Claims against banks in Disney tax avoidance case could pass £1bn March 3, 2019 The total damages for banks being sued in relation to a tax scheme that purported to invest in Disney blockbusters could top £1bn, according to a lawyer acting for the claimants. HSBC and Bank of Ireland are being sued by a group of more than 700 investors in the Eclipse film financing scheme after the courts [...]
The future of news: could tax breaks make online news sustainable? March 3, 2019 Sarah Cartwright’s news kiosk is as much a fixture in Sloane Square as the high-end boutiques that have surrounded it since her grandfather began selling newspapers from a wooden box there in 1892. But the kiosk may do well to survive another decade, let alone a century. “Print is dead,” she says. The Cairncross Review [...]
Lord Rothermere tightens grip on Mail group with Euromoney share give away March 3, 2019 Lord Rothermere is set to tighten his control over Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) by returning all of DMGT’s shares in business media group Euromoney to shareholders. The company said today that it would return its 49 per cent stake in Euromoney along with £200m of cash to certain DMGT shareholders. Read more: Daily [...]
Trade secretary Liam Fox admits the UK may have ‘no option’ but to delay Brexit March 3, 2019 Trade secretary Liam Fox has conceded that the UK may have "no option" but to extend the date on which it leaves the EU, as the government battles to avoid another parliamentary defeat over its Brexit deal. Fox, a Brexiter, said the while he wanted Britain to leave the EU on the scheduled departure date [...]
Emoov founder rejects investor funding claims March 3, 2019 The founder of Emoov has hit back at claims that investors might not have been provided with accurate information regarding a £2m fundraising effort which came months before the online estate agency collapsed. According to The Sunday Times this morning, documents aimed at prospective investors found Emoov, which raised £1.8m from more than 1,000 investors [...]
HS2 hit with legal claim from American engineering giant Bechtel over Old Oak Common contract March 3, 2019 HS2 has been hit with a legal claim by American engineering giant Bechtel after it failed to secure a £1bn contract to build Old Oak Common station. Last year Bechtel signed a £170m contract to deliver phase 2b of the railway, which will stretch from Crewe to Manchester, and the West Midlands to Leeds. The [...]
Treasury agrees to publish key agreement with RBS in wake of GRG allegations March 3, 2019 The Treasury has yielded to pressure from MPs to publish a key agreement it signed with RBS following allegations it had significant influence over the bank’s disgraced global restructuring unit GRG. Following parliamentary questions lodged by the MP Martin Whitfield, the Treasury has agreed to publish the accession agreement it signed with RBS when the [...]
Liam Fox refuses to rule out chlorinated chicken as part of UK-US trade deal March 3, 2019 International trade secretary Liam Fox yesterday defended the outlines of the UK’s potential trade deal with the US, insisting that Britain would not accept anything that was against the interests of consumers. Fox played down the safety concerns over chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-induced beef. The EU currently limits US exports of both products but the [...]
Swann and Geddes in contention for John Lewis post March 3, 2019 Two City heavyweights are reportedly being weighed up for the top job at John Lewis Partnership, following the news of Sir Charlie Mayfield’s planned departure as chairman next year. Direct Line’s outgoing chief executive Paul Geddes and departing SSP boss Kate Swann are both in the running to succeed Mayfield, along with the department store [...]
Tory Brexiters draw up list of terms for backing Theresa May’s exit deal March 3, 2019 Tory Brexiters have drawn up a list of conditions that Theresa May needs to satisfy in order to receive their backing in a looming crunch Commons vote on her Brexit deal. Members of the European Research Group (ERG), chaired by Jacob Rees-Mogg, have drawn up “three tests” that May has to meet in order for [...]