Business

Whilst there is much work still to be done on the issue, we take a look at some of the firms that are getting it right.

Southern Water has been hit with a record £126 million penalty package after a “shocking” Ofwat probe uncovered failures in the firm’s sewage treatment sites and found that it fixed wastewater samples. Customers of the utility company will now receive rebates of £61 over the next five years after Southern Water agreed to the package, which, given the size of the firm, is the largest the regulator has ever imposed. Ofwat said its large-scale investigation found that Southern Water failed to...

British fashion chain New Look reported a bigger annual pretax loss, hurt by a large charge, while Brexit woes and rainy weather kept shoppers out of its stores. New Look, owned by South African investment firm Brait, reported statutory loss before tax of 522.2 million pounds for the year ended March, compared with a loss of 190.2 million pounds a year earlier. The loss was mainly driven by a 423.3 million pound non-cash goodwill and brand impairment charge after a...

Britain’s car industry called on Tuesday for the next prime minister to secure a Brexit deal which keeps frictionless trade with the EU, warning a no-deal exit risked billions of pounds in tariffs and border disruption which could cripple the sector. Boris Johnson, the frontrunner to succeed Theresa May, and his leadership rival Jeremy Hunt have both said they are prepared to take Britain out of the EU without a deal, although both says it is not their preferred option....

Busy office workers are managing to squeeze in a meagre 16 minutes a day for lunch, a study has found. Researchers found despite having a full hour to enjoy a much-deserved break, many take a quarter of this period to eat, and nearly half will typically dine ‘al-desko’ at precisely 12.43pm. One in 10 admitted eating the same meal for lunch EVERY day, with the most popular reoccurring choices being a plain cheese sandwich or a meaty ham sandwich. And...

Brexit risks are not priced in by bond markets and Britain's exit from the European Union could turn more bitter than expected, Anthony Linehan deputy director at Ireland's debt management agency warned on Wednesday. "To me (Brexit) is an area that isn't priced into markets and it can't be because no one knows what it looks like, even a hard Brexit," he said, speaking at a conference in London. "The one thing that worries me is, it's like a divorce,...

Airbus Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said on Wednesday there was a growing risk Britain would leave the European Union without a withdrawal deal in a way that could damage the aerospace firm's performance next year. "We have been very clear on the potential negative consequences of a hard Brexit or no-deal Brexit. We see that the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit is high and maybe growing," Faury said at an investor meeting coinciding with the Paris Airshow, adding it was...

Whitbread Plc said on Wednesday its first-quarter room revenue was hit by tough market competition and ongoing Brexit uncertainty, and the company was cautious about near-term conditions as it tries to build out its Premier Inn brand. Whitbread, which was originally a brewer, has focused on its hotel business after it sold Costa Coffee to Coca-Cola Co for 3.9 billion pounds ($4.90 billion) in a cash deal completed in early January. The company said total like-for-like revenue per available room...

The 52-year-old businessman came into the public eye in 2015 after buying BHS for £1 off shamed retail tycoon Sir Philip Green just a year before it collapsed.