Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Iran, personal data, Rio Tinto, M&S

Theresa May has secured private concessions from Brussels that will allow her to keep the whole of Britain in a customs union, avoiding a hard border in Northern Ireland. They expect this to placate remainer Tories and win over some Labour MPs, while a potential political deal on a “future economic partnership” (FEP) with the European Union that will allow Britain to keep open the prospect of a free trade deal is seen as likely to appeal to Eurosceptics. - Sunday Times

More than 50 business leaders have signed a letter advocating a second vote on Brexit. The letter warns of the economic damage being wrought by “either a blindfold or a destructive Brexit”. It says the current plans being discussed by London and Brussels will fail to bring “frictionless” trade. - Observer

Iran is bracing for the full force of US sanctions due to hit on Monday as the Trump administration reimposes an embargo on oil, the most stringent set of punitive measures since Washington withdrew from the 2015 landmark nuclear deal, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The new sanctions, which also aim to cut off Iran’s banking sector from the global market, are timed to coincide with the anniversary of the 1979 storming by Iranian revolutionaries of the US embassy in Tehran, when angry students took 52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days. - Observer

The government is launching an inquiry into the use of personal data to set individual prices for holidays, cars and household goods, amid rising fears of a consumer rip-off. The research, supported by the competition watchdog, will explore the prevalence of “dynamic pricing” based on information gathered about an individual, such as location, marital status, birthday or travel history. - Observer

The creeping takeover of struggling high streets by Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley has come at a cost of 6,000 jobs and more than £1bn in unpaid bills. An analysis of Mr Ashley’s raids on distressed retailers and pre-packaged deals with administrators shows how he has capitalised on Britain’s insolvency laws to build his empire. - Sunday Telegraph

A rumbling row between the FTSE 100 mining giant Rio Tinto and the diamond tycoon Beny Steinmetz has flared up after Rio’s attempt to sell an iron ore asset to Chinese developers fell through. Rio had been in talks since 2016 to sell its 45% stake in the Simandou mine in Guinea to Chinalco, but the deal collapsed last week. - Sunday Times

Any savings households make from the new energy price cap will be wiped out by soaring wholesale costs 'within months', experts say. Energy regulator Ofgem is set to confirm on Tuesday that the introduction of the Government's flagship price cap policy will save 11 million households on standard tariffs about £75 each on their annual bills from December. However, this figure was originally calculated in September based on energy prices at the time and wholesale gas and electricity costs have risen since. - Mail on Sunday

Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton believes there has been a “seismic shift” among major investors in favour of his bid to take back control of the clothing designer and retailer. Mr Dunkerton claims to have met eight of Superdry’s 10 largest shareholders over the last week as he stepped up a campaign to oust chief executive Euan Sutherland. - Sunday Telegraph

Marks & Spencer explored a radical plan to split into two separate businesses before concluding that the move would not generate value for shareholders. The high street bellwether’s board is said to have believed that a separation of the food and clothing businesses was feasible, but then decided that the struggling general merchandise division would not attract investors as a standalone entity. - Sunday Times

Marks & Spencer's fashion boss Jill McDonald is under mounting pressure to stabilise the firm's decline in clothing sales after a difficult start to the winter season. M&S is this week expected to reveal falling profits for the half year to the end of September, with sources saying cost-cutting targets had led to clothes stocks being cut back too severely, hampering sales of ranges that had proved popular. - Mail on Sunday

Pubs boss Tim Martin has suffered a slapdown from City advisory firms that are urging JD Wetherspoon shareholders to reject several motions at the company's AGM next week. Investor adviser Pirc has said Martin should not be re-elected as chairman because, as founder and a 32 per cent shareholder, he is not 'independent' enough for the job. - Mail on Sunday

Big banks are pressing City watchdogs and MPs behind the scenes to “level the playing field” on regulation of the fast-growing peer-to-peer lending industry in the wake of several controversies. A senior source at a high street lender has said that banks were pressing the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Lending Standards Board (LSB) to speed up efforts to scrutinise the sector more closely. - Sunday Telegraph

Arron Banks, the embattled Brexit donor, faces a second inquiry into his affairs after the financial watchdog contacted him last week asking him to disclose his bank statements. In a surprise move from the man who bankrolled the leave campaign, Banks said he would vote remain if he was given another chance because politicians are “not up to the job”. - Sunday Times

The world’s biggest operator of serviced offices could be split in two as part of a £2.2bn plan drawn up by its founder. Mark Dixon is exploring whether he could create hundreds of millions of pounds in value by hiving off IWG’s property and developing a separate global franchising business. - Sunday Times

