Source: Sharecast
Next is drawing up plans for a potential bid for luxury department‑store chain Harvey Nichols, The Telegraph reported. The retailer's Hong Kong‑based owner has put the business up for sale, and sources told Sky News that Next was "serious" about exploring an offer. Next, valued at more than £17.5bn, has acquired several struggling high‑street brands in recent years, including FatFace, Joules and Russell & Bromley. According to The Telegraph, it remains unclear whether any deal would include Harvey Nichols' regional stores or focus solely on the brand.
Barratt Redrow now faces mounting pressure from shareholders to launch multibillion‑pound share buybacks or risk a boardroom revolt, The Times reported. Major investors fear the FTSE 100 housebuilder could become vulnerable to a cut‑price takeover unless the board acts to support the share price. Phoenix Asset Management Partners co‑founder Gary Channon has published a 430‑page report arguing for up to £1bn in annual buybacks over the coming years. Phoenix, one of Barratt Redrow's longest‑standing shareholders, holds a £200m stake and was the group's third‑largest investor, according to The Times.
The head of Rome Fiumicino airport has called for the EU's new entry/exit system (EES) to be switched off until design flaws causing long delays are resolved, The Times reported. Marco Troncone, CEO of Aeroporti di Roma, said border‑processing times had doubled since the system's full rollout in April. Troncone said the airport had reduced processing times to around 90 seconds, but that remained incompatible with daily passenger volumes of up to 60,000. He added that Rome Fiumicino had spent €12m preparing for EES, yet queues remained severe due to the system's design rather than implementation.
Elon Musk posted about UK race and immigration issues twice as often as he did about SpaceX in the run‑up to the company's IPO, according to The Guardian. The review of Musk's X activity between 31 May and 12 June found his posts heavily centred on UK politics during a period of heightened tension following far‑right protests, online misinformation and riots in Belfast. The period coincided with preparations for SpaceX's public listing on 12 June, which The Guardian said made Musk the world's first trillionaire.
OpenAI's flagship UK datacentre plan, Stargate UK, appears to have been far less developed than previously suggested, The Guardian reported. The project was paused in April over regulatory and energy‑cost concerns, but the paper said OpenAI had not visited one of the key proposed sites. According to The Guardian, around £20bn of the £30bn in "potential" investment promoted by the UK government appears to have been hypothetical, raising doubts over the scale and substance of the project.
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has said the UK should rejoin the EU, calling it "the only patriotic thing to do", according to The Independent. In an interview with the paper, Kinnock urged incoming prime minister Andy Burnham to abandon Labour's previous "red lines" on Europe and pursue closer integration for the sake of future generations. He argued that anyone who "truly loves Britain" should support rejoining the bloc and criticised restrictions on considering single‑market or customs‑union membership.
Andy Burnham has been advised to consider means‑testing the state pension to help fill a £4.7bn defence‑budget shortfall, The Independent reported. The suggestion came from tax expert Dan Neidle, who published 37 potential options to fund the unfunded portion of Sir Keir Starmer's Defence Improvement Plan. Neidle said restricting pension payments for the wealthiest could save £1bn a year, though it would break the long‑standing principle of a universal state pension funded by National Insurance. Burnham has ruled out raising income tax, VAT or NI contributions, The Independent noted.