Published: 04 April 2023
By Suzanne Evans, Director, Political Insight
New stamps featuring King Charles' portrait go on sale from today and will appear on all standard Royal Mail stamps from now on, although stocks of those featuring the late Queen will be sold first. The price of a stamp also went up yesterday: a first class stamp now costs £1.10, an extra 15p, while second class stamps have risen by 7p to 75p.
Hospitality bodies are warning that business failure is on the increase following the end of the Government’s energy bill relief scheme on 1st April. “We’re seeing an acceleration of business failure which is now worse than the pandemic,” Emma McClarkin, CEO of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) told City A.M. “Pub bills are going up by £20,000 to cover energy costs increases,” she said, and claimed that high energy costs “are the number one reason for pub closures right now.” She called on the Government to open up a “window of renegotiation” with energy suppliers. Meanwhile, Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality, said the introduction of the tighter handout will “greatly reduce” the support available to the hospitality sector which is facing extra costs of £7.3bn. “The energy crisis has suffocated businesses over the past year, causing thousands to fail and forcing many more to take drastic measures to afford extortionate energy bills,” Nicholls said. Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin said: “Our general view is that there should be tax equality with supermarkets (who pay zero VAT on food, whereas pubs pay 20 per cent), rather than temporary and complex, short-term reliefs, which confuse and don’t add up to much in the long run.”
Ofcom has told internet providers to speed up broadband switching for customers after failing to meet a regulatory deadline yesterday, leaving millions of consumers with inflation-busting bill hikes of up to 17%. Known as "One Touch Switch", the system was designed by the telecoms watchdog to make it easier for households to change to a cheaper or faster broadband service, and allow seamless switching between physically separate networks. Once in place, customers would only need to contact a new broadband provider to switch, and would no longer need to speak to their current provider. However, the “new process has not been introduced on time," Ofcom said in a statement, adding that consequentially they had launched an industry-wide enforcement programme. Cristina Luna-Esteban, Ofcom's director of telecoms consumer protection, said: "Industry has had plenty of warning, plenty of time and plenty of support to get this done. It's extremely disappointing and frustrating, and providers have let their customers down." Comparison and switching site Uswitch said the missed deadline could cost consumers £162 a year in potential savings.
Harbour Energy, the UK’s largest oil and gas firm, has ramped up industry calls for a price floor to be included as part of the Energy Profits Levy (windfall tax) as oil and gas prices start to fall. The industry was expecting windfall taxes would not apply if oil and gas prices receded to ‘normal’ levels, but no price floor was included in either the latest budget or last week’s energy security plan. The FTSE 250 company said the lack of a price floor could jeopardise both fossil fuel projects and future carbon capture and storage (CCS) developments. “Industry has repeatedly asked government to introduce a floor price mechanism into the levy to ensure the tax is appropriately targeted at realised windfall profits and ceases to apply when oil and gas prices fall,” a spokesperson for Harbour told City A.M. North Sea oil and gas firm Ithaca Energy also warned yesterday that the lack of a price floor, as well as the UK’s unstable investment climate, could jeopardise its involvement in the massive Rosebank oil and gas field. And David Whitehouse, CEO of industry body Offshore Energies UK, echoed the warnings of both North Sea operators, saying the windfall tax itself risks deterring investment.
Taqa, an Abu Dhabi-listed energy company, is in advanced talks to provide financial backing to Xlinks, a British-based startup that wants to construct a 3,800km cable between Morocco and the UK that could transmit enough electricity to power more than seven million British homes. Sky News says Taqa, which has operations spanning oil and gas, water and carbon capture and storage, is negotiating the purchase of a significant stake in the prospective project, which would see a large-scale onshore wind, solar and battery electricity generation site in the north African country supplying power exclusively to the UK energy grid. Octopus Energy is also thought to be participating in the project, expected to cost £18bn to fund, and which received a significant boost last week when it was named by the Government as a project of interest in its energy blueprint, Powering Up Britain.
British billionaire Sir Richard Branson's rocket company Virgin Orbit has filed for bankruptcy in the US after failing to secure new investment. The satellite launch company halted operations weeks ago but still hopes to find a buyer. Virgin Orbit, which was spun off from Branson’s space tourism company Virgin Galactic in 2017, ran into trouble after one of its rockets failed to complete its first-ever satellite launch from Spaceport Cornwall, putting an end to hopes that a successful launch would turn the company into a global player for space exploration and satellite manufacture. CEO Dan Hart said despite the financial problems, he was confident the company had a "wide appeal" to a new owner because its team had created "cutting edge launch technology". “At this stage, we believe that the Chapter 11 process represents the best path forward to identify and finalize an efficient and value-maximizing sale,” he said.
