Mothercare (MTC) was racing to protect thousands of staff and former workers from pension cutbacks on Monday night ahead of calling in administrators. The toy and baby clothes seller is expected to dump its collapsing UK arm, putting 2,500 jobs at risk. Its retirement programme is almost £140m in the red, meaning if the British division goes bust then the pensions lifeboat will be forced to step in – triggering major cutbacks for 6,000 members of the scheme. It comes after Mothercare admitted that its 79 stores are incapable of making money. The chain is now calling in PwC to act as administrator.
Boris Johnson is planning a ‘bonfire’ of red tape to help small businesses bid for billions of pounds of government contracts once the UK is finally free of the European Union at the end of next year. The Prime Minister is working up plans with Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden for an overhaul of procurement rules once the UK leaves the transition period in December next year if the UK leaves with a deal. Mr Johnson intends to axe EU rules which require the Government to award contracts to companies based on the lowest price. Small UK businesses have long complained this leaves them outcompeted by foreign firms offering bargain basement rates for substandard work.
The troubled investment trust once run by Neil Woodford has been forced to slash the value of its investment in cold fusion firm Industrial Heat for a second time, in another blow for its long-suffering savers. Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) cut the valuation of Industrial Heat – which is focused on next-generation energy technology viewed sceptically by most scientists – on the advice of the custodian Link Fund Solutions, a company tasked with ensuring the trust follows the rules. Patient Capital first reduced the value of its £67m holding in Industrial Heat in August. The new cut on Monday means the stake’s estimated worth has dropped as much as 83% and is less than £10m.
Staff at Sir Martin Sorrell’s old firm WPP (WPP) are queuing up to work for him again after he was forced out of the company in a dramatic row last year, the advertising mogul has said. Advertising executives at all levels are trying to jump ship from WPP to Sir Martin’s new venture S4 Capital (SFOR), he said, with new candidates approaching him every day. The 74-year-old – who built WPP from nothing into a FTSE 100 stalwart but was pushed out last year amid allegations, which he denies, that he paid a prostitute using company expenses – raised doubts over whether his former employer can survive in one piece. Shares have fallen almost a quarter since Sir Martin left.
Draper Esprit (GROW) risks a backlash from shareholders after chief executive Simon Cook moved from the top post to become chief investment officer without a cut to his salary. Mr Cook, who founded the publicly-listed venture capital firm together with chief operating officer Stuart Chapman, said the move will allow him to spend more leading the firm’s investment team. He said: “For me personally, I’m an entrepreneur at heart. Investing is what I love.” Although he will no longer be heading up the business, it is understood there will be no change to his salary, which last year stood at £348,000. The second highest paid director was Mr Chapman, at £289,000.
Ryanair Holdings (RYA) has slashed the number of Boeing 737 aircraft it expects to receive next summer amid fears of fresh delays in the return of the scandal-hit jet. Job cuts remain on the cards as a result of the delayed return of the 737 Max, which has been grounded since March following two fatal crashes within five months, the airline warned. Ryanair has pushed back when it expects to take delivery of its first 737 Max planes – from January or February next year, to March or April. This means the airline expects to receive 20 of the “game-changer” jets next year, down from the originally planned 58. The low-cost carrier had already downgraded next year’s delivery to 30 in July.
Ryanair Holdings (RYA) will ask the competition authorities to force British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) to make divestments as part of its €1bn (£860m) purchase of Air Europa, with analysts warning that IAG may struggle to get regulatory clearance for the deal. The Irish carrier’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “I think it is a good deal for IAG, for Willie Walsh. I think it is a bad deal from a competition point of view.” He added: “It is a merger to monopoly in Madrid and I think we would certainly be looking for the competition authorities to require some competition divestments, particularly in the Air Europa short-haul.”
Questor: in a growth-starved world GB Group (GBG) is worth holding despite its chunky price tag. Questor share tip: the firm continues to capitalise on its strong position in what is still a growth market: identity data intelligence
