Friday newspaper round-up: Stamp duty, WeWork, Wetherspoons boss

The Conservatives would force overseas homebuyers to pay extra stamp duty in an election pledge that effectively blames foreign purchasers for inflating property prices. The party has unveiled plans for a 3% stamp duty surcharge for non-UK tax residents which would apply to companies as well as individuals – and also to expats wanting to move back home. It said as many as one in eight new London homes were bought by non-residents in 2014-16. – Guardian

In many ways it was the little things that helped WeWork build its office rental business into the biggest private landlord in New York and London. WeWork “members” – as the company calls its tenants – gather to gossip around the fruit water coolers lined with fresh slices of pineapple or strawberries and kiwi on each floor. They hold meetings fueled by La Colombe coffee served up in endless supply of clean WeWork mugs, stamped with the logo “Do What You Love”. They network over IPAs at the always replenished beer taps. – Guardian

Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin has declared a “victory for common sense” after investors backed all of the pub chain’s motions at its annual meeting. The company’s founder and chairman has come under attack from influential proxy advisers, some of which called for shareholders to vote against a number of board appointments. - Telegraph

Peer-to-peer lending faces new scrutiny after administrators uncovered a catalogue of failures at Funding Secure, a platform that collapsed last month having issued more than £175 million worth of loans. Funding Secure has left thousands of investors facing significant losses. Insolvency practitioners have warned that there could be a significant delay in recovery action because of the parlous state of the company’s records, processes and legal structure. – The Times

Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, once gave a Terra Cielo Mare watch worth “thousands of dollars” to a top official at America’s largest carworkers’ union. “I declared the goods at less than fifty bucks,” Marchionne said in a hand-written note that accompanied the watch. “That should remove any potential conflict.” – The Times