often shows a series of bars indicating how much a company may be worth. One bar is based on discounting future cash flows. Another arrives at a price based on the valuations of publicly traded peers.
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Oil supply: drill pickle: Commodity traders looking for an edge must sometimes wonder if anything works. Take oil. Historically high Opec production and full inventories are both negative for market direction — yet the bulls are winning. Three of the top five commodity markets this year are oil-related.
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Lombard:
BHS leaves Goldman Sachs with sucker scars: Goldman Sachs was once unkindly described as a “vampire squid wrapped round the face of humanity”. In its engagement with store chain BHS, the U.S. bank more closely resembles a holiday maker, who having gone for an innocent paddle, emerges from the sea with an octopus irremovably embracing its leg.
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Brittain in Europe: German low-cost supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl have made inroads into the U.K. Might Premier Inn be able to copy the trick in the German hotel market? That would help Whitbread, which owns the chain, to allay investor fears that growth is stalling.
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The Daily Telegraph
Foreign investors rush to U.K.: Britain attracted record levels of foreign direct investment last year but uncertainty over its future in the EU has put its status as a top investment destination at risk, research shows.
EU exit warnings are flawed: The Treasury recently brought out its report on the long-term effects of Brexit, saying they will be dire.
Plan to put double-decker trains on HS2 rail line: Double-decker trains could be racing along the HS2 rail line at speeds of 225 million under ambitious plans due to be revealed by train maker Alstom.
Mitie hit on revenues as it warns local councils face ‘funding crisis’: Cuts to care budgets and increased labour costs have hit revenues at Mitie, the outsourcing group that provides social services to the elderly as well as office management to blue-chip companies.
Joules gives it some welly with £140 million float: Joules, the fashion retailer known for its bright, country-inspired clothes, has successfully priced its £140 million stock market flotation, despite the looming EU referendum vote spooking investors.
Investment banks have cut 20% of their staff in the past five years: The world’s biggest investment banks have slashed the number of traders and top dealmakers in the past five years, as new figures show the full extent of the bloodbath in the once prosperous sector.
The Questor Column:
NewRiver Retail set for growth: Property investor NewRiver Retail is due to report its final results on Wednesday, with analysts expecting double digit percentage growth in the value of its assets. The company has grown its portfolio to £1 billion since 2009, and last year raised £300 million in two placings, both of which were oversubscribed. The company has made clear its ambition to move to the main market of the London Stock Exchange later this year. Analysts put the company’s target share price between 360p and 400p – significantly above the 314p it was trading at on Monday. Its shares trade on one of the highest dividend yields in the sector. NewRiver Retail may be small, but compared to other REITs it is performing steadily. NewRiver Retail at 314p. Questor says “Buy”.
Mitie’s offer of basic services shelters it from cutbacks: FTSE 250 outsourcing company Mitie reported a fall in sales in the latest financial year, as the current economic climate and a squeeze on spending hit its bottom line. The group enjoys a wide exposure to a number of public and private businesses and while its geographical spread is mostly limited to the U.K., its sector diversity – it provides services to businesses from prisons, to schools, to the Chelsea Flower Show – means it is well-placed to weather economic storms. Mitie is a cyclical business, driven by spending by the companies it serves. Mitie has exited some local authority areas where pressure on healthcare spending is greatest and management expects that healthcare business can trade profitably by next year, although this year its revenues dropped by 15%. Mitie’s confidence in its performance is such that it has announced a £20 million share buyback programme to return surplus cash to shareholders. While there are plenty of things to worry about, Mitie’s performance is broadly in line with expectations, and is slated to improve over the next year. Mitie at 290p. Questor says “Hold”.
The Guardian
IMF tells EU it must give Greece unconditional debt relief: The International Monetary Fund has called for “upfront” and “unconditional” debt relief for Greece as it warned that without immediate action the financial plight of the recession-ravaged country would deteriorate dramatically over the coming decades.
Lawsuit accusing 16 big banks of Libor manipulation reinstated by U.S. court: U.S. appeals court on Monday reinstated a civil lawsuit accusing 16 major banks of conspiring to manipulate the Libor benchmark interest rate. The ruling, which overturns a 2013 decision, could bankrupt the institutions, the judges warned.
