The sportscar manufacturer Lotus is planning to cut 550 jobs in the UK — about 40 per cent of its 1,300 workforce — in a restructure as it struggles with slowing sales.
The US-listed Lotus Technology said the redundancies were necessary to “secure a stable future for the company”, highlighting the impact of “uncertainty with rapid changes in global policies including tariffs”.
Lotus, which is controlled by China’s Geely, said it was exploring the use of third-party manufacturing but remained committed to its plant at Hethel in Norfolk: “The brand remains fully committed to the UK, and Norfolk will remain the home of Lotus’ sports car, motorsports and engineering consulting operations.”
The announcement comes weeks after Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, met executives amid fears over the 59-year-old plant’s future. Shares in Lotus have fallen by 77 per cent since listing on Nasdaq in February last year.
Generic version of weight-loss drug approved
Weight-loss drugs are in strong demand in the UK
JON CHALLICOM/GETTY IMAGES
America’s Food and Drug Administration has approved Teva Pharmaceuticals’ cheaper generic version of Novo Nordisk’s older weight-loss drug, Saxenda, addressing increased demand for this anti-obesity treatment in the American market.
Saxenda was developed and manufactured by Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company, which is better known for its weight-loss treatments Ozempic and Wegovy. The active ingredient in Saxenda is liraglutide.
Weight-loss drugs are in demand in Britain. Production of Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro has been paused as people rush to stockpile the treatment before a price increase in September. Eli Lilly has told its two British wholesalers to temporarily stop taking orders.
Asda sales slide again but chairman is hopeful
Allan Leighton admitted he “wasn’t looking for any miracles”
BETHANY CLARKE – COMMISSIONED BY THE TIMES
The Asda chairman Allan Leighton said completion of a troubled IT project after years of delays and costs topping £1 billion would be “critical” to its turnaround plans as sales slipped further over the summer.
He cautioned that he “wasn’t looking for any miracles” but said that “getting Future done and making the business simpler and it being less of a distraction is probably … very critical”.
On a like-for-like basis, sales at the UK’s third-biggest supermarket chain declined 0.2 per cent in the three months to the end of June, alongside a 0.2 per cent dip in turnover to £5.3 billion. The company is at risk of being overtaken by the disounter Aldi in market share terms. We have more on the story on our website here.
Kenneth Alexander charged with bribery
Kenny Alexander ran GVC, which was renamed Entain, from 2007 to 2020
TOM STOCKILL
UK prosecutors have charged Kenneth Alexander, the former chief executive of Labrokes-Coral owner GVC, and ten other individuals for seven offences relating to bribery, fraudulent trading, cheating the public revenue, evasion of income tax, acting as a director of a company when undischarged bankrupt and perverting the course of justice.
“The offences relate to the provision of gambling services in Turkey between 2011 and 2018,” said Hannah von Dadelszen, chief crown prosecutor.
Alexander, 56, from Perth, Scotland, ran GVC, which was renamed Entain, between 2007 and 2020. He has charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe between 2011 and 2018.
Richard Las, director of HMRC’s fraud investigation service, said: “These are serious charges that relate to conspiracy to defraud, bribery, cheating the public revenue, evasion of income tax and perverting the course of justice among others.”
Entain said: “The company has not been charged and none of the individuals charged are currently employed by the company or its group.”
Pernod toasts tariffs deals
Pernod Ricard, backed by the Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, had better than expected results
PERNOD RICARD
Pernod Ricard shares rose as much as 8 per cent after the French spirits maker said the hit from trade tariffs would be half that was previously forecast.
Results for the year ended June 30 were better than forecast, with revenue of €11 billion, and it expects sales to improve in the “transition year” of 2026.
Alexandre Ricard, chief executive, now expects an €80 million impact from tariffs imposed by the United States and China, against €200 million previously.
Pernod Ricard and rivals have suffered amid falling sales and tariff uncertainty in the key markets of China and the United States. Tariff deals were reached in July.
“Whilst visibility on the exact timing of recovery is low, we think a lot of bad news is in the price,” Jefferies analysts said.
Liz Truss: there is a reckoning coming for central banks
Liz Truss has blamed the Bank of England for her ill-fated tenure in No 10
DANIEL LEAL-WPA POOL/GETTY IMAGES
Liz Truss has thrown her weight behind President Trump’s attempts to exert greater control over the US Federal Reserve.
Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister told Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast: “There is a reckoning coming for the central banks, not just in Britain, but also in the United States, also the [European] Central Bank.”
Truss has blamed the Bank of England for orchestrating her downfall. Her ill-fated mini-budget rocked financial markets and forced the Bank to launch emergency support measures for the bond market.
“The Bank of England needs to be accountable to politicians, the current system doesn’t work,” said Truss, who has been a vocal supporter of populist politicians since leaving Downing Street.
Her comments come as Trump tries to exert greater political influence over the Fed since returning to the White House, raising concerns about whether the central bank can retain sovereignty over interest rate decisions. This week, Trump said he had sacked Lisa Cook, a board member of the Fed, with immediate effect, although Cook, who was appointed by President Biden, has vowed to overturn the dismissal in court.
£3bn of small goods imports from China
Temu regularly sends products to the UK in small packages worth £135 or less
REUTERS
About £3 billion worth of small parcels were shipped from the UK to China last year under the tax exemption for low-value imports, according to new figures.
The Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein and Temu are among online retailers which regularly send products to the UK in small packages worth £135 or less that face no customs duty.
A freedom of information request from the BBC found that low-value imports from China to the UK more than doubled in 2024-25 from £1.3 million in the previous year.
The government has said it will review the exemption after complaints that it enables Chinese e-commerce firms to undercut UK high street businesses.
President Trump scrapped the exemption this year. The EU also intends to introduce a charge.
Poundland to bring back £1 pricing
Poundland avoided going into administration on Tuesday
MIKE KEMP/IN PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES
Poundland has confirmed it will return to simple £1, £2 and £3 grocery pricing across all its UK stores as the chain looks to turn around its fortunes after avoiding administration this week.
The discount chain pledged to price about 60 per cent of grocery items at £1 across its stores after the changes. It said the move will see it go “back to its roots” and mark “the end of additional price complexity”.
Poundland avoided going into administration on Tuesday after a High Court judge approved a turnaround plan days before it was due to run out of money. Poundland was sold to Gordon Brothers for £1 in June. The US investors are providing £80 million of finance as part of the turnaround.
Barclays sells stake in Entercard for £200m
Barclays is set to complete the deal by the end of the year
BARCLAYS SOLD MOST OF ITS UK PAYMENTS BUSINESS TO BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT
Barclays has agreed to sell its stake in its joint venture Entercard Group to its partner Swedbank for an estimated 2.6 billion Swedish krona (£200 million) as part of the bank’s efforts to dispose of non-core operations.
Barclays said the sale of its stake in Entercard, which provides consumer credit in the Nordics, should release £900 million of risk-weighted assets, increasing its common equity Tier 1 ratio by around 4 basis points.
The deal is expected to complete by the end of the year.
In April, Barclays sold most of its UK payments business to Brookfield Asset Management.
Softcat upgrades profit forecast
The FTSE 250 IT equipment and software reseller has raised its annual profit growth forecast for the third time in six months, driven by big deals.
The shares rose 4.86 per cent, or 76p, to £16.41.
Softcat has been helped by rising corporate investment in artificial intelligence and automation. It now estimates mid-teens percentage growth in operating profit for the year ended July 2025, compared with its earlier forecast of a low-teens percentage increase.
On average, the market expects operating profit of £174.2 million in 2025, up from £154.1 million last year.
Drax shares have fallen 9 per cent, or 65p, to 639p this morning after announcing that the financial regulator is investigating certain historical statements regarding its biomass sourcing and compliance of its 2021, 2022, and 2023 annual reports with the listing rules.
Jefferies said in a note today: “Talking to the company, the preliminary understanding is that the Financial Conduct Authority may explore themes similar to those raised by Ofgem, but with a focus on financial disclosures.
“Also, we understand that the FCA does not have jurisdiction over CfD [contract for difference] or RO [renewables obligation] schemes. Nonetheless, the investigation puts Drax in the spotlight and may bring additional political scrutiny.”
In August last year, the energy regulator Ofgem found that Drax failed to provide enough evidence over the profile of woody biomass consignments imported from Canada between April 2021 and March 2022. The power generator paid £25 million into a redress fund, the second largest sum levied by the watchdog.
Tesla market shares shrink further in EU
Tesla’s sales fell 42.4 per cent from 11,465 to 6,600
FLORENCE LO / REUTERS
Tesla lost market share for a seventh consecutive month in the European Union in July despite a rise in overall sales of electric cars.
