Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, inflation, Barclays, Capita, BT
By Digital Look
Date: Sunday 13 Jan 2019
(Sharecast News) - Theresa May has been warned that her government "will lose its ability to govern" after Downing Street uncovered a bombshell plot by senior MPs to seize control of Brexit negotiations and sideline the prime minister. A cross-party group of senior backbenchers - including former Tory ministers - plan to change Commons rules so motions proposed by backbenchers take precedence over government business, if May loses the crunch vote on her Brexit deal on Tuesday. - Sunday Times
Jeremy Corbyn has pledged Labour will call a no-confidence motion in Theresa May's government "soon", while again indicating that if he became prime minister he would prefer to negotiate his own Brexit deal rather than call a second referendum. The Labour leader again refused to confirm that an immediate challenge to the government would take place if May, as expected, loses Tuesday's key vote on her Brexit plan. - Observer
Chris Grayling has denied there is a "void" in government over Brexit amid a series of reports about supposed plots by MPs to take control of the process. But the transport secretary repeatedly refused to say what Theresa May would do if her plan is defeated next week. - Observer
Military planners have been deployed to the Department for Transport, the Home Office and the Foreign Office as officials desperately try to avoid backlogs and chaos at the border in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Details released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that 14 military planners have been dispatched by the Ministry of Defence to key ministries, which also include the Cabinet Office. -Observer
Businesses have raised the alarm over the government's no-deal Brexit planning, saying they have been "hung out to dry" by a lack of detail in official guidance. The business minister Richard Harrington wrote to the financial secretary to the Treasury, Mel Stride, last month outlining the concerns of business about a two-page briefing sent by HM Revenue & Customs to 145,000 companies trading in the EU. - Sunday Times
Inflation has tumbled to its lowest level since January 2017 and is now running a whisker above the Bank of England's 2% target, putting further rises in interest rates in doubt. City economists are forecasting annual consumer price rises of 2.1% when inflation figures for December are published on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics. - Sunday Times
When an expert in financial risk at one of the world's most powerful private equity outfits tells investors to scale down their exposure to a specific corner of the debt market, it is worth taking notice. Henry McVey, who sits on the risk committee at KKR, said last week that the leveraged loan market - a $1.3tn (£1tn) pile of risky corporate loans - had been on a "great run in recent years" but the firm was now cutting its exposure to the asset class to zero. - Observer
Barclays' top shareholders have emphatically rejected Edward Bramson's attempted boardroom coup after it emerged that the corporate raider was ramping up his fight for a board seat. Mr Bramson has taken his battle with Barclays up several notches after promising to table a vote on "the composition of the board" at the bank's general meeting in May. - Sunday Telegraph
Activist investors intensified their focus on the UK last year, spending $7.3bn (£5.7bn) on shareholdings and targeting 25 companies. The New York hedge fund Elliott Advisors led the surge, building up stakes and pushing for change at nine UK companies, compared with just one the year before, according to research by the investment bank Lazard. - Sunday Times
Two thirds of company directors have backed a plan to put Government contractors under closer scrutiny and avoid more Carillion-style collapses. A new type of company, called a Public Service Corporation, would be set up for those with public sector contracts to require directors by law to extend their focus beyond shareholders to 'demonstrate higher levels of accountability to staff and suppliers'. - Mail on Sunday
Huge salt caverns hundreds of metres underground are being converted into vast gas stores to ensure the UK has enough energy to heat homes if another Beast from the East hits. A little-known firm employing just 50 people has risen to become the UK's biggest player in gas storage. - Observer
Ofcom has warned incoming BT chief executive Philip Jansen that the company must commit to more broadband upgrades, despite demands on him to maintain dividend payouts. Sharon White, the regulator's chief executive, said Gavin Patterson, who is due to step down from BT at the end of the month, would leave the company "well positioned to invest significantly in fibre". - Sunday Telegraph
The rescue deal for struggling airline Flybe could be called off because of Brexit. The consortium of buyers, which includes Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Group, has inserted a 'Brexit clause' into the takeover agreement. - Mail on Sunday
The debt-laden explorer Premier Oil is preparing to tap shareholders for cash to help it buy about $1.5bn of fields in the North Sea. Premier is in the running to pick up fields being sold by US oil giant Chevron and is believed to be considering a rights issue or share placing to help pay for them should it win the auction. - Sunday Times
Landlords are set for a fresh wave of pain after more than 20 struggling high street chains instructed Deloitte to assess whether they are eligible for debt restructuring in the past two months alone. The accountancy giant is understood to be considering whether the chains, mainly fashion and homeware retailers, can use a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) to shut shops. - Sunday Times
Mike Ashley's brutal assault on Debenhams risks tipping the embattled chain of department stores over the edge, the City fears. Sports Direct's billionaire founder last week dramatically ousted chairman Ian Cheshire and pushed boss Sergio Bucher off the board as he seeks to tighten his grip on the chain, an aggressive move that multiple sources warned could risk throwing Debenhams' survival efforts into disarray. - Sunday Telegraph
Billionaire Mike Ashley attempted to install himself as chief executive of Debenhams as part of repeated efforts to gain control of the retailer, it has emerged. The approach to Debenhams' chairman Sir Ian Cheshire last summer was one of several made by Ashley, including a separate plan to anoint himself chairman. - Mail on Sunday
The wave of high street gloom has rippled out to the bond markets, with more than £200million wiped off the value of retailers' debt in two months. Bond markets are seen by the City as a relatively safe place to invest with guaranteed annual returns plus money refunded in full when the debt matures. - Mail on Sunday
