PRESS DIGEST-British Business – Oct 14

Oct 14 (Reuters) – The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

– Moneybox, a smartphone-based wealth manager, has hired the former boss of Marks & Spencer Financial Services as its chairwoman. https://bit.ly/3iZoTLC

– A senior partner at KPMG mounted an ‘untruthful’ defence when trying to justify why he pushed Silentnight into administration to help out a private equity firm that wanted to buy the mattress retailer without the baggage of its 100 million pounds ($136.66 million) pension scheme, a tribunal has found. https://bit.ly/3iZpw7W

The Guardian

– The owner of Bernard Matthews, UK’s biggest poultry supplier, has warned that the cost of chicken is expected to rise by more than 10%, adding that food in Britain is ‘too cheap.’ https://bit.ly/3j2bfHx

– Pure Planet, a renewable energy firm that was backed by the oil company BP Plc, and Colorado Energy, have become the latest energy suppliers to collapse under the weight of soaring gas prices. https://bit.ly/3p1Dslt

The Telegraph

– Holidaymakers will face higher ticket prices as a result of EU plans to force airlines to use more biofuel, the industry’s top lobbyist has warned. https://bit.ly/3iZOiEK

– Billionaire industrialist Sir Jim Ratcliffe has blamed the government for Britain’s gas crisis and warned that sky-high prices will last throughout winter. https://bit.ly/3AEYsAL

Sky News

– Advisers to CNG Group, a commercial energy supplier backed by Glencore Plc, are seeking offers for the arm of its operations which directly supplies more than 40,000 small and medium-sized businesses by the end of the week, Sky News learns. https://bit.ly/30iSqJz

– The EU has offered to cut 80% of checks on some goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland in an effort to avoid a post-Brexit trade clash. https://bit.ly/3DE36B3

The Independent

– Peter Wilson, group managing director at shipping agency Cory Brothers, has warned of less choice on the shelves at Christmas and urged people to plan ahead if they want to get the presents they want. https://bit.ly/2YLZc9U

– Amazon.com Inc faces a 140 million pounds legal claim from delivery drivers who say they have been wrongly denied their workers’ rights and thousands of pounds in pay. https://bit.ly/3BIQiJc ($1 = 0.7317 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)