Monday newspaper round-up: Matalan, unemployment, imports

Crucial publicly owned transport services could face the axe because of lost revenues due to passengers staying away, cities around England have warned, as Metro light rail systems losing tens of millions of pounds a month are not covered by the Treasury’s support for bus and rail operators during the coronavirus lockdown. While private rail franchises have been replaced by guaranteed income, and bus operators’ revenue topped up, the government has yet to bail out major urban networks including Manchester’s Metrolink, the Tyne and Wear Metro and Liverpool’s Merseyrail, as well as the London Underground. – Guardian

Landlords are this week ratcheting up the pressure on businesses to pay rent during the lockdown by issuing winding up orders even against the likes of Poundstretcher and Matalan, who between them employ 14,000. Matalan, the clothes retailer run by billionaire John Hargreaves that has more than 8,000 staff across 230 stores, has been blindsided by the writ from landlord Sheet Anchor Evolve. – Telegraph

More than 11m Britons will be out of work by summer as the furlough scheme expands far beyond initial official estimates, according to new forecasts. The Government’s job retention scheme, which allows employees to lay off workers temporarily while the state covers 80pc of their wages, launches on Monday, but is expected to overshoot early Treasury predictions as more businesses rush to cut their payroll costs. According to the Resolution Foundation, a think tank, as many as 8.3m employees could be furloughed under the Job Retention Scheme, compared to 3m in the Treasury’s initial assumptions. – Telegraph

Some of the most senior figures in the City are calling for listed companies seeking equity capital in the weeks to come to try to accommodate private investors, amid mounting anger that their rights are being flouted. In an open letter to plc chiefs, to be published today, the owners of investment platforms, small investor groups and mainstream fund managers have united to express deep concern that private investors are being disadvantaged and short-changed. – The Times

British ports are braced for a month-long supply glut from Asia as container goods from televisions to sofas start to arrive while stores remain shut. Disused airfields could be used to park hundreds of containers filled with clothes, furniture and electrical items as logistics bosses consider how to hold the cargo while warehouses prioritise food and essentials. - The Times