Businesses now forced to wait 18 months to have their cases heard in court - a 27% longer interval than…

Businesses are now having to wait an average of 18 months to have their cases heard in the UK’s civil courts, longer than the average of 17 months it took for cases to be heard in January to March 2022, and 27% longer than the average of 13 months firms had to wait before covid lockdowns in 2019, a data analysis by Thomson Reuters shows. “As a result of delays, UK businesses are facing prolonged legal uncertainty which has a knock-on impact on their ability to operate,” a report by the news agency said. The report noted that although courts have since embraced remote video conferencing – and invested hundreds of millions of pounds to modernise and digitise court services – these initiatives are not addressing the growing backlogs. An HM Courts and Tribunals Service spokesperson told City A.M.: “We are working hard to support the swift access to civil justice which businesses rely on, and the number of cases being heard in the civil courts is at its highest level since the start of the pandemic. We rolled out virtual hearings rapidly and successfully from a standing start in 2020 and are also increasing the use of mediation to help more businesses resolve disputes without needing to go to court in the first place.”

Job vacancies and advertised starting salaries fell for the first time this year in July, by 0.15% on June, according to a survey published this morning by job search website Adzuna, which also said the number of jobseekers per vacancy rose slightly. However, the overall state of the labour market remains tight, Adzuna said. "Whilst it's natural to see vacancies fall during the summer months, as companies traditionally slow hiring, the early figures for July's jobs data will demonstrate to UK policymakers that inflation truly should be on a downward trajectory," said Andrew Hunter, a co-founder of Adzuna.

Rightmove claims that the average price of a home fell by 1.9% in August, the biggest dip for the month since 2018, following a hike in mortgage rates which forced sellers to cut prices to secure a sale.  The cost of a home fell on average by £7,012 to £364,000, with the typical asking price now two per cent lower than its peak in May, the online property portal. In London, house prices dipped by 2.3% and the average price of a home in the capital is now £672,000, Rightmove said. However, Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science cautioned that the 1.9% drop might seem dramatic, but “is in part an expected seasonal drop as sellers coming to market realise that they have to compromise on price due to the traditionally quieter summer holiday period.” Lower prices were also not enough to entice buyers: the number of sales being agreed in August were 15% lower than during the same period in 2019. Rightmove also said there have not been more significant price falls so far this year because the number of available properties for sale remains “historically constrained,” being currently 10% lower than pre-pandemic levels.

The Mail on Sunday said yesterday that the Government is seeking to woo banks and other financial institutions to secure support for North Sea oil and gas projects, saying it understands Treasury officials have invited several major players in the sector to a meeting on Friday as part of a charm offensive to convince them to restart investments in the region. Those thought to be invited include Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest as well as investment firms Fidelity and Abrdn. Foreign banks such as America's Wells Fargo, the Netherlands' ING and France's BNP Paribas and Societe Generale have also been approached, the newspaper said. However, it is thought that only a handful of those on the guest list are expected to attend, according to a person familiar with the matter. Many institutions, including Barclays, NatWest and HSBC are already thought to have exited the region completely or scaled down their investments because of growing pressure on banks to adhere to environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, which aims to encourage firms not to make investments in controversial industries such as fossil fuels and defence. Financial firms are ever more averse to investing in fossil fuel projects since Prime Minister Rishi Sunak imposed a 25% levy on profits from the sector when he was Chancellor. The tax was then raised to 35% by his successor, Jeremy Hunt. An industry source told The Mail on Sunday: “At a time when the UK needs secure supplies of gas from the UK's North Sea, it's a damning indictment of the Government's energy and fiscal policy that the banks who profit from the country will not invest back into it.”

Almost 90% of airlines now charge extra for at least one item on top of the headline price for a flight according to analysis by NetVoucherCodes, a money-saving voucher website which says is now increasingly difficult to find an airline that offers everything up front. NetVoucherCodes calculated the average extra cost for European airlines was £45.43; for international airlines, the average extra was £26.09; and for the US £61.20. Ryanair was found to levy the most for extras such as seat selection, baggage check-in and insurance. Martyn James, a consumer rights expert, told The Guardian that the add-on culture had increased dramatically and that airlines had been stopped in the past from some practices. “They used to charge you to pay by debit or credit card, but how else do you buy online? They were told not to do that,” he said. “When these revenue streams were closed they looked at the process and thought, what else can we charge for?” James said comparison websites should include extra costs in the overall price from the start: “I am having to tell people to be cynical and don’t assume a deal is a good deal.” He also called for the Civil Aviation Authority to be given more power to make airlines add charges up front, and noted that sometimes more expensive flights might be a better option, if everything was included. In June, PM Rishi Sunak ordered a review of “drip pricing” under which companies hide the true cost of products and services by charging consumers extra fees, saying the Government would investigate how widespread the practice was and, if necessary, draw up measures to tackle the problem.

