Britain’s biggest housebuilders should be slapped with hefty fines if they are guilty of shoddy workmanship, senior politicians and campaigners have said. Ministers are being urged to ensure a New Homes Ombudsman has the power to penalise developers guilty of poor building standards. A spate of housebuilding scandals – culminating in a devastating report last month on Persimmon, one of Britain’s biggest residential developers – have pushed the Government into what is widely-seen as a long-overdue crackdown on substandard practices. The Queen’s Speech proposed a law requiring property developers to belong to a New Homes Ombudsman scheme, which could investigate complaints and award compensation.
Retail chief Katie Bickerstaffe’s short-lived career leading major energy supplier SSE (SSE) is to end within weeks. The former Dixons Carphone executive will quit her role chairing SSE Energy Services when the company’s sale to Ovo completes, which is likely to happen this month. She was originally hired in 2018 to run a new energy business due to be formed out of a planned merger between SSE Energy Services and rival Npower. But the 51-year-old was appointed as chairman instead when that merger fell through last year, tasked with helping the supplier split from SSE, either through a listing or sale.
Investors dumped shares in high street darling Joules Group (JOUL) after problems in its supply chain resulted in a shock profit warning. The retailer, known for its colourful wellington boots and Breton stripe tops, admitted sales over the Christmas period suffered after it ran out of stock to sell online. Sales during the seven weeks to Jan 5 fell 4.5% compared with a year earlier, when they were up 11.7%. Joules expects to incur one-off costs in the short term due to changes made to its logistics operations as well as the impact from US-China trade tariffs.
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) is entering talks to secure new funding from Chinese backers as it seeks to capitalise on a long-awaited truce with Apple. The Hertfordshire-based technology company plans to raise new funds for an expansion drive, two-and-a-half-years after it was bought out by a Beijing-backed private equity firm. Imagination had become one of Britain’s top-listed tech companies due to a lucrative supply agreement with Apple, but was put up for sale and taken off the London Stock Exchange in 2017 after the iPhone maker revealed plans to design its own graphics chips. Business from Apple accounted for around half of its sales and Imagination’s survival was seen as uncertain after royalties from the US giant dried up.
The Church of England has thrown its weight behind a landmark investor campaign urging Barclays (BARC) to phase out the financing of fossil fuel companies. The Church Commissioners, the fund which invests the institution’s money, has pledged to back a formal challenge against Barclays at its investor meeting in May in an attempt to get Europe’s biggest funder of fossil fuels to stop financing projects that are not aligned with the Paris climate agreement. The proposal was put forward last week by a group of pension funds and asset managers looking after £130bn worth of assets, and is believed to be the first of its kind against a European bank. Edward Mason, head of responsible investment at the Church Commissioners, said the Church was “very supportive” of the resolution. “We continue to urge all companies whose activities have a significant impact on climate change, to ensure their strategy is aligned with the requirements of the Paris agreement,” he said.
Chinese battery manufacturer CATL has emerged as the latest company to weigh up a cash injection into struggling luxury carmaker Aston Martin Holdings (AML). The battery giant has been in talks with Aston executives in recent weeks with an eye on taking a stake in the 107-year-old British business, sources told Sky News. Its interest has emerged days after it was reported that Geely, the Chinese owner of Volvo and Lotus, is mulling a cash injection in the business. Geely also makes London’s electric black cabs and owns a stake in German firm Daimler, which already sells technology and engines to Aston. In December it emerged that Canadian Formula One billionaire Lawrence Stroll could also throw Aston a lifeline. He is believed to be closing in on a £200m cash injection in return for a 20% stake in the business.
Trainline Plc (TRN) has locked horns with its former owner Sir Richard Branson by launching its own version of “split ticketing”. The London-listed company, launched by Virgin Group in 1997 and sold to private equity in 2006, is to roll out SplitSave, a legal loophole that will save beleaguered commuters up to £260-a-year each. The move comes just days after Virgin Rail launched its own app, hoping to break the stranglehold Trainline has on buying train tickets online in the UK by offering a split ticketing service. Trainline floated on the stock market last year and is worth more than £2.2bn. Sir Richard’s more than two decade tenure running British rail services came to an end in 2019 after a bid to continue running the lucrative west coast train line was disqualified by the Government.
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