Friday newspaper round-up: Tesco, Goals Soccer Centres, Grant Thornton

Financial companies should be required by law to refund victims of bank transfer scams, and should consider reimbursing the many thousands defrauded since 2016, according to a report from MPs. They also said retailers and other companies that suffer data breaches that lead to fraud should be forced to pick up the bill for the costs of reimbursing customers and issuing new bank cards. – Guardian

Tesco is ditching plastic ready-meal trays, yoghurt pot lids, straws and loose fruit bags in the latest stage of its drive to cut out non-recyclable packaging. The UK’s biggest supermarket chain is aiming to remove 1bn pieces of plastic by the end of next year from its own-label products. The move comes after Tesco admitted that 13% of packaging on its own-brand products was hard to recycle, such as the black plastic used for microwave meal trays, which it said it would remove by the end of this year. – Guardian

A clutch of global banks and investment houses is preparing for a British economic boomlet and a potentially explosive rise in sterling, betting that elections will finally break the eternal deadlock over Brexit. The pound has risen 6pc from bargain-basement lows to a six-month high near $1.30 since Boris Johnson clinched a deal with the EU, but currency experts think it remains massively undervalued and could vault much higher with the right catalysts. – Telegraph

Goals Soccer Centres has admitted that its historic profit figures may have been overstated by up to £40 million after an investigation into its accounts. The five-a-side football operator, which has been bought in a deal believed to be worth almost £27 million, has been in the stock market spotlight since March when its shares were suspended after an accounting inquiry by BDO. It was suggested that it owed £13 million in VAT.- The Times

Grant Thornton has cut pay for partners and delayed its accounts after a tough year during which it was put under investigation by the regulator for unacceptable performance on audits. The average profit per equity partner fell by £20,000 to £323,000 for the year to June, according to an interim transparency report published by the mid-tier accountancy firm. – The Times