Source: Sharecast
British electric car sales rose by a third in the first half of 2025 after the strongest June for overall car sales since before the Covid pandemic. The number of battery electric car sales rose 34.6% to 224,838 units in the first six months of the year, according to preliminary data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. – Guardian
Ministers are closely watching a court case in which Vodafone is alleged to have “unjustly enriched” itself at the expense of franchise operators, and have raised the prospect of a regulatory crackdown on the sector. The small business minister, Gareth Thomas, has said he will “track very carefully” a £120m legal claim brought against Vodafone last year by a group of 62 of about 150 franchise operators. – Guardian
A European insurance company owned by Apollo and headed by the former Prudential boss Mike Wells has clinched the biggest UK deal of the year so far, snapping up Pension Insurance Corporation for £5.7 billion. Athora, an insurer with assets of €76 billion and operations across Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, announced it had successfully landed privately-owned PIC, which specialises in taking over legacy pension schemes from UK employers. – The Times
The FTSE 100 supplier to a British oil refinery was not brought into discussions about securing its future until shortly before it collapsed into insolvency. Glencore, the mining and commodity trading group, was only informed of the financial difficulties at the Prax Lindsey oil refinery three days before it collapsed despite ministers being aware of the difficulties for several months, sources told The Times. – The Times