Tata Steel U.K. bids submitted ahead of crucial Mumbai meeting: Potential buyers of Tata Steel U.K. have submitted final bids at the start of a crucial week in which the future of the struggling British business is likely to be decided in its Indian parent company’s boardroom.
Less than 9% of decently paid job vacancies offer flexible working – study: Less than 9% of vacancies for decently paid jobs in the U.K. offer flexible working, according to research that claims the lack of such options is keeping millions of people in dead-end jobs or shut out from the labour market.
Bricklayers benefit from rising demand in construction sector: Bricklayers are earning up to £1,000 a week as firms compete for workers to keep housebuilding and infrastructure projects on track, according to a survey of recruitment firms.
Daily Mail
Employees at news firm started by journalist to become millionaires after U.S. investment group buys controlling stake: Energy news company Argus Media has sold a controlling stake in its business to a U.S. investment group for £1billion, in a deal set to bring in multi-million-pound windfalls for its shareholder staff.
John Lewis slashes its famous staff perks as cost of the National Living Wage begins to hit British businesses: John Lewis is putting new recruits on probation for the first time in its 152 year history following the introduction of the National Living Wage.
Three begins £167 million lawsuit with rival EE in row over phone masts: Three has launched legal action against rival EE over £167 million it says has been lost on a deal to share mobile internet infrastructure.
Daily Express
Brexit to give jobs boost: 200,000 more people in work if Britain leaves EU, MEP claims: Brexit campaigners have destroyed scaremongering claims unemployment would rocket if Britain left the European Union (EU) – by claiming 200,000 jobs would be created from leaving the bloc.
Axa stops investing in tobacco because of ‘tragic’ cost to human lives: Insurance giant Axa is to stop investing in the tobacco industry because of the “tragic” human cost of the sector.
Ryanair on high after profits soar: Budget airline Ryanair is expected to report a boost in full-year profits as it continues to cut prices to attract passengers in the wake of recent terror attacks.
The Scottish Herald
Faroe Petroleum reveals mistake made in calculating Directors’ bonuses: Faroe Petroleum Chief Executive Graham Stewart has suffered a 13% drop in the value of his annual pay package in the latest financial year after his bonus fell by 36%.
Co-op brings back ‘divi’ as part of major member-focused rebrand: An overhaul of membership benefits at the Co-op will see £10 million a year handed back to members and communities in Scotland and a return of the “divi” profit-share scheme.
Craft beer producers win funding to back expansion: Two Scottish craft beer producers have between them secured £120,000 of Regional Selective Assistance grant funding to back their plans to invest a total of more than £600,000 and create jobs.
Whisky distiller secures £60 million bank funding: Ian Macleod Distillers has secured £60 million bank funding which will support a push for growth amid strong demand for Scotch overseas.
Insurance firm’s Glasgow boost: Corporate insurance broker Lockton has seen its Glasgow office double its turnover in the year to April 2016, pushing it past the £1 million mark.
Menzies new Executive to start early: Giles Wilson, the new Chief financial officer at Menzies following the departure of Paula Bell, will start a month early, the company has said.
Devro Executives pick up shares: Peter Page, Chief Executive of Devro, has picked up 10,000 shares in the company at a price of £2.51.
The Scotsman
‘Infrastructure improvements needed’ to protect Scotch whisky: The Scottish Government must improve transport and digital infrastructure while setting taxes equal to or below the rest of the U.K. to protect the Scotch whisky industry, according an industry body.
Scottish Government to press ahead ‘quickly’ with new powers: New powers over equality laws, consumer advice, and transport will be used as quickly as possible after being transferred to Holyrood, Constitution Secretary Derek Mackay has said.
City A.M.
Rents are rising at the fastest rate for six months: Rents are rising at the fastest rate for six months, according to data released, reaching an average of £793 in England and Wales in April.
Third Energy gets fracking go-ahead in North Yorkshire: Third Energy has become the first company to have a fracking application approved in England since a ban on the process was lifted in 2012.
De La Rue sells off its cash-processing business as part of strategic shift, sending share prices higher: The Bank of England’s bank note printer De La Rue has sold off its struggling cash-processing business. The sale of Cash Processing Solutions (CPS) to private equity group Privet Capital is the latest move in De La Rue’s plans to overhaul and streamline its operations.
London ad agency VCCP expands into the U.S. with acquisition: London advertising agency VCCP has expanded into the U.S., with the purchase of a San Francisco based firm.
