Thursday newspaper round-up: Car manufacturers, Arriva, Anya Hindmarch, German bonds
Car manufacturers have said their anxiety over Brexit is now “at fever pitch” after latest monthly production figures showed another major decline, with a 15% year-on-year drop in output in February. The double-digit drop was the ninth consecutive month in which British car manufacturing output has fallen. The industry blamed declining demand in the UK and in key European and Asian export markets for the continuing slump, which saw just 123,203 vehicles made last month, more than 22,000 fewer than the previous February. - Guardian
The transport group Arriva, which runs UK rail franchises including Northern and the London Overground as well as buses around the country, is to be put up for sale by its owner, Deutsche Bahn. The German state rail operator has revived plans for a sell-off or possible public flotation for the UK-based company. – Guardian
Anya Hindmarch is set to change hands after Soho House’s publicity-shy backers snapped up a stake in the luxury handbag brand from Qatar’s royal family. The Marandi Family, which is led by Iranian-born entrepreneur Javad Marandi, is buying a majority stake from Doha-based Mayhoola For Investments. It initially bought a £27m controlling stake in the business in 2012 before raising its stake to more than 75pc last year. - Telegraph
As Tottenham Hotspur fans stream into the gleaming new stadium for the first time next week, few will spare a thought for the suppliers helping to make it a venue envied by the club's Premier League rivals. Fran Jones, Tottenham's head of partnerships, says: “We have been able to learn from the mistakes of other venue holders to try to deliver something better than what there has been before." – Telegraph
Investors are paying to lend money to the German government for the first time in three years, as bund yields fall deep into negative territory amid fears about global growth and predictions that the European Central Bank will keep money cheap for longer. The German finance ministry yesterday raised €2.4 billion through a ten-year bond auction that was 2.6 times oversubscribed. The average interest rate agreed was -0.05 per cent. It was the first negative-yielding fundraising since the autumn of 2016, when the ECB was in the middle of its €2.5 trillion quantitative easing programme. – The Times
Most British companies are worried about a disorderly Brexit, but not F&C Investment Trust. It is more concerned about the impact of a breakthrough in the stalemate, taking a £100 million bet in the currency markets to protect itself against a possible rally in the pound. – The Times