The Government is planning a ban on petrol motorbikes, industry sources say
Daily Business News 13th May 2024
Petrol Motorbike ban: The Government is planning to extend the future ban on the sale of new petrol cars to motorcycles, The Telegraph claims, citing industry sources, while adding it is not clear whether Downing Street has actually signed off on the move yet. The suggestion is that from 2040 (five years later than the current car ban), all vehicles classed as “L3” and upwards, including scooters and light, medium and higher-powered motorcycles will no longer be allowed to be sold. Although there are already high numbers of electric mopeds being sold - they accounted for roughly half of UK moped registrations last year – the market for electric motorcycles is far less developed, representing less than 2% of total sales in 2023. Last month ministers extended the grant for plug-in electric motorcycles, under which riders can get up to £500 off models costing less than £10,000, until April next year. The Motorcycle Action Group, which represents riders, claims banning new petrol motorcycle sales is “unworkable” and will “terminate most British motorcycle manufacturing” if implemented, the newspaper says.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, meanwhile, is calling for the ban on all petrol car sales to be delayed beyond 2035. The billionaire behind petrochemicals giant Ineos warns in an article penned for The Telegraph that demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has “dried up” and that there should an “interim” step towards cleaner technologies. The switch to electric “is not like flipping a light switch” and that the very notion of a single cut-off point is “barmy,” he adds. Ratcliffe, whose empire includes Manchester United football club as well as the Grangemouth oil refinery, wrote: “Electric is fine and dandy for the short local journey, but should you decide to head off for the hills, forget it”. “Tesla is making 14,000 workers redundant. In March, German sales of electric cars collapsed by 30%. You can’t give a second-hand electric car away in the UK” he claimed. In recent weeks, Volkswagen, Ford and Vauxhall owner Stellantis have criticised laws requiring them to sell ever-higher proportions of EVs regardless of consumer demand. Ineos Automotive is preparing to launch an EV, and has held meetings with the Government about the issue.
Smart Meters: Chris O’Shea, the CEO of British Gas’ owner Centrica wants every home to be forced to have a smart energy meter installed to help hit net zero targets and is lobbying ministers to bring this about. He told MPs on the House of Commons’ Energy Select Committee: “We think that in order to have the proper smart grid that’s required to keep costs low in the future, everybody should have a smart meter. One of the things we should consider as to whether this is a voluntary programme, or whether it should be mandatory.” He made his comments despite widespread criticism of smart meters, which feed data back automatically to energy suppliers, removing the need for physical meter readings. The number of smart meters in England, Scotland and Wales which do not work has risen to almost 4m, according to data from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Desnez).
Carillion: The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has slapped KPMG and two former partners with record fines over their audit failures at Carillion, the British multinational construction and facilities management services firm that collapsed in 2018 with liabilities of almost £7bn. KPMG was handed a record £30m fine, reduced to £21m for cooperation, while former partners Peter Meehan and Darren Turner were fined £500,000 reduced to £350,000 for cooperation, and £100,000 reduced to £70,000 respectively. Meeham was also barred from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) for a decade. KPMG is also required to cover the FRC’s legal costs of more than £5m. Carillion’s collapse had huge repercussions for its 30,000 private and public customers, its 42,000 employees and 27,000 pensioners. It flagged numerous concerns about the work of auditors KPMG, the FRC and The Pensions Regulator, as well as the Government's relationship with major suppliers working on private finance initiatives (PFIs). A joint inquiry by the Business and Work and Pensions Select Committees said Carillion's collapse was "a story of recklessness, hubris and greed, its business model was a relentless dash for cash", and accused its directors of misrepresenting the financial realities of the business.
Moving to London: American artificial intelligence (AI) group Coreweave has announced plans to invest £1bn in the UK after opening a new office in London as its European headquarters. Coreweave said the move will also create jobs across engineering, operations, finance and go-to-market. It is also preparing to open two data centres in the country this year and expand further in 2025. The business was founded in 2017 and is based in New Jersey. Scale AI, another US-based tech firm, also picked London as its European headquarters last week. This company is run by Alexandr Wang, who became the youngest self-made billionaire in the world at age 24, according to Forbes, in 2022.
New London listings? Fast fashion giant Shein is reportedly plotting a bumper listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Shein, which was founded in China but is now headquartered in Singapore, plans to update China’s securities regulator on the change of its listing venue from New York to London and file with the LSE as soon as this month, a source told Reuters. Separately, The Times reported on Saturday that British computer firm Raspberry Pi was finalising plans for a London float at a valuation of up to £500m. Both firms declined to comment. The possibility of these IPOs has heartened a general consensus that the beleaguered LSE is heading for a revival. LSE Deputy CEO Charlie Walker told City A.M. on Friday - prior to news from Shein and Raspberry PI - that “the pipeline is becoming increasingly encouraging”.
Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldan has claimed he was debanked like Nigel Farage after being refused an account because he was “politically connected by dint of working for the Bank of England.” In a speech on Wednesday night at the Royal Society of Arts, where Haldane is now CEO he said: “Three problems with that: one, I wasn’t working for the Bank of England [by that point]. Two, the Bank of England is by statute independent from government. Third, the Bank of England was their regulator, so the risk was to their regulator.” “We are all Nigels now,” one of his powerpoint slides said as he related the anecdote, part of his argument that regulation has gone too far in the City and is now crushing growth by putting off any risk taking. Regulations introduced with “the best of intentions” were “chilling risk appetite and forestalling investing,” he said, adding that new rules introduced by the Government and regulators were “penny wise but pound foolish”.
Former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi MP is to be named as the Chairman of Very, one of Britain's largest online retailers, just days after confirming that he would step down from parliament at the next general election. Sky News has learnt that Zahawi will replace interim chair Aidan Barclay. The company, which owns the Very and Littlewoods brands, is weighed down by debt, but has nearly 4.5m customers and significant expansion targets. Based in Liverpool, it sells electrical goods, homewares and fashion, backed by a large consumer finance arm. Meanwhile, Zahawi has told the BBC he paid nearly £5m to authorities to settle his tax affairs. He was sacked last year as Conservative Party chairman after an ethics inquiry found he had failed to disclose that HMRC was investigating his tax affairs. He told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg he was sorry for not being "more explicit" in his ministerial declaration on the settlement, but insisted HMRC had found he made a non-deliberate, "careless" mistake.
Gordon Ramsay is set to open new restaurants at the top of the City of London’s tallest building, City AM reports. The celebrity chef‘s empire, which already includes more than 50 sites, has leased around 30,000 sq ft across four floors in the top levels of 22 Bishopsgate. The group will open Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High, Great Street Kitchen and Bar and Lucy Cat Terrace over levels 58 and 61. Those restaurants will join Sushi Samba and Duck and Waffle on the list of the City’s highest eateries.
And finally… A US law firm has increased starting salaries for its newly qualified lawyers in London to £180,000 as the war for talent intensifies, The Telegraph reports. New hires at Quinn Emanuel will see their pay rise by £30,000 from June, making the Los Angeles-headquartered firm the joint highest-paying law practice in the UK, alongside US rival Gibson Dunn.