Thursday newspaper round-up: FTSE 100 pay, energy companies, Tesla

Ordinary employees would have to work for 160 years to earn the average remuneration of FTSE 100 chief executives in 2016, according to new research. The average take home pay for the bosses of Britain’s top stock market-listed companies was £4.5m last year, according to the High Pay Centre’s annual survey of top executive pay. This compares to Office for National Statistics figures showing average annual earnings of £28,200 for full-time employees in the year to April 2016. – Guardian

The government has warned energy companies it is still prepared to legislate for an energy price cap, after British Gas announced a 12.5% electricity price rise for more than 3m households. The increase would add £76 to a typical annual electricity bill, and some experts warned that it could kick start a new round of price rises from the so-called Big Six energy companies. – Guardian

Britain’s largest energy companies could face an existential threat in the wake of a technology boom which threatens to upend the traditional utility business model, according to former energy chiefs. An influential six-strong group of former FTSE chief executives and policymakers has warned that traditional energy companies have already “chronically underestimated” the market’s pace of change and could lose out to a rising breed of tech-based rivals. – Telegraph

Tesla expects to spend more than double its 2016 figure this year, after burning through a record amount in its second quarter as it ramps up production of its most "affordable" electric car to date. Capital expenditure at the company, led by the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, came in at $959m (£725m) in the three months the June, taking overall capex for the first half to $1.5bn. - Telegraph

The government’s favourite infrastructure and engineering consultant, CH2M Hill, is to be taken over by its US rival in a $3.35 billion deal. A fortnight after The Times revealed that Jacobs had approached CH2M Hill, the two companies announced the transaction. CH2M Hill is best known as the controversial delivery partner for the first phase of the government’s High Speed Two railway. Last month it landed the contract to oversee the redevelopment of the houses of parliament and it was one of the key players in the delivery of the 2012 Olympics. – The Times

Interim sales at Yoox Net A Porter have exceeded €1 billion for the first time after a strong performance in its key markets in North America and the Asia-Pacific region. The luxury online retailer said its results were “outstanding” and a result of organic growth of more than 20 per cent in the second quarter. – The Times