Kier Group shareholders are reportedly working to change the construction company's management team after a difficult six months in which investors shunned a fundraising attempt. The futures of Haydn Munsell, the chief executive, and Bev Dew, the finance director, may be at risk, as Woodford Investment Management, which owns 16pc of the firm, is trying to replace one or both of the pair. - Sunday Telegraph
Embattled outsourcer Capita is at risk of losing a contract worth up to £50m for managing London's congestion charge zone as Transport for London (TfL) considers bringing the project in-house. TfL, which runs the capital's trains, buses and roads, has put together a team to look at the possibility of taking the scheme's back office functions under its own control when the current contract expires in 2021. - Sunday Telegraph
HS2 could be forced to run fewer trains and at slower speeds in order to keep the high-speed rail project within budget, the company's chief executive has said. The government-backed infrastructure development has faced criticism for "misleading MPs" with price estimates that were hundreds of millions of pounds too low, following fears that costs were spiralling out of control. - Observer
Tougher ID checks will be brought in to make sure self-excluded gamblers cannot cheat the system to place bets, according to the Gambling Commission. It comes after the head of GamStop, a scheme designed to help problem gamblers, said she was deeply concerned following an investigation that found a gambler who had self-referred could still place bets online by simply changing their user details. - Observer
Ministers will be forced to pioneer a new way of financing nuclear power after Hitachi walked away from a £16bn plant in north Wales. The suspension of the Japanese giant's Horizon project on Anglesey, expected to be confirmed at a board meeting tomorrow, will force the government to lure investors with a financing method that would pile costs on to consumers, even before a plant has been built. - Sunday Times
Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond was facing questions about his business affairs last night after it emerged that a private company in which he holds an interest has paid virtually no tax - despite making £1.6million in profits since he joined the government. An investigation by The Mail on Sunday has revealed that a construction firm linked to Hammond has paid just £5,964 in tax on total profits of £1.6million since it was set up in 2010.
The BBC is leading a fightback against the growing might of American tech giants by pushing for stronger alliances between public service broadcasters in Europe. It is understood that the corporation is in talks to extend its commercial ties with continental counterparts in areas such as content production to help build a united front against the streaming giants such as Amazon Prime and Netflix. - Sunday Times
A company that specialises in search engine manipulation, set up by a fund manager targeted by online trolls, is closing in on a London stock market float. Swiss investor Alfredo Villa said he plans to float his business, Right of Reply, on the London Stock Exchange within the next three months, meaning it could be one of the first companies to list in the UK after Brexit. - Sunday Telegraph
The Home Office has acted to curb a black market in jobs for alleged illegal immigrants for the gig economy giants Deliveroo and Uber Eats. Immigration officials last week raided a north London McDonald's after a tip-off that delivery riders were working there with false documents. - Sunday Times
The boss of a London-listed oil drilling firm has been handed a controversial £9million bonus - by the pay committee he chairs. In a move that flouts corporate governance guidelines, Dr Mohamed Farouk is not only the chief executive of ADES International Holding but also the chairman of its remuneration committee. - Mail on Sunday
The number of companies being formed in Britain bounced back last year as entrepreneurs defied economic uncertainty to start more businesses than ever. In total, the number of ventures started in Britain increased by 5.2% to 645,774 last year, according to Companies House data collated by the Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE) think tank. - Sunday Times
Amazon is experimenting with the next phase in the evolution of online shopping - not shopping at all. The retail colossus is understood to be testing a new programme that would allow big brands to send unsolicited samples of their products to customers, based on past buying habits. - Sunday Times
Saudi Arabia has finally silenced its peak-oil critics and simultaneously revived interest in its stalled $2 trillion (£1.6 trillion) plan for a stock market float of state-owned producer Aramco. The kingdom revealed this week it has enough crude to pump at current rates for at least another 70 years. At the end of 2017, Saudi oil reserves stood at an eye-watering 268bn barrels, up from previous estimates of 266bn. - Sunday Telegraph
Japanese firm Nissan has become the latest car manufacturing giant to publish gloomy sales figures amid concerns about its future in Britain. Turnover at Nissan's UK business, which is headquartered in Sunderland, fell by £93million last year to £6.3billion - while its profits plunged 6.6 per cent to £133million. -
Collapsed power firm Economy Energy is being sued for millions of pounds by three companies including National Grid. An investigation by this newspaper found that the firm's boss, Lubna Khilji, 33, was embroiled in a series of disputes before the firm ceased trading last week. - Mail on Sunday
Hilco, the vulture fund that presided over the recent collapse of music and games retailer HMV, has hit more turmoil after the failure of a cookware business it backed. Steamer Trading was sold in a pre-pack administration last week to its rival ProCook. Steamer had borrowed £5.75m from a subsidiary of Hilco last year. - Sunday Times
The boardroom battle for Italy's biggest telecoms provider has intensified after its chairman was accused of failing to represent all shareholders. French investor Vivendi claims Fulvio Conti has been carrying out "absurd time-wasting tactics" after it called for an extraordinary shareholder meeting last month to try to regain control of Telecom Italia's board. - Sunday Times
And finally, the German far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has voted to campaign for the country's exit from the European Union if its demand for reforms within the bloc are not met. The decision on Sunday marks the first time any party has called for "Dexit" - a German departure from the EU in the mould of Brexit. - Observer
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