Monday newspaper round-up: FTSE pay, car sales, shopping centres, CVAs
Senior executives in the UK’s top 100 companies took just 33 hours to be paid more than the typical worker’s annual salary, according to data that unions say should be a “source of national shame”. Figures released by the High Pay Centre thinktank showed that the typical FTSE 100 chief executive is paid 117 times more than the median worker, at £901.30 an hour or £3.46m a year. – Guardian
The number of publicly listed companies opting to leave the stock exchange and become private firms soared 40% last year, figures show. According to public data analysed by the law firm Pinsent Masons, 28 businesses listed in London were snapped up by private equity firms in “public to private” deals (P2Ps) in the UK last year, up from 20 in 2018. – Guardian
Sales of new cars are expected to have remained in reverse in 2019, with data due to be released today showing a third consecutive year of decline. Analysts say vehicle registration data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders is forecast to show the number of new cars sold in the UK last year dropped to around 2.3 million, down roughly 70,000 on 2018’s level. This would be a seven-year low for the industry – and 15pc below the all-time record set in 2016 of 2.7 million. – Telegraph
One of the country’s biggest property investment families has called the bottom of the shopping centre slump after spending almost £23 million on two struggling properties. The Oglesbys, who are worth an estimated £667 million and control more than £1 billion of properties, say that the slide in retail values has reached its nadir and the asset class now represents a big opportunity. – The Times
A popular but controversial restructuring tool used by struggling retailers to stave off closure is, more often than not, simply putting off the inevitable, a new analysis suggests. Of 23 large company voluntary arrangements entered into by businesses since 2016, 13 of those companies have since gone into administration, according to Colliers, the commercial property adviser. They include famous names including BHS, Austin Reed, Jamie’s Italian, Supercuts and Mothercare. – The Times