Monday newspaper round-up: Business registrations, M&S, Sky, RBS

Britain’s decision to leave the European Union has sparked a dramatic fall in the number of French, Dutch and Belgian businesses registering in the UK, in a further illustration of Brexit’s impact on the UK economy. Figures from Companies House show that French companies registered 48% fewer businesses in the UK in 2016-17 than the previous financial year while companies in Belgium registered 38% fewer. Companies in the Netherlands, which is probably the worst affected by Brexit of Britain’s trading partners, registered 52% fewer companies last year than in 2015-16. – Guardian

Hundreds of Marks & Spencer staff will find out as soon as Monday whether their store is closing, as the retailer accelerates its retrenchment from struggling UK high streets. The M&S chief executive, Steve Rowe, is shutting 100 of its large clothing and food shops amid falling sales and profits. It has already closed 20, affecting about 900 jobs, but staff are braced for the axe to fall on another tranche of stores before the announcement of its annual results on Wednesday. – Guardian

Sky is narrowing its focus on virtual reality with the launch of a new technology hub on its west London campus. The media giant will today unveil plans to create a 70,000 square foot site on its UK headquarters, its third tech centre in Europe. The space will house engineers and software developers focusing on new products in areas such as virtual reality. – Telegraph

Britain’s largest shareholder advisory groups have called on investors in Royal Dutch Shell to reject growing demands for the oil giant to take full responsibility for its impact on the environment. Shell faces a binding shareholder vote tomorrow to decide whether to adopt rigorous accountability standards to bring its operations into line with the Paris climate agreement. Glass Lewis and ISS have urged shareholders to reject the “unduly burdensome” and “problematic” proposal. – Telegraph

Two leading business lobby groups have urged the government to reform immigration rules amid growing fears that Britain will lose its competitive edge after Brexit. The demands increase calls from industry bodies for clarification about how immigration policy should be shaped. The City UK, which lobbies for financial and professional services firms, and EEF, an organisation representing manufacturers, have warned Theresa May that Britain’s key industries face a “recruitment crunch” after Britain leaves the European Union. – The Times

Royal Bank of Scotland is considering restarting dividends on a scale that would make it one of Britain’s most generous payers to shareholders and would be likely to accelerate the government’s sale of its holding. Ten years after RBS was banned from paying dividends as part of its £45.5 billion bailout, the state-controlled bank is set to return to payouts with a policy that could be as ambitious as that of Lloyds, its rival. Lloyds, also banned from paying dividends during the financial crisis, restarted distributions in 2014 and has pledged to return at least half of its earnings to shareholders. – The Times