The top stories on the business pages of British newspapers are as follows:
The body representing Britain’s pharmaceutical industry has reached an NHS branded sales agreement with the government after months of disputes and warnings that one of the country’s key growth sectors was losing international ground. The boss of Boodles, the luxury jewellery designer and retailer, has accused Rishi Sunak of scoring a “spectacular own goal” by scrapping VAT-free shopping for foreign tourists, according to The Times.
UK interest rates will need to stay high for some time despite the sharp fall in the annual inflation rate, the governor of the Bank of England has warned, as reported by The Guardian. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hinted at business tax cuts to boost economic growth as he promised to reduce the tax burden “carefully and sustainably” and “over time”.
EY is in talks to abandon its London headquarters in the latest sign of an accelerating office slump as working from home transforms professional life, stated The Telegraph. Alex Chesterman, the founder of Cazoo, will have his shareholding in the company almost wiped out as bondholders take control of the loss-making online car seller.
Meanwhile, Ed Richards, the former boss of media regulator Ofcom, is acting as a secret lobbyist for RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed media vehicle which is in advanced talks to take control of The Daily Telegraph, according to Sky News. Ousted boss of OpenAI, Sam Altman, has said his and Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella’s top priority “remains to ensure OpenAI continues to thrive”.