Sunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, Marks&Spencer, Oil explorers

Lloyds Banking Group is considering moving its legal home to England from Scotland even after the Scots voted against leaving the UK, the Mail on Sunday reported. Lloyds had said it would move if Scotland voted to leave the union but has only said it would keep "a significant presence" in Scotland after a no vote. More devoloution of powers to Scotland could lead to a different Scottish tax rate or tax regime. The bank will also have to make changes to its legal structure because of requirements to split retail and investment banking.

Marks & Spencer's online sales in China have increased strongly after it agreed to sell through Alibaba, the Mail on Sunday said. M&S sells through Alibaba's subsidiary Tmall. M&S told the paper almost half its dress sales in China were online and that it was the fastest growing womenswear brand on Tmall. The paper said the partnership, agreed in December 2012, was an apparent vindication of chief executive Marc Bolland's strategy of expanding M&S outside the UK.

Equity investors are fed up with being "taken for mugs" by oil explorers and producers, the Sunday Times reported. San Leon Energy's chairman, Oisin Fanning, is paid more a year than the oil explorer makes in revenue. An "unnerving proportion" of about 130 explorers and producers could be classified as "lifestyle" companies that pay management well without producing much for investors, the paper alleged. A large pension fund manager told the paper: "There is a casual disregard for shareholders in the oil industry."

Neil Woodford has increased his stake in Game Digital by buying some of the shares US hedge fund Elliott Advisors sold on September 19th, the Financial Times reported. Woodford, who shunned the dotcom boom of the late 1990s, holds 5.3% of Game in his new investment fund after first buying the shares in July. Woodford outperformed the market when the dotcom boom burst after facing pressure for refusing to buy technology stocks as the internet bubble expanded. Woodford's former employer, Invesco Perpetual, also bought more shares in Game.

Asos, the online fashion retailer, could face a revolt by some of the top brands it sells because the suppliers are unhappy about Asos's level of discounting, the Sunday Telegraph reported. An anonymous retail chief executive said Asos was "damaging their brand" and that Next's new Label service could be an alternative for retailers unhappy with Asos. Some retailers that sell through Asos in the UK have stopped it from selling products overseas but no major retailer has withdrawn its trade from Asos yet.

GlaxoSmithKline could face repercussions from its Chinese bribery scandal for a long time, despite a £300m fine that was lower than some analyss feared, the Financial Times reported. The guilty verdict against GSK and five executives in China could be the start of punishment because authorities in the US and the UK are investigating its activities in China. The company also faces difficulties rebuilding its standing in the Asian giant after sales fell during the investigation. GSK has invested heavily in China and emerging markets are a big part of its growth strategy.

Stock market flotations are about to pick up after the Scottish independence referendum's "no" vote, the Sunday Times reported. Several companies had put their float plans on hold before the Scottish vote but Jimmy Choo, RAC and Aldermore are among public offerings that could be announced this week. Other big deals could include Virgin Money, and British Car Auctions in what promises to be a strong end to one of the best years for share offerings with $30bn raised so far in London.

The chief executive of Bargain Booze has cashed in just over half of the shares awarded to her for the completion of last year's flotation, the Sunday Times said. The annual report of Bargain Booze's parent, Conviviality Retail, showed Diana Hunter was awarded 1.7m share options worth 2.7p. She sold £1.3m last week, leaving her with £1.4m at Friday's closing price. She was paid salary and benefits of £560,000 for Bargain Booze's first year as a public company, in which its shares have performed well.

All 120 employees at Cenkos Securities will share a £4m windfall from the stockbroker's work on the flotation of AA, the Sunday Telegraph said. Secretaries and financiers will all receive £40,000 from the AA fee to celebrate the deal, which valued AA at £1.4bn and added to Cenkos's first-half profit.

The Scottish referendum process damaged the reputation of British businesses and delayed investment but the rejection of independence was a first step towards sanity being restored, Sir Mike Rake told the Sunday Telegraph. Rake, president of the CBI employers' lobby, said the UK now needs to show it is "open for business" again, the paper said.

Banks may have to stop offering senior employees payments that get round European limits on bonuses, the Sunday Times reported. The European Banking Authority (EBA) is leaning towards ruling that the allowances breach pay rules. Even if the EBA decides the payments are within existing rules it is likely to change the regulations to outlaw them.

Populist promises to freeze energy prices, raise the minimum wage and renationalise the railways are misguided and will not help consumers, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) will say on 21 September. The Sunday Telegraph reported that the right-leaning think tank will say energy bills fell in the first 14 years after privatisation while blackouts happened under state ownership. Green initiatives are interfering with the energy market in a sign of increased state control, the IEA will say.