National Grid (NG.) will escape regulatory fines over power outages that plunged nearly 1m homes into darkness, the company said. Chief executive John Pettigrew said he did not expect energy watchdog Ofgem to hit the business with penalties ‘because everything operated as intended’. The August blackouts also disrupted electricity grids used by traffic lights and rail services. A report by the firm in September blamed the outages on a lightning strike, which it said triggered shutdowns at the Hornsea offshore windfarm and Little Barford gas plant in Bedfordshire. The sudden change in the grid’s energy frequency then triggered the automatic shutdown of a string of smaller generators, making the situation worse. The outages wiped out National Grid’s power reserves, prompting claims it should have been better prepared.
The boss of Young & Co’s Brewery ‘A’ Shares (YNGA) has launched a scathing attack on Jeremy Corbyn, warning a Labour victory in next month’s election would ‘crucify’ the economy. Patrick Dardis, chief executive of Young’s pubs and breweries, said he was even more fearful of a Labour win under Mr Corbyn than the damaging prospect of a hung Parliament and ongoing uncertainty over Brexit. Mr Dardis said: ‘The threat of a Corbyn government is a bigger issue for business than the current uncertainty. ‘A period of a Labour government would crucify the economy and it would take decades to recover from it.’ ‘That’s my concern and it’s as much for my children as it is for me,’ he added. His comments echo what is seen as the view across much of the City, that a government led by Mr Corbyn would be more damaging to UK business than a no-deal Brexit.
Card Factory (CARD) has launched a ‘festive families photocard’ service inspired by the likes of the Kardashians as it looks to offset tough high street conditions. The chain has drafted in celebrity couple Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash to help launch its new service, which will run from pop-up stores across the UK, as well as online. It comes amid a trend for annual family photoshoots set by celebrities such as reality TV stars the Kardashians and as personalised cards become increasingly popular.
Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) last night hammered out a rescue deal with private equity firm Dbay. The haulier, best known for its forest-green lorries which traverse motorways, announced that Dbay was prepared to inject £55million of financing. And in a plan designed to revive the firm’s fortunes, William Stobart – the son of Eddie Stobart’s synonymous founder – will rejoin the company as a board director. The deal follows months of uncertainty for Eddie Stobart shareholders, after the company revealed a massive black hole in its accounts in August. It had previously been unable to put a number on how much this scandal would cost, but yesterday began to drop further hints as to the extent of the damage.
More bus passengers paid with contactless and mobile apps rather than cash on FirstGroup (FGP) local bus routes for the first time in its history, the company has revealed. According to bosses, 43% of payments were made by cash, with 45% made through non-cash methods, in the latest push towards a cashless society. The remainder came from ticket sales via third parties. he detail came as FirstGroup said it sank to a £187.1 million pretax loss in the six months to September 30 due to ongoing problems in its US Greyhound coach business. On the company’s preferred underlying basis, which excludes one-off costs, it recorded a pretax profit of £28.7 million.
Burberry Group (BRBY) sales dropped sharply in Hong Kong in the first six months of the year, as protests continue to rock the city state. The British fashion house said that sales in the region, which accounts for 8% of its Asian revenue, declined by double digits, and warned that more was yet to come. ‘We expect sales in Hong Kong to remain under pressure,’ the company said in a statement to the market on Thursday. Yet, despite these pressures, and against what some analysts were expecting, the company still managed to increase adjusted operating profit by 14% over the period to £203 million. Meanwhile, revenue grew 5% to £1.3billion. Burberry kept its 2020 outlook broadly unchanged ‘despite incremental pressure on gross margin from the disruptions in Hong Kong’.
