Friday newspaper round-up: UK pharma investment, Paramount, Octopus Energy
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 12 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - Sir John Bell, a prominent scientist who brought business and government together during the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, has warned that other big pharmaceutical companies will stop investing in the UK, after the US drugmaker MSD's decision to scrap its planned £1bn London research centre. Bell, a former regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, told Today on BBC Radio 4 that he had spoken to several chief executives of large companies in the past six months and that they were "all in the same space. And that is: they're not going to do any more investing in the UK." - Guardian
Up to 400 large shops are at risk of closure with as many as 100,000 jobs at risk if the government goes ahead with plans to hit stores with higher business rates, retailers have warned. Some of the UK's largest retail premises, including supermarkets and department stores, would face higher property tax charges under new rules being considered by the government before November's budget. - Guardian
Spiralling spending on children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) will force the Government to bail out indebted councils, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned. The think tank said local authority spending on Send was becoming "financially unsustainable", with councils set to rack up deficits of £8bn by 2027. That comes despite a £4bn annual increase in central government support for "high needs" children since 2018, a rise of more than 50pc. - Telegraph
The US owner of Channel 5 is plotting a takeover of Warner Bros Discovery in a mega merger set to reshape the media landscape. Paramount Skydance, a media conglomerate itself only formed a month ago from a merger, is preparing an all cash bid for the rival media titan, which owns the famed Warner Bros movie studio as well as Eurosport. - Telegraph
Chinese wind turbines could be deployed in Britain for the first time under a deal signed by Octopus Energy that has sparked national security concerns. Britain's biggest household energy supplier, run by government adviser Greg Jackson, said it planned to deploy Ming Yang's turbines to develop up to 6 gigawatts of wind farms. However, the Conservatives warned that allowing Ming Yang into UK energy infrastructure would pose an "unacceptable risk". The Trump administration has also previously raised concerns about Ming Yang's potential involvement in UK wind projects. - The Times
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