A battalion of 20 British blue-chip businesses has waded into the war ­between Michael Gove and the Treasury over tougher new environmental laws. Top executives from major companies including Marks & Spencer, Ikea, Siemens and Nestlé have sided with the Environment Secretary in his battle to enshrine a series of green targets into law through the UK’s forthcoming ­Environmental Bill. - Sunday Telegraph

Patisserie Valerie boss Luke Johnson remains on the board of dozens of companies – many of them loss-making – despite a promise to rein in his other interests and concentrate on saving the stricken coffee and cake chain. According to Companies House, Mr Johnson has 30 current directorships. - Sunday Telegraph

Patisserie Valerie chairman Luke Johnson has relinquished his salary and resigned from a string of other jobs as part of his efforts to revive the troubled chain's fortunes. The serial entrepreneur has told the board he will not take a penny of his annual £60,000 salary for the rest of his time at the 206-outlet coffee and cakes chain which has been rocked by an accounting scandal. - Mail on Sunday

The owner of Café Rouge has called in a restructuring adviser in an attempt to strong-arm landlords into cutting rents. Despite having closed more than 40 restaurants over the past two years, Casual Dining Group said it faced a “tough operating environment” and needed to reduce costs further. - Sunday Times

Sky will dramatically cut the number of gambling advertisements it shows amid rising concern over addiction and the prominence of betting in sport. The pay-TV giant will impose a limit of one gambling advertisement per commercial break on its channels from the start of the next Premier League season in August. - Sunday Telegraph

Goldman Sachs has signed up 100,000 customers to its new retail bank, Marcus, in just over a month – and now plans to launch a cash Isa and wealth management service. The firm known as the 'Vampire Squid' for its powerful grip on the banking industry, launched Marcus, an online-only retail bank, in September with a savings account paying 1.5 per cent interest. - Mail on Sunday

Britain's authorities have declared war on one of America's biggest corporations in an attempt to seize $1billion they allege should have been paid in tax. General Electric, which operates in 180 countries and employs 295,000 staff, is being sued for the equivalent of £770million by Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs. - Mail on Sunday

Uber’s future in London is again in doubt after black cab drivers were granted a judicial review of the decision to award a new licence to the controversial taxi firm. A High Court judge has allowed the cabbies to take action against Westminster magistrates’ court and the alleged “bias” of Emma Arbuthnot, the senior district judge and chief magistrate of England who decided the Uber case. - Sunday Times

Uber has opened a new front in the taxi-hailing wars: subscriptions. The $70bn (£54bn) giant has launched a membership scheme that allows travellers to avoid surge pricing, where costs soar at rush hour and other peak travel times. The fixed-fare scheme — $24.99 a month in Los Angeles and $14.99 in four other US cities — started last week. It is expected to be expanded across Uber’s other locations, including London. - Sunday Times

Shoe chain Dune has reported a slide in profit and warned about the effect of 'well- documented' department store woes on its business. The 106-strong chain operates 232 concessions within other retail stores, including dozens in both House of Fraser and Debenhams. House of Fraser fell into administration in August and was acquired by Sports Direct. - Mail on Sunday

Plans to build a nuclear power station to provide up to 7% of the country’s electricity could be ditched within days after talks with a potential buyer stalled. The planned NuGen plant in Moorside, Cumbria, has been in trouble since financial problems emerged in 2016 at the owner, Toshiba, and its nuclear subsidiary Westinghouse Electric filed for bankruptcy protection. - Sunday Times

Two computer game entrepreneurs are eyeing multimillion-pound windfalls through the possible float of their simulation developer. Dovetail Games, which has made PC and console titles such as Train Simulator and Fishing Sim World, is considering a London stock market listing after a string of share offerings by video game publishers. - Sunday Times

The self-styled “Del Boy” behind bargain homeware chain The Range has pocketed £86m less than he did in 2017, as he puts his company’s stock market debut on ice amid a “crap” market. Mr Dawson said that the company’s recently signed partnership with supermarket chain Iceland has frozen the listing process. - Sunday Telegraph

Ministers are drawing up plans to “name and shame” firms that fail to honour payouts awarded at employment tribunals. The proposal is part of a package of measures to overhaul the jobs market, based on the recommendations of last year’s government-commissioned Taylor review into modern employment. - Sunday Times

Rob Terry, the disgraced founder and former boss of scandal-stricken insurance software firm Quindell, is hatching an audacious comeback. The 49-year-old, who is still at the heart of a criminal investigation into the fall of the former darling of the junior AIM stock market, has struck his first investment since he was ousted from Quindell four years ago. - Mail on Sunday