Top shareholders in London-listed events organiser Hyve Group have lined up to oppose its takeover by a US private equity firm, the Daily Mail reports. Investors M&G, Redwheel, and Blackmoor Investment Partners have spoken out against the £481m deal that would see yet another company disappear from the London stock market. Together they hold around 17% of voting power, throwing the takeover into doubt as it needs a 75% vote in favour to pass. US-based Providence Equity Partners agreed to pay 108p per share for Hyve last month, valuing the company behind trade shows such as Pure London at £481m, a valuation the shareholders say severely undervalues Hyve. They believe there is still potential in the much-reduced current Hyve share price, as its post-pandemic comeback is yet to be fully realised. Strategic Value Partners, which holds a 17% stake in Hyve, said it would support the takeover when it was first announced, but declined to comment on whether this position had changed after yesterday.
FTSE 100 miner Glencore has seen a £18bn hostile takeover bid for Canadian rival Teck Resources snubbed. Had it been accepted the deal would have created a natural resources giant valued at £95bn. Teck’s chairman Sheila Murray declared: 'The board is not contemplating a sale of the company at this time.'
The FTSE 250 wealth management company Rathbones has agreed to buy the wealth business of Investec in an all-share deal valued at £839m. Under the terms of the deal, which excludes FTSE 250 Investec's Swiss and International wealth operations, Rathbones shareholders will own 58.75% of the combined group and 70.1% of the voting rights.
Royal London, one of the UK’s largest life, pensions, and investment mutuals, has snapped up Aegon UK’s individual protection business. The acquisition, which is subject to court approval, will see the transfer of 400,000 customers’ life insurance, critical illness and income protection to Royal London, taking its total customer base to around 1.3m.
Over 50s travel and insurance specialist Saga has reported a 50% increase in revenue on last year, announcing earnings of £581m for the year ended January 31, up from £377m in 2022. Saga also recouped its pandemic losses, making a £21.5m profit before tax, up from a £6.7m loss the previous year. Its insurance wing also had a strong performance with profit before tax of £67.7m, in line with £66.6m from last year.
Passengers travelling through London City Airport will no longer have to separate and limit liquids to 100ml in their hand luggage as high-tech CT scanners have been introduced at security. The move, which means travellers can now leave up to two litres of liquid in their hand luggage at security, along with all electronics, comes after the Government set a June 2024 deadline for most UK airports to install the machines. Teeside airport was the first airport to introduce the machines, last month.
The new head of the probation service in England and Wales has told BBC News that more men are needed in the profession. Kim Thornden-Edwards said it would help to bring a male perspective in some cases involving violent offenders, including cases of domestic abuse. Its workforce has been "stuck" at 75% women for 30 years, she added. She also said older people with life experiences are needed, including those who have been on probation themselves. The probation service is responsible for supervising 240,000 former prisoners and offenders serving sentences in the community. However, it is facing intense scrutiny after a series of men committed murders while under probation supervision.
An investigation into sexual misconduct at The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has been widened to take new allegations into account. Reports first published by The Guardian involved allegations made against Tony Danker, the CBI's director general who has since stepped aside. Law firm Fox Williams has been appointed to investigate claims against Danker, and new allegations not related to Tony Danker, which the newspaper says include a report from a woman who claims she was raped by a senior colleague at a CBI summer boat party in 2019. "The CBI has treated and continues to treat all matters of workplace conduct with the utmost seriousness," it said. The CBI lobbies on behalf of around 190,000 businesses employing millions of people.
Sky News reports that Railsr, a payments company rescued weeks ago from the brink of outright collapse has appointed experienced fintech executive Philippe Morel as its new CEO, to spearhead a transformation plan under its new owners. Parts of Railsr were sold through an expedited insolvency process after a rapid descent which culmination in its acquisition of the British operations of Wirecard, the scandal-hit German finance group. Railsr had been valued at close to $1bn - the magical 'unicorn' status desired by technology start-ups - but saw its assets sold for less than £500,000, according to administrators' filings. Railsr is also expected to announce the appointment of Debbie Lotz, a former National Australia Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland executive, as its new finance chief.
John Lewis has won a court battle with an author who claimed the retailer’s 2019 Christmas advert, which featured a fire-breathing but friendly green dragon named Edgar, was copied from one of her designs. Fay Evans claimed Edgar bore a "striking" resemblance to her character, Fred The Fire-Sneezing Dragon, and sued both John Lewis and Adam & Eve DDB, the creative agency behind the ad. However, yesterday a High Court judge ruled there was no evidence the team behind the advert had been aware of her work.
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