The electric carmaker run by the billionaire Elon Musk also trailed its Chinese rival BYD, which was included in the monthly sales data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association for the first time.
Tesla’s sales dropped 42.4 per cent from 11,465 to 6,600, squeezing its market share to 0.7 per cent from 1.3 per cent a year ago. BYD’s sales jumped from 3,165 to 9,698 to give it 1.1 per cent of the market.
Battery electric car sales rose by 39 per cent in the EU to 142,699. Total new car sales in the EU rose 7.4 per cent over the month to 914,680, lifted by an 11 per cent rise in Germany, which outweighed drops of 7.7 per cent in France and 5.1 per cent in Italy.
Nvidia published its result overnight
JAKUB PORZYCKI/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
London’s leading stock market index has edged higher this morning after retreating for a second day yesterday.
The FTSE 100 added 7 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 9,262.43 with little corporate news, bar a focus on the result overnight of the artificial intelligence bellwether Nvidia.
Among the risers were Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Guinness stout, the miners Anglo American and Glencore, and the pest control company Rentokil Initial.
The technology investor Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust slid after Nvidia beat Wall Street sales estimates for the second quarter but said growth in demand for AI chips will slow in the third quarter
Next15 to shut troubled American business
The Aim-listed marketing company is to cease operations permanently at its US advisory business Mach49, which has been under scrutiny for “potential serious misconduct”.
In June, the company said it had uncovered potential misconduct after a review of a big contract for Mach49, which was cancelled early in September. It warned on profits and said Tim Dyson, the company’s chief executive of more than 30 years, would step down. Three members of Mach49’s senior management team were sacked, including its founder.
Next15 anticipates that Mach49, based in Silicon Valley, will cease operations before the end of the 2026 financial year. The group’s guidance for its continued operations for the full year remains unchanged.
FCA investigates Drax biomass sourcing
Drax supplies about 5 per cent of Britain’s electricity
TEAMJACKSON/GETTY IMAGES
The owner of the UK’s largest power station said the Financial Conduct Authority is investigating historical statements regarding its biomass sourcing and the compliance of Drax’s 2021, 2022 and 2023 annual reports with the listing rules.
Drax, which supplies about 5 per cent of Britain’s electricity, said it is co-operating with the financial regulator, and provided no further details.
This year MPs on the House of Commons public accounts committee said they were worried about weaknesses in certification schemes that are supposed to ensure that plant matter burnt for fuel is sustainably sourced. The MPs calculated that Drax had received £6.5 billion in renewable energy subsidies since 2002.
Ex-WH Smith director defers appointment to Greggs board
Greggs made the statement to the stock exchange
ALAMY
Robert Moorhead, the former finance director of WH Smith, has requested to defer his appointment to the board of Greggs, the FTSE 250 high street baker, the company said in a 53-word stock exchange announcement.
He was joining as independent non-executive director and was set to become chairman of the audit committee, as well as a member of the nominations and remuneration committees.
Last week WH Smith warned shareholders that it had overstated trading profit in its American business and that full-year profits would be £30 million lower than forecast, sending shares in the retailer 40 per cent lower. Deloitte has been appointed to conduct an independent and comprehensive review of the accounts of the North American business.
Moorhead was finance director of WH Smith for 16 years before standing down in November 2024.
UK car production rises 5.6% in July
US exports rose by 6.8 per cent in July to almost 10,000 units, reversing three months of decline
CHRIS RATCLIFFE/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES
Car production grew for the second month in a row in July but a slump in commercial vehicle manufacturing due to plant restructuring and a bumper month last year meant overall vehicle output fell.
A total of 69,127 cars were made during the month, a rise of 5.6 per cent on the same period in 2024, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed. Commercial vehicle output fell by 81.1 per cent compared with the same month last year, which was the highest figure in 17 years. This brought total production down by 10.8 per cent year on year to 72,006.
Domestic and export markets improved, rising 13.6 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively with overseas markets taking 79.4 per cent of output. The EU was still the main destination for UK car exports at 45.6 per cent, followed by the US at 18.1 per cent.
Exports to the US rose by 6.8 per cent to almost 10,000 units, reversing three months of decline after an agreement with President Trump imposed a reduced 10 per cent tariff on exports of up to 100,000 vehicles a year to America. Any exports beyond that are subject to the original 25 per cent tariff.