The U.K.’s grid operator delayed the restart of a key power cable from France by almost a month, potentially deepening the nation’s energy crisis, Bloomberg News reported. Half the capacity of the IFA-1 U.K.-France line will come online Oct. 23, following a fire that knocked out the conduit earlier this month, National Grid Plc said in a remit notice. It had originally targeted Sept. 25 for the partial restart. Full 2,000-megawatt capacity is not expected until March 27. The delay comes as the U.K.
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The U.K. energy industry is facing a wave of bankruptcies amid a gas-supply crunch that has sent electricity prices soaring, leaving suppliers vulnerable, OilPrice.com reported. Since the start of the year, seven electricity suppliers in the country have gone under, Bloomberg reports, because of failing to hedge against price hikes. This meant that they sold electricity to clients at lower prices than the current ones. They must now buy it expensively and then sell it cheaply, which is the fastest way to bankruptcy.
Inflation in the United Kingdom rose to 3.2 percent in the past 12 months through August, a Wednesday report from the Office for National Statistics said, The Hill reported. This figure is up from 2 percent in July, marking the largest increase seen since the Consumer Prices Index began measuring inflation in 1997, the report said. The report added that "this is likely to be a temporary change" amid the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The current level is well above the 2 percent target "to keep inflation low and stable," according to the Bank of England.
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British businesses have reported a sharp rise in recruitment difficulties within the space of just a few weeks - partly as a result of a continued lack of European Union workers, official figures showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. Some 41% of companies with 10 or more staff reported greater than usual recruitment challenges in the two weeks to Sept. 5, up from 32% in early August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
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British inflation hit a more than nine-year high last month after the biggest monthly jump in the annual rate in at least 24 years, largely due to a one-off boost reflecting the "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme that pushed down restaurant meal prices last year, Reuters reported. Consumer prices rose by 3.2% in annual terms last month after a 2.0% rise in July, the highest rate since March 2012, the Office for National Statistics said. The 1.2 percentage point rise in the annual rate of inflation in the space of a month marked the sharpest such increase since detailed records started in 1997.
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Job vacancies in Britain climbed to a record in August, rising above one million for the first time, as the labor market continued its uneven recovery, according to data released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics, the New York Times reported. As Britain emerged from lockdowns, the demand for workers has soared. Every sector is seeking more workers, with restaurants, bars, hotels and other accommodation and food businesses trying to hire the most over the summer.
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Empty beer taps in pubs, supermarkets low on Diet Coke, milkshakes missing at McDonald’s: It seems each new day in Britain brings a new notice of scarce products and services as businesses are waylaid by the country’s shortage of truck drivers and other workers, the New York Times reported. The problem extends beyond the most visible parts of the economy. Job vacancies in Britain are about 20 percent higher than their prepandemic levels, and the need for workers has gripped nearly every occupation, including computer programmers, health care assistants and farmworkers.
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The U.K. Insolvency Service has announced that temporary measures introduced last year to help viable businesses avoid being forced into unnecessary insolvency during the COVID-19 pandemic will be phased out from October 1, Business-Sale.com reported. The end of the previous legislation will occur alongside the introduction of new measures to help businesses recover. The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act, which came into force in June 2020, introduced several temporary measures designed to help businesses through the COVID-19 crisis.
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EasyJet Plc rejected an unsolicited takeover approach and said it plans to raise more than $2 billion, giving the U.K. airline a buffer to see it through a return to leisure travel, Bloomberg News reported. The shares fell as much as 14%. The preliminary offer was conditional, all-stock and had a low premium, EasyJet said Thursday in a statement. It was rejected unanimously by the board and has been withdrawn. Instead, the discount airline will sell 1.2 billion pounds ($1.65 billion) of stock through a rights offering and raise an added $400 million in debt.
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The $10 billion takeover battle for British supermarket group Morrisons between two U.S. private equity groups looks set to be decided by a rarely used auction process, Reuters reported. Morrisons said on Wednesday that it was in talks with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), Fortress Investment Group and Britain's takeover regulator about an auction to settle its future. Last month, Morrisons agreed a 7 billion pound ($9.6 billion) offer from CD&R, which has former Tesco boss Terry Leahy as a senior adviser.
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