Wednesday newspaper round-up: Tesco, payday lender, Sports Direct
Tesco will unveil its new discount chain Jack’s next week as the UK’s biggest supermarket throws down the gauntlet to the German discounters Aldi and Lidl. The first of the stores, named after the Tesco founder, Jack Cohen, will be unveiled by the supermarket’s chief executive, Dave Lewis, in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, on Wednesday. – Guardian
The company behind the payday lenders QuickQuid and Pounds to Pocket faces a potential multimillion-pound bill after consumer complaints against it almost quadrupled in a year. CashEuroNet UK, which is owned by a US company, has become one of Britain’s most complained-about financial firms, attracting 4,692 complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service during the first six months of 2018. – Guardian
An influential parliamentary committee has delivered a withering assessment of collapse of the East Coast rail line earlier this year, accusing the Government of “encouraging” operator Stagecoach to overbid for the franchise. While the Transport Committee found Stagecoach, the majority owner of Virgin Trains East Coast, should take “prime” responsibility for falling into default on the franchise, the Department for Transport (DfT) failed to “temper over-optimistic bidding”. Telegraph
The Government risks “pulling the rug out” from beneath the construction industry and would struggle to meet its target of building 300,000 new homes per year if it imposes strict migration rules after Brexit, housebuilders have warned. The Federation of Master Builders called upon ministers to ensure European bricklayers and carpenters can continue to come to Britain amid rising concern over skills shortages. – Telegraph
Sports Direct must hand over documents that it claimed were confidential to the accounting watchdog as part of an investigation into the retailer’s auditor, a High Court judge has ruled. The Financial Reporting Council accused Sports Direct, which is run by the billionaire Mike Ashley, of “obfuscation” and “obstruction” by refusing to give it documents to assist its investigation into the conduct of Grant Thornton, the accounting firm that audits the company’s accounts. – The Times
Sir David Green will not work on any matters he was involved in while he was director of the Serious Fraud Office when he starts his new job at Slaughter and May, the City law firm said. It announced that Sir David effectively had been ringfenced at the law firm, which he is joining as a consultant, after concerns were raised over his new role this year. – The Times