Jury discharged in landmark Barclays (BARC) fraud trial. The jury in a landmark fraud trial of four former Barclays executives, including the bank’s former chief executive John Varley, have been discharged. The case, which marks the first trial of a major banking boss over events during the financial crisis, is subject to continuing reporting restrictions. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) alleged that Mr Varley and three other ex-Barclays bankers – Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath – hid payments made to Qatar in exchange for emergency fundraisings in 2008. The investment helped the bank avoid a government bailout.
Big pay rise for Centrica (CNA) boss as thousands of job cuts loom. The owner of British Gas has given its chief executive a big pay rise despite thousands of job cuts looming and the prospect of a cut in the dividend. Centrica boss Iain Conn’s pay packet for 2018 rose by almost half to just over £2.4m due to a cash bonus of £388,000. His take-home pay was on the rise once again after he took a cut of almost two-thirds for 2017 – a year in which annual profits plunged almost a fifth due to pressures in the energy market. Mr Conn’s bumper payday comes just weeks after he sounded the alarm on shareholder dividends, sending Centrica’s share price crashing to 20-year lows.
Shell focuses on forests to offset damage caused by fossil fuels. Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ (RDSB) plans to spend $300m over the next three years planting millions of new trees around the world to help absorb the greenhouse gas emissions caused by its fossil fuel products. The Anglo-Dutch energy giant will pay for five million new trees in the Netherlands alone, and will invest in more than 1,000 hectares of new forest in Spain and Australia. The company claimed that its investment in forests, wetlands and other natural ecosystems would help reduce emissions by capturing carbon emissions from the atmosphere and offer benefits for biodiversity and local communities as well.
Mike Ashley issues scathing attack on Debenhams. Mike Ashley’s issued a scathing attack on the board of Debenhams (DEB), accusing them of “falsehoods and denials” after the billionaire tabled an emergency £150m rescue bid for the struggling department store over the weekend. In remarks launched on Sunday night, Sports Direct claimed that discussions about its offer had been based on “‘misrepresentations” designed to “induce Sports Direct into signing a non-disclosure agreement, locking them out of any ability to trade in the bonds or equity of Debenhams for a period of time”. The company also called for the suspension of Debenhams stock and for two of its board members, Terry Duddy and David Adams, to undergo lie detector tests.
Renewables backer targets UK’s nuclear power reactors. One of the biggest backers of renewable energy projects is lining up a bid for a multibillion-pound stake in the UK’s existing fleet of nuclear power reactors. Greencoat Capital is understood to be in talks to launch a new fund targeting the planned £4bn sell-off of a minority stake in the UK’s seven nuclear reactors from EDF Energy and Centrica (CNA). The pair have hired a string of City heavy-hitters to field bids for a share of the 9GW fleet, which generates a fifth of the UK’s electricity, in the hope of clinching a sale by the end of next year.
Canadian gas explorer in London listing to unlock Turkish fields. Canadian gas explorer Valeura Energy will unveil plans to list on the London Stock Exchange this week as it looks to raise funds for a major project in Turkey. The company is targeting a dual-listing in the UK after raising C$60m (£34m) last year with strong backing from a base of London-based institutional investors. Its shares already trade on the Toronto stock exchange. Valeura is on the cusp of unlocking the major Mediterranean project, holding an estimated 10 trillion cubic feet of gas, to feed Turkey’s energy-hungry economy and provide Europe with an alternative to Russian gas imports.
