Sunday newspaper round-up: Boris Johnson, Brexit, Cobham, Just Eat, Primark
The former Tory chancellor Philip Hammond held private talks with Labour’s Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer shortly before Boris Johnson entered Downing Street last Wednesday, to plot cross-party moves aimed at preventing the new prime minister agreeing to a no-deal Brexit.
The meeting in the House of Commons – which took place shortly after Hammond had resigned from the government – is evidence of the fierce backlash Johnson faces from MPs of all parties if he tries to defy parliament and take the UK out of the EU without an agreement on 31 October. - The Guardian
The government is “operating on the assumption” that Britain will leave the European Union without a deal on 31 October, Michael Gove has said.
The new chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is in charge of no-deal preparations in the Cabinet Office, said there was a “very real prospect”(£) that an agreement would not be struck with Brussels before that deadline.
Writing in the Sunday Times, he said that while the aim was still to leave with a deal, the government needed to prepare for every eventuality. “With a new prime minister, a new government, and a new clarity of mission, we will exit the EU on October 31. No ifs. No buts. No more delay. Brexit is happening,” he said. - The Guardian
Primark is demanding 30% rent cuts on dozens of stores in an effort to close the gap with struggling rivals that have used insolvency procedures to slash liabilities.
The budget fashion retailer is asking landlords for reductions on shops where the leases have several years to run, and in return is offering to extend the lease or invest in refurbishment. Most of Primark’s 189 UK stores are held on leases.
The chain is among a small group of stronger retailers bargaining hard with landlords. This year, Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group, Debenhams and Monsoon Accessorize have used company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) to close stores and slash rents. - The Sunday Times
Just Eat is in advanced merger talks with a Dutch rival that would create a £9bn European takeaway giant after months of uncertainty for the FTSE 100 company.
A possible tie-up with Takeaway.com, based in Amsterdam, was confirmed yesterday after a Sky News report. The takeover of Just Eat would be the latest round of consolidation in the online food industry.
In recent months,it has come under pressure from rivals. These include Deliveroo, which in May secured Amazon as a backer in a $575m (£460m) funding round, and Uber Eats. - The Sunday Times
National Grid is considering setting up overseas subsidiaries to guard against the threat of nationalisation under a Labour government.
The FTSE 100 business, which owns and runs the major electricity and gas networks, has been fiercely critical of Jeremy Corbyn’s plan to nationalise them — possibly below market value — warning that it risks scaring off investors. - The Sunday Times
Boris Johnson has set up a “war cabinet” to deliver Brexit “by any means necessary” by October 31 as a senior cabinet minister warned that there was “now a very real prospect” of no deal.
In a dramatic shift Michael Gove, the minister responsible for no-deal preparations, said the government was “working on the assumption” that Brussels would not strike a fresh agreement.
In a Whitehall revolution, Johnson will make every decision on Brexit policy with a team of just six senior ministers — all of them Brexiteers who support no deal. - The Sunday Times
The City has been swept by a mega-merger frenzy after negotiations on £50billion of deals were confirmed on Saturday.
The London Stock Exchange is in discussions over a £42billion union to create a global trading and financial information powerhouse.
It said on Saturday it is in advanced talks that could see it combine with Refinitiv Holdings, a London and New York data firm that was spun out of financial media company Thomson Reuters only last year. - Mail on Sunday
Boris Johnson's new Government has been urged to intervene in the £4billion takeover of one of the country’s biggest defence contractors by an American predator as it emerged that other companies are circling.
City sources told The Mail on Sunday that the British aerospace and defence parts manufacturer Meggitt is in the early stages of evaluating whether it should submit a rival offer for Cobham, which is the UK’s champion in air-to-air refuelling technology. - Mail on Sunday
The head of the civil service has been urged to block the appointment of Brexit mastermind Dominic Cummings to a senior Downing Street role.
Boris Johnson’s decision to invite Mr Cummings to become a key No 10 adviser has sent shockwaves through Westminster, coming only months after he was found in contempt of parliament for refusing to give evidence to the Commons fake news inquiry. - The Independent