Metro Bank (MTRO) is debating whether to continue funding chairman Vernon Hill’s £120,000-a-year expense allowance into 2020, meaning the troubled firm could carry on paying for the multi-millionaire’s lifestyle even after he leaves. The Telegraph has learnt that the bank is choosing whether to cut off Mr Hill’s £10,000-a-month expense budget in December when he steps down as chairman and quits Metro’s board, or to hold off until March when his contract officially ends. A decision has not yet been made.
Britain’s biggest companies have issued more profit warnings this year than at any time since the height of the financial crisis more than a decade ago, fuelling fears of an impending squeeze on corporate earnings. Quoted businesses warned that profits would be lower than expected on 235 occasions during the first nine months of this year, according to the latest figures by EY. This was higher than any period since 2008. The slashed profit forecasts come as the UK economy braces for its first recession in a decade. Between August and September alone, 77 businesses alerted investors over their earnings, sending their share prices falling nearly a fifth on average.
Britain’s biggest logistics company has entered the race to buy scandal-hit trucking firm Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL). Wincanton (WIN), which oversees goods warehouses for some of the world’s best-known brands, is running the rule over Eddie Stobart and its asset, it said in a short statement on Friday. A formal offer is yet to be made. The announcement raises the prospect of a bidding war with Eddie Stobart’s second-largest shareholder DBAY Advisors, which was this week given more time to review the lorry company’s books after expressing interest in a deal. DBAY must submit an offer by Oct 28. Andrew Tinkler, the former chief executive of Stobart Group, dropped out of the running to buy the firm on Wednesday.
