Below are the key morning and weekend press headlines, featuring the The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Intu Properties (INTU) wants to launch a huge rights issue either alongside its full-year results at the end of February, or shortly afterwards. In a trading statement in November, Intu said fixing its balance sheet, which is loaded with £4.7bn of debt, was its “No 1 priority” and flagged that an equity raising was “likely”. The move will test whether investors believe the full extent of the retail property crisis is now “priced in” to the stock market valuations of big landlords. Intu, which rejected a takeover bid worth 425p a share, or £3bn, in 2010, has seen its share price tumble to 22.9p, valuing it at £311.6m — a fraction of the £8bn at which its properties are officially valued. - The Times
Flybe Group (FLYB) is preparing to launch services on the lucrative route between Heathrow and German industrial heartlands, threatening to enrage further airline executives left fuming by a Government rescue last week. The planned Dusselfdorf service is part of a route overhaul that includes an additional service between Newquay and Amsterdam, according to industry sources. The Exeter-carrier revealed last week that it would switch a taxpayer-funded service between London and Cornwall from Heathrow to Gatwick from the end of March. - The Telegraph
One of Saudi Arabia’s richest families has become a major shareholder in Burford Capital (BUR) , the litigation funder under attack from American short seller Muddy Waters. City sources said the Al Rajhi family is backing Mithaq Capital, which late last year bought a 5.1% shareholding in Burford Capital, one of the largest firms on London’s junior stock market AIM. Public documents show Faisal Al Rajhi sits on the board of Riyadh-based Mithaq Holding which, sources told The Mail on Sunday, is linked to Mithaq Capital. Faisal Al Rajhi is in turn believed to be linked to Sheikh Sulaiman Al Rajhi, who is considered the richest Saudi Arabian not a member of the kingdom’s royal family. Forbes estimates Sheikh Al Rajhi, who reportedly has 23 children, is worth $7.7 billion (£5.9 billion). - The Mail
Lenders to Premier Oil (PMO) have reported its biggest creditor to the City watchdog. A group of creditors have urged the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to investigate the Hong Kong hedge fund Asia Research & Capital Management (ARCM) over claims that it broke rules by failing to disclose it had built a £132m bet against the share price while blocking attempts by the FTSE 250 explorer to restructure its £2bn of debts. ARCM disclosed that it had secretly built a 17% short position on Premier Oil shares on December 4. A source said it was a “massive conflict of interest” for ARCM to hold debt as well as bet against the shares. The position is thought to be the biggest on the London market as a percentage. A source close to ARCM said the hedge fund had reported itself to the FCA last month after being made aware of the rules on disclosing short positions. ARCM started shorting Premier Oil’s shares three years ago. - The Times
Premier Foods (PFD) enjoyed a festive sales boost as customers bought more than 200 million Mr Kipling mince pies over the Christmas period. Sales at the company, which also owns Ambrosia, Bisto and Angel Delight, grew 2.6% during the 13 weeks to Dec 28 compared with a year earlier. Premier was boosted by demand for cakes and other sweet treats, which grew sales by 8%. Mr Kipling alone generated growth of 10%. Premier Foods also launched a range of vegan grain pots as part of its new Plantastic brand and is preparing to roll out a vegan version of its Oxo beef stock cubes. Chief executive Alex Whitehouse said: “Our biggest brand, Mr Kipling, has again been instrumental to this continuing momentum, with increased sales supported by TV advertising and new product ranges.” - The Telegraph
A pay row looks set to erupt at Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) over bonuses paid to executive directors, despite the lender reporting a loss and dropping its dividend. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a proxy group, has urged investors to vote against the remuneration report at its annual meeting on January 29. David Duffy, 59, chief executive, could pocket as much as £5.1m this year — exceeding the pay taken by John Flint, the former boss of the much bigger HSBC, who took home £4.6m in 2018. Duffy’s package includes £1.2m for salary, cash benefits and pension. He could earn £3.9m in bonuses if he hits targets including boosting the Virgin Money share price by 50% over the year. ISS said it viewed the “overall quantum of pay for the year excessive”. Another proxy agency, Glass Lewis, recommended supporting the report. - The Times
A high court battle pitting rail operators against the government is due to start on Monday, with Stagecoach Group (SGC) and others seeking tens of millions of pounds in compensation in a case that could have far-reaching implications for the privatised rail system. Stagecoach is suing the Department for Transport after being disqualified from bidding for three rail franchises last year for failing to comply with demands on pension liabilities. It is expected to argue that the DfT mismanaged the bid process with regards to the Railway Pension Scheme, where a £7.5bn deficit has been identified by the regulator, and was attempting to shift too onerous a responsibility on to private firms. The litigants, which also include Stagecoach’s bid partners Virgin and SNCF, and the rival firm Arriva, claim that franchising contracts, which make the operators responsible for pension liabilities, pose an unacceptable level of risk, whether through strikes or financial collapse. - The Guardian
Britvic (BVIC) will overhaul its executive pay policy after being criticised for excessive bonuses ahead of its annual meeting. Chief executive Simon Litherland was paid £3.45million over the year to September 29, 2019, while new finance chief Joanne Wilson earned £732,000 after working at the company for just three weeks. Wilson’s payout was largely a £706,300 ‘golden hello’ to compensate for the loss of incentives she would have received from Tesco, where she was chief financial officer at its customer data arm Dunnhumby. Litherland’s £623,500 base salary was boosted by £2.66million of ‘performance related pay’, plus a £153,400 pension contribution and other benefits. Shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis said it has ‘severe reservations’ and urged shareholders to vote against the firm’s remuneration report at its AGM on January 31. It said: ‘Our concerns are heightened by the generous incentive arrangement… with remuneration running consistently in advance of corresponding levels at the company’s peers.’ - The Mail
Carphone Warehouse risks sliding into irrelevance. Exorbitant prices and a lack of product innovation mean that consumers are hanging on to their mobiles for longer, leaving Carphone short of the minimum sales targets set in its contracts with networks and plunging the division to an expected loss of £90m this year. It is a headache for Alex Baldock, the cerebral boss of Dixons Carphone (DC.) . Analysts at Goldman Sachs expect a Christmas trading update this week to show a 1% drop in like-for-like sales for its electricals division, which includes Dixons, Currys and PC World. Baldock is likely to accelerate store closures at Carphone Warehouse, where leases on average have two years to run. “Alex has to re-engineer that business quickly,” an industry source said. “He needs to reduce their number of stores to about 150. If he can do that in the time available to him, then he will have a business.” - The Times
Capita (CPI) is planning the £200m sale of a clutch of businesses including translation services and events management as it tries to boost margins by focusing on more profitable operations. Sources close to the firm said a £200m-plus price tag has been put on its “specialist services” division. Capita aims to offload it in a single deal, although a break-up is being considered. It is understood to be seeking buyers for nine businesses, which employ about 4,000, before the half-year mark as chief executive Jon Lewis continues his turnaround of the sprawling company which has more than 60,000 staff. - The Telegraph
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) is preparing another round of branch closures, as the bank draws up broader plans to make sweeping cost cuts next month. HSBC is aiming to shut more than 10 high-street locations this year in an attempt to slash its bloated cost base and boost profits. The move will shrink its 621-strong network, which suffered five closures last year. The first closure is expected in the next few weeks, ahead of the annual results in mid-February, according to a source. HSBC declined to comment. Although shutting branches will help HSBC shave some costs, caretaker boss Noel Quinn, 57, tipped to be named chief executive next month, is expected to take the knife to other parts of the bank, including its investment banking division. - The Times