Thursday newspaper round-up: Hiscox, Cath Kidston, Virgin Atlantic
More than 100 nightclubs, pubs and bars are planning coordinated legal action against the insurer Hiscox over its non-payment of business interruption insurance claims. Hiscox sold policies before coronavirus hit the headlines, stating it would pay out when a business was forced to shut owing to a notifiable disease. Business owners have filed claims to Hiscox and other commercial insurers only to be told their business interruption policies do not cover the pandemic. – Guardian
Cath Kidston has agreed to hand over three weeks of back pay owed to staff after outcry over the treatment of more than 900 workers left struggling for cash by being made redundant less than a week before pay day. Just over 900 people who were made redundant on Tuesday, with immediate effect, were told they would not be paid more than three weeks of salary due on Friday. An email to staff made clear they would also not receive any holiday pay, redundancy pay or compensatory notice settlement because of “the company’s current financial position”. – Guardian
More than half of drinkers, diners and gym-goers are reluctant to return to normal life after the lockdown - fuelling fears of a lengthy economic downturn as scared consumers refuse to spend. Britons feel most uncomfortable about visiting pubs and bars when restrictions imposed to control the coronavirus are loosened, according to pollster YouGov. Some 63pc said they would be uncomfortable returning to bars while around six in 10 are reluctant to revisit cafes, restaurants and gyms, its survey revealed. – Telegraph
A key backer of Virgin Atlantic has ruled out injecting fresh cash into the crisis-hit airline as it continues to beg ministers for a bailout. US carrier Delta - which owns 49pc of the British firm - said it is concentrating on its own problems after operations were hammered by the coronavirus pandemic. Boss Ed Bastian warned Delta is facing a “crisis in cash”, adding it is barred from investing in foreign businesses under the terms of a rescue by the American authorities. – Telegraph
A third of British households believe that they will need financial support from the state in the next three months as concerns grow about job security and the economy. Eighty-four per cent of people believe that the government should do all it can, whatever the cost, to prop up jobs and businesses through the pandemic, Kantar, a research consultancy, found. – The Times