Published: 31 October 2022
By Suzanne Evans, Director, Political Insight
According to data released by the Insolvency Service on Friday, registered company bankruptcies in England and Wales have risen by 40% over the past quarter, now standing at 5,595 year-on-year. The Insolvency Service said the figures comprised 4,800 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs), 492 compulsory liquidations, 274 administrations and 29 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs). Nearly 28,000 personal insolvencies were also recorded in Britain over the last three months, a 5% fall compared to the previous quarter, but 2% higher than the same period last year. There was also an 18% rise in registrations from people seeking a breathing space from debts, the Insolvency Service said.
Big British businesses are still gloomy about their prospects according to an industry survey published by The Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The CBI’s gauge of private sector growth in the three months to October rose to -15 from -19 in the three months to September, leaving it still in contraction territory. For the next three months, services and distribution companies expect a further downturn, although manufacturers were more optimistic. The survey was based on responses from 624 companies, surveyed between 26th September and 13th October.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called off strikes by Royal Mail workers because of a legal letter from Royal Mail highlighting "numerous material concerns with the formal notification of planned rolling strike action," a spokesperson said. Walkouts were set for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 9th and 10th of November. Royal Mail said strike action already taken cost the business £70m during the first half of its financial year, leading to an operating loss of £219m, compared to a £235m profit last year. Earlier this month, the firm revealed plans for some 6,000 redundancies, and warned of more layoffs if strike action persists. It says it is losing £1m a day. The two sides are due to attend scheduled talks at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) today.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) confirmed over the weekend that Octopus Energy is to take over Bulb, probably by the end of November. Business Secretary Grant Shapps said the deal would bring "vital reassurance and energy security to consumers across the country at a time when they need it most". The move will also safeguard the jobs of Bulb’s 650 employees. Since Bulb collapsed a year ago, it has been run by the government through energy regulator Ofgem. The finances involved in the deal have not been disclosed, however Octopus has confirmed the move will bring "an end to taxpayer losses" and that it is “paying the government” to take on Bulb’s 1.5 million customers. The BBC claims that payment is between £100m and £200m. BEIS says that "due to high market volatility it is impossible" to forecast the true cost of Bulb, but written into the deal is a clause that Octopus will share any profits made from Bulb customers with the government for up to four years. The state bailout of Bulb - the largest since the collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland during the 2008 financial crisis - had been forecast to cost the taxpayer around £2bn by next year.
British Gas owner Centrica has reopened its Rough gas storage site off England's east coast at about 20% of its previous capacity, enough to heat 1 million homes for 100 days this winter, the company said on Friday. Britain has had very little storage capacity since Rough's closure in 2017: before it was closed, Rough represented more than 70% of UK storage and supplied 10% of peak winter demand. The largest offshore gas storage facility in western Europe, it become unprofitable after technical issues and prolonged maintenance. However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amid growing concerns over gas supplies this winter, Centrica upgraded the facility and started refilling the site in early autumn, Reuters says. It will help balance the British energy system by storing gas when there is a surplus and then withdrawing gas when needed during cold snaps and peak demand. Centrica CEO Chris O'Shea told reporters: "This could satisfy probably 3-4% of UK home demand during the winter peak," adding that the company has not received any government funding to resume storage operations. "We have enough visibility on gas prices over this winter to be able to run it with no need of any regulatory support model," O’Shea added.
Allwyn Entertainment, which has been awarded the new licence to run the National Lottery in February 2024, is in talks to buy the incumbent, Camelot, in a £100m deal, Sky News claims. If completed, the deal would give Allwyn access to Camelot's UK earnings roughly a year before it surrenders control of the franchise it has held since the National Lottery launched in 1994. According to insiders, a takeover would also trigger the withdrawal of Camelot's outstanding legal challenge – a compensation claim against the Gambling Commission - over the decision to replace it with Allwyn in 16 months' time. Camelot employs roughly 1,000 people, most of whom are expected to work for Allwyn once the licence handover takes place. The National Lottery is one of the world's largest lotteries, with players having collectively raised more than £46bn for 670,000 good causes across the UK since it launched.
Bullards, a small Norwich-based gin-maker dating back to 1837, has won a legal battle against energy drinks manufacturer Red Bull, which had opposed Bullards’ attempts to trademark its name. Red Bull claimed there was a "likelihood of confusion on behalf of the public" because both brand names "include the term bull," but Allan James, senior hearing officer at the UK Intellectual Property Office, wrote as part of his decision: "Bullards is not in any way a logical brand extension of Red Bull." Bullards’ Russell Evans told the BBC he was "glad" they had taken a stance and did not "cave in to the Goliaths," even though the case had cost him £30,000 to defend. Red Bull did not want Bullards to make energy drinks – which Evans said he didn’t want to make anyway – but that the Austrian drinks giant "also wanted us to not do soft drinks, which we do, and they also wanted us to stop doing events, which is ridiculous".
Building materials distributor Grafton has appointed Eric Born as its new CEO, succeeding Gavin Slark. Born served for five years as CEO of global aviation services provider Swissport International, and for a similar period as CEO of supply chain solutions firm Wincanton. He was formerly President, West & South Europe of Gategroup, the largest global airline catering provider, and has also served as non-executive director of Serco and John Menzies.
Elon Musk is reportedly planning to assume the role of interim CEO at Twitter after firing Parag Agrawal, along with CFO Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde. ion of the takeover. Musk is also said to be planning to do away with permanent bans on users because he doesn't believe in lifelong prohibitions, meaning former US president Donald Trump, among others, may be allowed to return. After tweeting "The bird is freed" after completeing his takeover of the company last week, Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market said on Twitter: "In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules" using the hashtag "DSA", which is a reference to one of two new packages of EU legislation aimed at tightening oversight of social media.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed on Friday that Twitter's shares had been taken off the New York Stock Exchange.
Meanwhile, GM Motors Co., America’s largest automaker, has temporarily pulled its paid advertising on Twitter, saying in a statement it had done so as a "normal course of business" after a such a significant change in the media platform. GM is "engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform under their new ownership", it said, adding its "customer care interactions on Twitter will continue". The world’s richest man, Elon Musk has described himself as a "free-speech absolutist", leading some ad agencies and brands to express scepticism and concern over Twitter's future. In an open-letter tweet on the eve of the deal’s closing, Musk appealed directly to advertisers saying: "Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!... Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise." On Friday last week, he said the platform will form a moderation council "with widely diverse viewpoints" and that "no major content decisions or account reinstatements" will be made before it meets. Ad sales made up more than 90% of Twitter's revenue in the second quarter.
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