Wednesday newspaper round-up: Palantir, SpaceX, Aston Martin, Ryanair

5th Aug 2026 07:17

(Sharecast News) - The software group Palantir paid just £2m in corporation tax in the UK in 2024, despite holding public sector contracts worth hundreds of millions, thanks to tax breaks that are likely to reduce its contributions to governments around the world for years to come. The US-headquartered company, which has harnessed AI to secure lucrative work for the NHS and the Ministry of Defence, is growing exponentially. - Guardian

For the first time since SpaceX went public, the world is getting a first-hand look into the trillion-dollar corporation's financials. The Elon Musk-run business reported its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, saying that its revenue jumped 92% since June. SpaceX beat Wall Street expectations, reporting $7.81bn in revenue, versus analysts' predictions of $6.93bn. While expansive, the company is not profitable. The company reported a loss of $541m, down from a $1bn loss in the same quarter last year. - Guardian

Aston Martin's lenders are threatening to sue the carmaker after it shifted key assets from the UK to the Cayman Islands. In a letter threatening legal action, bondholders accused the carmaker of trying to short-change them by putting assets out of the reach of creditors to the London-listed company. Aston Martin is thought to have transferred intellectual property rights - including the right to the carmaker's name - from its London-based business into a new Cayman Islands subsidiary. - Telegraph

Ryanair is being sued by hundreds of pilots who claim they are owed holiday pay. Richard Phillips, a former Ryanair pilot, has filed a group claim against the low-cost airline along with 261 others. The lawsuit in London's Commercial Court, filed last week, also lists aviation recruitment agencies Storm Global and Brookfield Aviation International and a Dublin-based tax consultancy called Scanlon Associates as defendants. - Telegraph

More than 1,000 staff members at the Bank of England spent a total of 12,889 days working overseas under its remote work policy, according to new freedom of information data. Some 6,000 staff are eligible to work for up to 40 days overseas as well as being allowed to work for from home for three days a week, the central bank official guidance states. - The Times