The Mail on Sunday (MoS) claimed yesterday that a flagship Wilko depot was sold in a controversial 'fire sale' property deal that appears to show it lost out on some £40m while attempting to stay afloat. The value retailer called in administrators earlier this month, putting 12,000 jobs at risk. The huge 1.1m sq ft site at Manton Wood in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, was sold to logistics giant DHL in November for £48m, a deal that Wilko said at the time would help its “long term stability” and boost investment. However, just two months later DHL, which is one fifth-owned by the German government, sold the property for £88m to Canadian private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management, whose chairman is former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney. The potential £40m that Wilko missed out on, is identical to the sum it borrowed earlier this year from private equity firm Hilco, the MoS said. “Wilko's collapse is a tragic tale of woeful management errors.” said Nadine Houghton, of the GMB union, which represents 1,800 workers at the hub. “Selling a valuable distribution centre for at least £40million less than it was worth is yet another top brass blunder.”

“Home REIT is set for a fresh showdown with shareholders today as it looks to ditch its homeless investment strategy in a bid to restore its rental income and steady the ship,” City A.M. says this morning, adding: “The scandal-ridden social housing investor floated in 2020 on the promise of “contributing to the fight against homelessness in the UK” but is now on the cusp of scrapping that policy in favour of more general real estate investment”.

Crest Nicholson is the latest big housebuilder to slim down profit targets for the year, in this case by some £23m, saying “persistently” high inflation and rising interest rates worsened during the summer as higher mortgage rates dampened consumer confidence. The Surrey-based firm said it now expects adjusted profit before tax for the full year to be around £50m, down from previous expectations of £73.7m. In its half year results published in June, the company’s pre-tax profits sank 60% as revenues fell 22.4%. “Rapidly falling consumer confidence and rising interest rates immediately translated into softer demand in the housing market,” Peter Truscott, Crest Nicholson CEO said at the time. The announcement by the FTSE 250 company has sent its shares down more than 12% at the time of writing, while other major housebuilders are leading the FTSE 100 fallers board.

THG CEO Matt Moulding has accused regulators and the London Stock Exchange of turning a blind eye to “rogue” hedge funds and short sellers, aiming his fire at US giant Quintessential for its attack on Darktrace last year. Quintessential built up a short in the UK tech firm last year before publishing a research report alleging a host of irregularities in its reporting, including growth rates. Darktrace shares tanked, but then an EY report, commissioned by Darktrace, gave the cyber security outfit a clean bill of health. The ease with which hedge funds can make short bets in the UK has contributed to the under-performance of London’s equity markets in recent years Moulding told City A.M., while likening those who say they improve the efficiency of equity markets to “burglars robbing homes and then arguing they are helping to declutter.” “Because it’s so cheap,” Moulding wrote in a LinkedIn post, “you can make hundreds of millions by wreaking havoc against a company and its share price.” The “lack of action” by regulators contributes to the “sentiment that London is a backwater,” he added, and called on the Financial Conduct Authority to crack down on short selling. He also said MPs should be moved to take action. Quintessential hit back, with Gabriel Grego – the firm’s managing partner – defending short sellers as vital to “market efficiency and price discovery.” The FCA declined to comment.

Entrepreneur Richard Harpin is investing £110m of his personal fortune into medium-sized businesses, saying in an article written for Mailonline that he is “on a mission” to save the British High Street. Harpin sold home repair company HomeServe, which he founded in 1993, to Canadian investor Brookfield Asset Management, for more than £4bn last year, netting him and his wife Kate about £500m. He has since invested £55m in growth firms, including outdoorwear retailers Passenger and ACAI, Keelham Farm Shop and Crafter's Companion. Now he says he wants to invest looking to invest another £55m in ten or so firms, saying: “I am not doing it primarily for financial return. If we are going to get the country and economy going, we need to help businesses scale up”. He also said in his article that he wants to share the secrets he learned over his years building a multi-billion pound business, including a “Not To Do List”.

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has called out misleading reporting in the Daily Mail, which claimed the chain had hiked food and drink prices by 13%, and that “pint prices at the chain’s airport and certain city pubs were revealed to have rocketed to an eye watering £7”. In a statement issued to the RNS news service on Friday, Martin clarified the facts of the matter, which are that only one draught pint in one location – Leffe Blonde at The Moon under Water pub in Leicester Square - costs £7. Meanwhile, “the price of a Ham and Cheddar Cheese Panini was stated correctly as £5.53 but [the Daily Mail] failed to notify readers that this price also included a free soft drink,” the statement said. “It is important for the press to maintain a reputation of providing accurate information for the public,” Martin added.

Ben Stokes, the England cricket captain, and his former team-mate Stuart Broad are among a group of prominent sportsmen backing the launch of The Players Fund, a new venture capital vehicle with £40m of committed funding for early-stage deals. Its objective is to bring together prominent sportspeople with a track record of investing in start-ups and seasoned venture capitalists. "The Players Fund provides a structured way for athletes to confidently step into early stage investing and to do so alongside teammates and fellow athletes,” Stokes said.

Sky News said on Friday that Adam Winslow, CEO of Aviva’s UK and Ireland general insurance business, has been approached to become the new CEO of Direct Line Group, the struggling FTSE 250 motor insurer which owns the Churchill and Green Flag brands. It is not clear whether he will take the role or whether other candidates are in the offing, Sky said.

The scandal-hit Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is to close its offices in Beijing, Delhi and Washington DC, meaning the embattled business lobby group will have only one remaining overseas outpost in Brussels. The closures are part of a cost-cutting drive aimed at ensuring its survival, Sky News said on Friday.