Sunday newspaper round-up: HSBC, BSkyB, Virgin Money...

6th Mar 2011 10:53

HSBC has told its biggest shareholders that it is preparing to quit London in a shock move that it said is now "more likely than not".Britain's biggest bank, which has been headquartered in the capital for 19 years, warned key investors that last week's disappointing full-year results have made arguments for shifting HSBC's domicile to Hong Kong "overwhelming". The shareholders have been surprised by the swift gear-change in HSBC's review of its domicile but some have already told the bank that they would support the move, the Sunday Telegraph reports.One of the City's top institutional investors has demanded that News Corporation pay an extra £3bn to take full ownership of BSkyB, the satellite broadcaster. Fidelity Investments, one of the world's biggest fund managers, named its price in a letter to Nick Ferguson, saying Sky had a "fair value" of 950p a share, and that there should be an additional premium on top of that to gain full ownership. This would take the price to more than £10.6bn, the Sunday Times reports.The Sunday Telegraph adds that Frank Brosens, one of America's best known financiers, is preparing to take on Rupert Murdoch and push News Corporation to pay substantially more than it is offering for BSkyB. Mr Brosens has bought a $250m (£154m) stake in BSkyB through his hedge fund, Taconic Capital Advisors. The hedge fund boss, who is renowned as a determined tactical investor, has in recent weeks bought more than 20.7m shares in BSkyB, amounting to a 1.18% stake in the company.Publication of the Financial Service Authority's highly-anticipated report on Royal Bank of Scotland has been delayed by a month as doubts increase over the thoroughness of the regulator's investigation into the bank's collapse in late 2008. A report was due to be published this month, but is now not expected to be released until April at the earliest, the Sunday Telegraph reports.Public-sector workers are set to lose their "gold-plated" final salary pension schemes with the publication of a landmark report. The report is expected instead to propose that they receive a portion of their average salary over their entire career in a move aimed at bringing in major savings in future decades. Lord Hutton, the former Labour work and pensions secretary, is also set to recommend that public-sector staff contribute around three per cent more annually to their pensions schemes in a separate move that will raise £1.8bn a year by 2015-16, the Sunday Telegraph reports.Shopworkers at the John Lewis Partnership will this week receive a bonus worth nine weeks' pay after a storming year at the department stores and sister chain Waitrose. The 75,000 staff are expected to receive a bonus of about 17% of annual pay in this month's pay packet after one of the most successful years in the partnership's history, the Observer reports.The Mail on Sunday adds that The John Lewis Partnership is raising £50m via a pioneering retail bond issue aimed at customers. The launch comes ahead of its 2010 results, which will reveal that profits rose 15% to about £350m. John Lewis, which also owns Waitrose, has raised finance via bond markets before, but the 'partnership' bond is the first time that it has let its customers invest.Vince Power, the music entrepreneur who brought the Mean Fiddler group of venues to the stock market, is returning to the public arena next month with the planned flotation of a venture hosting music festivals in Britain and Spain. Music Festivals, the company behind the Hop Farm and Benicàssim events, is joining Aim in April. Power, who is chief executive, and finance director Jon Hale, also ex-Mean Fiddler, are hoping to raise a minimum of £3m in the public offering, advised by corporate finance group Merchant Securities, the Observer reports.David Cameron will promise to use this month's budget to slash business red tape so entrepreneurs can drag the country out of the economic doldrums. Speaking in Cardiff at the Tory spring conference, the prime minister will pledge government help to small and medium-sized businesses afflicted by regulations "that make life impossible for small firms" and town hall officials "who take forever to make those planning decisions that can be make or break for a business", the Sunday Times reports.Britain's biggest banks have hit back at Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, over his accusations that they maximise short-term profits by exploiting customers. Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers' Association, said the governor's remarks did not take account of the extensive reforms of the sector following the credit crisis. "We view the governor with the highest respect, but in this instance there are a number of points with which we disagree," she said, the Sunday Times reports.The London Stock Exchange is secretly eyeing a takeover of Nasdaq, its American rival, just weeks after announcing a merger with the Toronto exchange. The LSE made Nasdaq its top bid target after the American exchange was left out of a recent flurry of consolidation among the world's biggest bourses. Although no talks have been held between the LSE, Toronto and Nasdaq about a three way tie-up, the UK and Canadian companies plan to make their move later this year, as soon as their own deal has been cemented, the Sunday Times reports.Sir Richard Branson's financial services business, Virgin Money, is in talks to buy one of Britain's biggest building societies. It is in advanced negotiations with Norwich & Peterborough building society, which has almost 500,000 members and 45 branches. A takeover would accelerate Virgin's plans for a branch network across the country. It would also provide a launch-pad from which to attempt an acquisition of Northern Rock, the nationalised bank, the Sunday Times reports.The coalition will announce restrictive regulatory changes to the £13.4bn British tobacco industry on National No Smoking Day on Wednesday, which shopkeepers believe could force closures. The Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, has called several retail representative bodies, which are largely against the probable changes, to his office on Wednesday morning, the Sunday Independent reports. Unions are considering a revised pay offer from National Grid as the FTSE-100 giant looks to put an end to its industrial relations crisis. Around 2,500 staff are currently working to rule at a time when National Grid desperately needs them to be available to work overtime. National Grid's boss, Steve Holliday, has offered improved terms, the Sunday Independent reports.