Monday newspaper round-up: Brexit, financials, Just Eat, Royal Mail

Theresa May has been urged by senior Conservative MPs to pull tomorrow’s meaningful vote on her Brexit deal if she fails to secure significant concessions from Brussels. In phone calls with Downing Street, leading Tories in the Commons warned that the prime minister could face another three-figure defeat if she went ahead with her plan. - The Times

...The prime minister’s position looked precarious as she was unable to announce any progress in talks with the EU less than 48 hours before her House of Commons vote on the deal. One Downing Street insider said the week ahead looked “choppy” as parliament is likely to vote to extend article 50 and rule out a no-deal Brexit if MPs do not approve May’s withdrawal agreement with the EU. - Guardian

Banks, asset managers and insurers have already moved nearly £1 trillion of assets out of the UK and to other European countries ahead of Brexit, with more likely to be shifted in coming months, according to new research. New Financial, a think tank, has identified more than 275 firms that have moved or are moving some of their business, staff, assets or legal entities from the UK to the EU in preparation for Brexit. - Telegraph

Labour MPs are being a sent a legal opinion warning that government promises to guarantee workers’ rights after Brexit do not offer any credible assurances. The critical legal assessment of Theresa May’s plan to “embed the strongest possible protections” of employment entitlements has been commissioned by two unions, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association. - Guardian

Energy suppliers should be subject to stress tests as tough as those imposed on financial services, Britain’s third biggest household supplier has said. SSE urged Ofgem to toughen its plans for new tests on suppliers after a string of costly collapses. - The Times

Shareholders have urged Just Eat’s board to explain why the interim boss ruled himself out of taking up the post permanently, after they were told just weeks earlier that he was “their man”. A top 20 shareholder in Just Eat, which has not spoken out before, said it was a “curious set of circumstances”. - Telegraph

Britain's warmest-ever February failed to boost the number of shoppers as retail footfall figures for the month reached their lowest level in half a decade. Figures compiled by Springboard revealed that February football was down 2pc, compared with a decline of 0.2pc the previous year. The fall marks the 15th consecutive monthly decline. - Telegraph

The freak February heatwave provided rare cheer for the struggling UK pub trade as Britons sought out beer gardens to soak up the sunshine. The monthly snapshot of trading at major chains, including All Bar One, Yates and Chef & Brewer, recorded growth of 1.4% at pubs open for more than one year. - Guardian

Jamie Oliver's ailing restaurant empire is trying to secure additional funding, casting fresh doubts over its future. The business, which runs 22 restaurants across the UK, came within hours of collapse in 2017. - Telegraph

Interserve is mounting a last-ditch campaign to encourage support for a rescue plan, targeting both individual shareholders and institutions before a vote at the end of the week. The cleaning and catering contractor is trying to rally support for a proposal under which lenders would write off their debts in exchange for equity from its retail investors, who between them own about 30 per cent of the business. - The Times

The US pharmaceutical industry has achieved the impossible. Somehow it has managed to unite Donald Trump and the Democrats. Across the political spectrum, big pharma is under attack for alleged price gouging and its role in the opioid epidemic which has swept the country. - Telegraph

Hedge funds have doubled their bets against Royal Mail in just over a month as the City worries about the fate of its dividend. Short-sellers have built up a £180m short position, predicting that the embattled parcel deliverer’s shares will suffer another plunge. - Telegraph

Smith & Nephew has revealed that it faced sexual harassment allegations and has become the latest company to address the issue. The medical equipment maker revealed in a brief reference in its annual report that its compliance and culture committee had reviewed sexual harassment policies and procedures across the group. - The Times

The number of homeowners who fall behind on mortgage payments would jump by about a third if Britain were to crash out of the European Union instead of staying in the bloc, a specialist lender has warned. It also has emerged that Brexit uncertainty is taking a toll on the jobs market, with a survey suggesting that businesses plan to cut back on hiring for a second successive month and that corporate confidence is reaching its lowest level in more than two years. - The Times

The mouthpiece for the insurance industry has called on the regulator to overhaul rules to make it easier to invest in green energy projects such as wind farms and solar power. A lack of data about the efficiency of renewable energy ventures makes it difficult for large institutional investors to justify allocating their funds to such projects, the Association of British Insurers said. - Tjhe Times

Bank customers will be able to spend more than £30 using contactless cards and could never again have to remember their four-digit pin if a fingerprint technology trial starting in April proves a success. The pilot project from NatWest, the first of its kind in the UK, will use debit cards that contain an electronic copy of the customer’s fingerprint on one corner. - Guardian

One of Britain’s fastest-growing financial technology companies is set to raise £60 million from investors. Tide is a lender to small businesses. With Clearbank, its partner, it won a £60 million award last month in a competition to win funds aimed at improving services for small and medium-sized companies in Britain. On top of that boost, it is talking to investors interested in giving it another £60 million cash injection. - The Times