Wednesday newspaper round-up: Gambling firms, hospitality sector, M&G

Gambling firms have profited during the pandemic but are leaving the NHS to “pick up the pieces” of addiction and should be hit with a compulsory levy to fund treatment, the head of mental health in England has said. Claire Murdoch – national mental health director for NHS England – denounced the voluntary system that lets the industry dictate how much it contributes to helping addicts. - Guardian

The government has been accused of “unreasonably targeting” the hospitality sector through the proposed introduction of Covid status checks for customers entering pubs, bars and restaurants, as three nationwide pub and bar chains and the UK’s largest nightclub operator voiced their opposition to the plans. “This feels like a measure which is unreasonably targeting our sector, they are not proposing this to go into a supermarket,” said Alex Reilley, founder of Loungers, a bar and restaurant operator which has 170 sites in the UK. - Guardian

A Japanese motor sport enthusiast has vowed to make Caterham Cars match-fit for the electric era after buying the British manufacturer famed for its stripped-down, high-performance road and racing machines. Kazuho Takahashi’s business VT Holdings snapped up Caterham - best known for its “Seven” range of cars - from its Malaysian previous owners as the UK prepares for a ban on sales of new cars with petrol engines from 2030. - Telegraph

The boss of M&G accepted a bonus of almost £1.5 million last year, as well as a car and chauffeur costing £250,000, as the investment group prevented thousands of customers from withdrawing money from its main property fund. John Foley, 64, chief executive of the FTSE 100 company, took a bonus of £1.46 million last year, lifting his pay by £600,000 to £3.88 million. His basic salary rose by 8.4 per cent to £980,000 and he received long-term incentives worth £995,000, up 64 per cent. - The Times

The crisis engulfing Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance metals empire has spread to alleged sharp practices on the internet. It said yesterday that it had launched an internal investigation into allegations that its companies were using web domain names uncannily similar to those of rivals. - The Times