Below are the key morning press headlines, featuring the The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Tens of thousands of retail shareholders in a North Yorkshire fertiliser mine face losing their money and 1,200 jobs are at risk after the company developing the $5 billion project said that its funding plan had failed. MPs and unions called on the government to rescue Sirius Minerals’ Woodsmith mine project after it was forced to abandon a crucial $500 million bond sale, blaming market conditions and Brexit uncertainty. Shares in Sirius Minerals (SXX) more than halved to only 4.67p yesterday as Sirius pulled the bond issue and revealed that the government had rejected a last-ditch request last month to offer it $1 billion of loan guarantees.
The boss of the world’s largest mining company has had his pay cut by almost a quarter after an unexplained death at its Queensland mine and a runaway iron ore train. Andrew Mackenzie, 62, chief executive of BHP Billiton (BLT) since 2013, had his short-term bonus reduced by more than $1 million from 2018 to $1.3 million. His base salary was kept at $1.7 million, taking his total earnings, including other benefits, to $3.5 million, from $4.6 million the previous year. BHP’s 2019 annual report attributed the decision mainly to the death of a 49-year-old worker at its Saraji coalmine on New Year’s Eve last year, the cause of which it was unable to determine. It was the first death that the company had been unable to explain in more than 15 years. The mining group employs about 72,000 people, producing iron ore, coal, copper and oil, primarily in Australia and the Americas. It is dual-listed in Australia and Britain.
Ocado Group (OCDO) has claimed that it could start delivering Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) groceries earlier than its original schedule of next September. The online grocer signed a £750 million joint venture in February that will end its long-term partnership with Waitrose. The upmarket food retailer has supplied groceries to Ocado since it was founded in 2000. Duncan Tatton-Brown, 54, Ocado’s finance chief, said there “is a chance we might bring forward, at least partially bring forward, that transition date . . . It may well be in the interests of Waitrose, some of Waitrose’s suppliers and ourselves and M&S for that transition to be slightly more spread out.” However, it is understood that Waitrose disagrees and is in no rush to sever ties with Ocado prematurely, particularly as last week it revealed that it had abruptly ended talks with a start-up to rival the service provided by Ocado.
Struggling fashion chain French Connection Group (FCCN) admitted it has had no luck in finding a buyer as sales fell again. The retailer reported a 12% slide in revenues to £51m for the first half of the year, while losses narrowed by £200,000 to £5.3m. The sales fall came after it shut nine sites this year. It has also opened one new store in central London after it had to shut its Oxford Street shop. It has 90 outlets in total, including concessions and three YMC stores. Its like-for-like sales, which strip out sales from new stores, rose 1.4%, thanks to US shoppers.
Barratt Developments (BDEV) chief executive received an £893,000 pay bump this year, taking his total annual remuneration at Britain’s biggest housebuilder to £3.6m. David Thomas’s salary and benefits edged up £27,000 to £949,000, while his bonus and incentives jumped £866,000 to £2.66m, Barratt’s annual report revealed. The increases came despite annual revenues dipping 2.3% to £4.8bn. However, the revenue decline was offset by higher profit margins, with pre-tax profits rising 8.9% to £910m. Executive pay at UK housebuilders has come under fire recently, with accusations that profits are being driven by the taxpayer-funded Help to Buy scheme rather than chief executives’ leadership