Below are the key morning headlines from today’s papers, featuring the Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Aston Martin is hoping that its stock market flotation on Wednesday will value it at close to £5 billion after reports of strong demand from international shareholders. Aston Martin Lagonda’s stockbrokers received bids for the entire 25% of company that they are trying to sell on the first day of an investor roadshow last week, City sources said. The strength of early demand suggests that the company is on course to price its shares at the upper end of the range of £17.50 to £22.50.
Tesla shares are expected to rebound today after Elon Musk was forced to stand down as chairman in a boardroom shake-up at the electric carmaker. Mr Musk, Tesla’s controversial co-founder and chief executive, bowed late on Saturday to demands from America’s financial markets watchdog to relinquish his seat at the head of the board. As part of a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla will hire an independent chairman and two non-executive directors and will create a board-level committee to oversee Mr Musk’s communications.
Selfridges has defied the high street downturn with a £300 million revamp of its famous store pushing profits to a record for the fifth consecutive year. Anne Pitcher, managing director, said that sales at the chain had jumped by 11.5 per cent to more than £1.75 billion. Operating earnings rose by £1 million to a record £181 million in the year to February 3.
British exports worth more than £1.9 billion have been hit by President Trump’s trade attacks on the European Union and China, analysis shows. Moreover, economists fear that UK goods worth up £3.4 billion could be affected by the acrimonious trade dispute between the United States and China. The conflict between the world’s two largest economies will have a “far greater impact” on Britain than Mr Trump’s steep foreign steel tariffs, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research. Nevertheless, the consultancy believes that Britain and the EU could yet strike a positive agreement with the Trump administration and avoid its protectionist trade assaults after the president unveiled his first trade deal.
Tesco sales hit by slow summer, says researcher Kantor Worldpanel. Investors are braced for Tesco (TSCO) to report slowing sales growth this Wednesday despite a boost from the summer heatwave and England’s World Cup run. Despite the hype over the supermarket giant’s recent launch of two discount stores, total sales at its other 3,400 outlets grew just 1.9% over the summer months, according to researcher Kantar Worldpanel. That was just half the growth rate of the wider supermarket industry. Tesco is battling against a recovery in sales at Asda and a continuing land grab by the German discounters Aldi and Lidl. Analysts expect Tesco to say that like-for-like sales growth slowed slightly in its second quarter when it publishes results for the six months to the end of August.
Sir Martin Sorrell slams WPP (WPP) deal as ‘close to negligent’. Sir Martin Sorrell has savaged WPP’s strategy since his abrupt exit from the advertising giant in April. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Sorrell branded WPP’s decision to sell its stake in the digital marketing company Globant as “bordering on negligent” and claimed there was no one left to “look out for” the company he founded more than three decades ago.
Credit insurer Atradius cuts cover to suppliers for Debenhams. Stricken retailer Debenhams (DEB) faces a cash squeeze after a leading credit insurer pulled the plug on cover it provides to the department store chain’s suppliers. Atradius reduced cover to Debenhams suppliers this year, but is now understood to have cut it entirely. The move raises concern over the health of the 200-year-old chain before Christmas shopping gets under way.
Britain’s biggest housebuilder has started testing its construction workers for illegal drugs amid rising fears about substance abuse. Barratt Developments (BDEV) has introduced random tests for drugs and alcohol across its sites and has ramped up its focus on health and safety after its injury rate jumped by more than a fifth last year. According to a statement buried in its annual report, the selection of those to be tested will be on a random basis.
GKN owner Melrose Industries (MRO) is preparing to cash in on its turnaround of the US air conditioning manufacturer Nortek as part of a string of sales expected to raise up to £6bn. Melrose bosses are exploring a sale of Nortek just two years after they snapped up the business for £2.2bn.
Investors are seeking a City big hitter to replace the outgoing chairman of struggling broker TP ICAP (TCAP) , accusing the board of being “asleep at the wheel”. One top-five shareholder said that former London Stock Exchange chief Xavier Rolet, who helped the exchange’s market capitalisation grow from £800m to £13bn, would be an “inspirational appointment” for the under-pressure broker.
