Tuesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Apple, cars, IPOs
Downing Street is refusing to consider proposals to have EU officials stationed at British ports serving Ireland, intended as part of a solution to the problem of the Irish border after Brexit. The compromise plan, which is under consideration by Ireland and Brussels, is aimed at “de-dramatising” the Irish border issue, and reflects the fact that many goods enter Northern Ireland via Dublin, and not Belfast or the two other main ports in the region. - Guardian
Philip Hammond has been warned that he faces a multibillion-pound hole in his budget projections as City businesses use Brexit to reduce their tax bills. Treasury officials are understood to have told the chancellor that unless there is a change to the law after Britain leaves the EU, the government could lose £7bn in corporate VAT receipts. Efforts to claw this back could lead to businesses moving more operations to the Continent, causing greater loss. - The Times
Extra investment is needed in Channel ports to take the pressure off Dover amid warnings that Brexit could cause 17-mile traffic jams en route to the coast, ministers have been told. The government has been urged to provide additional cash to upgrade ports such as Ramsgate and Sheerness to prevent traffic chaos in Kent when Britain leaves the EU. - The Times
Short sellers have circled Apple on the eve of the tech giant’s highly-anticipated iPhone launch, with the tech giant becoming America’s most bet-against company. Short interest in the company has surpassed bets against Amazon and Tesla in dollar terms recent days, as traders predict that the share price surge that recently made Apple the world’s first trillion-dollar company will not last. - Telegraph
Theresa May will meet car industry executives at a summit in Birmingham amid growing concern in the industry about the pace of the Brexit negotiations and the impact of a no-deal scenario on the sector. On Tuesday the prime minister was due to highlight the potential for low emissions technology but before the meeting the industry’s trade body emphasised that ministers have to ensure that the UK would remain an attractive investment environment post Brexit. - Guardian
The value of companies buying or merging with rivals is on course to hit record levels in 2018, according to analysis by Linklaters. Deals for the first half of 2018 totalled nearly $2 trillion, the highest level seen since 2007 and larger than the $1.7 trillion generated in the same period of 2015, the best year on record since the financial crisis. In 2015, M&A activity for the year generated $3.69 trillion, outperforming the $3.45 trillion achieved in 2007. - Telegraph
The cost of bread is forecast to rise after the effects of a dry summer pushed up the price of wheat by 25% to 30%. Prices in stores have already risen in recent months and are likely to continue going up as Associated British Foods (ABF), the owner of Kingsmill, said the impact of its rising costs would be “reflected in our ongoing discussions” with retailers. - Guardian
After shareholders backed Clydesdale bank’s £1.7bn all-share takeover of Virgin Money, top investors believe it could start a buying spree. “The combined group will have quite a lot of surplus capital,” a top 10 investor told The Telegraph. “CYBG has a chance to create a challenger bank that actually has some heft and can compete effectively against the big banks."
Retail shareholders will have to stump up at least £1,000 to grab a slice of Funding Circle, the peer-to-peer business lender aiming to go public next month for more than £1.5 billion. The eight-year-old company is looking to raise about £300 million from its initial public offering and wants to tap into the 80,000 investors who already use its platform. - The Times
Volvo Cars and Geely, its Chinese owner, have postponed indefinitely plans to float shares in the Swedish carmaker on the Stockholm exchange, blaming trade tensions and a downturn in auto manufacturing stocks. “We’ve come to the conclusion that the timing is not optimal for an initial public offering,” Hakan Samuelsson, Volvo Cars’ chief executive, said. - The Times
One of a growing band of British litigation funders intends to raise £70 million by floating on the London Stock Exchange in a move that could value it at up to £1 billion. Vannin Capital’s intention to go public is the latest demonstration of the rising appetite in the London legal market for third-party litigation funding. - The Times
Network Rail has sold thousands of railway arches to a pair of investors as part of a £1.5bn property deal but vowed that businesses working from the spaces, which have raised fears about rent rises, would be protected by a “tenants’ charter”. Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property Partners won the bidding for 5,200 properties, the majority of which are arches, the operator of Britain’s rail network said on Monday. - Guardian
Retailers faced a bill of almost £1 billion last year for accepting cards after payment providers raised their fees, a trade association has claimed. The British Retail Consortium said that retailers had spent an additional £170 million to process card payments in 2017, totalling almost £1 billion, as more than three quarters of sales were paid for by card for the first time. - The Times
A senior adviser to the government’s public health agency has quit over its stance on safe drinking advice and relationship with the alcohol industry. Sir Ian Gilmore accused Public Health England (PHE) of undermining efforts to protect the public and warned that it was getting too close to commercial interests. - The Times
Whitehall’s spending watchdog has accused the Home Office of being ignorant of the strain that police officers are under after funding cuts led to 45,000 job losses. The report from the National Audit Office comes as a debate rages over why crime is rising. Suppressed government research has suggested cuts have played a part though ministers deny this. The NAO found there had been a 19% drop in funding for police since the Conservatives took power in 2010, and officers were struggling to maintain an effective service. - Guardian
A five-acre site opposite St Thomas’ Hospital in central London is being prepared for a potential £200 million sale. The proposed Royal Street development is close to Waterloo railway station and both the Westminster and Lambeth bridges across the Thames. - The Times
Brexit has become a cautionary tale on the perils of Euroscepticism that could help to save the European Union from a wave of populism, Guy Verhofstadt said yesterday. The MEP, a former Belgian prime minister who supports a United States of Europe, has suggested that political chaos over Brexit is now one the most compelling arguments for the EU. - The Times
Britain is to get its first manufacturing site dedicated to making batteries for electric cars. Williams Grand Prix Holdings, parent company of the Williams Formula One motor racing team, is working with Unipart, the motor components group, to start production for Aston Martin’s first electric supercar, the RapidE. - The Times
Marks & Spencer has announced that the star of its latest fashion campaign will be the TV presenter Holly Willoughby. In her role as the retailer’s brand ambassador, the host of This Morning and I’m a Celebrity … has chosen a selection of “must-haves” from the autumn collection.The micro-collection will go on sale on 27 September. - Guardian