Thursday newspaper round-up: British manufacturers, Serco, City regulator

Three-quarters of British manufacturers are struggling to cope with delays in moving goods in and out of the EU amid continuing disruption caused by Brexit and the Covid pandemic, industry figures said. Two months after the UK left the EU on trade terms agreed by Boris Johnson’s government, research from the manufacturing trade group Make UK has shown that 74% of firms in a survey of more than 200 leading industrial companies are facing delays with EU imports and exports.-Guardian

The two top executives at Serco, one of the companies behind the government’s much-criticised £37bn test-and-trace scheme, were handed pay of £7.4m for 2020, including bonuses worth £5.5m. The chief executive, Rupert Soames, and chief financial officer, Angus Cockburn, picked up the pay packets in a combination of cash and shares for the 12 months to the end of last year. - Guardian

The City regulator must “up its game” after mishandling scandals such as London Capital & Finance and as the number of vulnerable customers grows after the pandemic, a Financial Conduct Authority executive has admitted. Debbie Gupta, director of life insurance and financial advice at the regulator, said yesterday that the organisation was “profoundly sorry for the mistakes we made and the devastating impact that has had on investors”. - The Times

The government has defended new investment tax breaks that are likely to benefit Amazon, insisting that the tech giant’s low UK tax bill should be addressed through international action. Oliver Dowden, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said there were “very serious questions” about the taxes paid by businesses such as Amazon, adding: “It concerns me enormously that companies like that can see such huge revenues generated in the UK and pay so little tax.” - The Times

British payments company Worldremit is considering spurning the London Stock Exchange for a US Spac listing that could value it in excess of $1.5bn (£1bn). Founded by Ismail Ahmed in 2010 after he struggled to send money home to his family in Somalia, Worldremit enables cross border payments online or through its app in 70 currencies and has grown to employ more than 1,000 staff. - Telegraph