A deal that matters?
Northern Ireland + Electric cars podcast + Wisdom of Warren Buffett
Rishi Sunak is expected to announce changes to post-Brexit trading rules between the UK and EU later on Monday alongside Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. Von der Leyen is also due to meet the King in Windsor. The details of the deal are not yet confirmed but a key consequence is that trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland should become smoother.
After seven years of talks and deals since the Brexit referendum in 2016 there is a great deal of fatigue around this topic. I don’t want to get into the politics of Sunak’s potential deal here - but pro-Brexit Tory MPs and the DUP could still derail it…and Sunak - but quickly look at what the deal could mean for businesses…
For a useful explainer of the problems for businesses moving goods between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland, Archie Norman, the chairman of Marks & Spencer (and my guest on episode one of our Business Studies podcast), has spoken constantly about it. He told the Today programme on BBC last year that products going to M&S shops in Ireland needed 700 pages of documentation and took eight hours to prepare. Norman added:
“Some of the descriptors, particularly of animal products, have to be in Latin. It has to be in a certain typeface. We employ 13 vets in Motherwell to prepare it all.”
Sunak is looking to reduce the complexity of trade across the Irish Sea as part of the deal. However, Norman has warned about the consequences of a new agreement that means M&S has to put different labelling on products that it sells in Northern Ireland and Ireland. M&S has significant businesses in both countries. Norman told James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, in a letter last month that there could be "overbearing and prohibitive costs” as a consequence of a deal that meant changes to labels. More here. Norman also posted a link about Justin King, the former boss of Sainsbury’s and a non-executive director at M&S, talking about this topic…
The Times has done a useful summary of what the Northern Ireland deal could look like, which you can read here. There could be a “green lane” system for goods heading from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and a “red lane” for those heading onwards into Ireland and the EU. The Financial Times is reporting this:
“It is anticipated that those who register products via a trusted trader scheme and label products for consumption ‘NI-Only’ will not be required to present full customs and animal-health certification at the border, although full details of the scheme have yet to emerge.”
You can read that story here. The story says the UK will secure this by offering data to the EU on the movement on goods.
It will be fascinating to see the business reaction to the deal once the details have been published and the reality becomes clear…
Podcast
The next episode of our Business Studies podcast will be out tomorrow. It looks at the progress - or lack of - of electric cars in the UK. It features an interview with Erik Fairbairn, the founder and chief executive of Pod Point, one of the largest providers of electric vehicle charging points in the UK. Fairbairn talks about the state of the industry, criticism about the reliability and lack of chargers, the huge opportunities ahead and how he built the business into a listed company worth more than £100 million. The episode will be sent to all Off to Lunch subscribers on Tuesday and will also be available on the usual podcast platforms…
Other stories that matter…
Warren Buffett used his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders to criticise management teams who herald beating expectations as a triumph. “It requires no talent to manipulate numbers: Only a deep desire to deceive is required,” Buffett said. “‘Bold imaginative accounting,’ as a CEO once described his deception to me, has become one of the shames of capitalism.” I have attached an article on the letter and the letter itself. The letter is always worth reading to get an insight into how Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger are thinking. Another example from this year’s letter: “The world is full of foolish gamblers, and they will not do as well as the patient investor.” (TKer) (Berkshire Hathaway)
An interesting piece on how Americans in their 30s have piled up credit card and student debt. I suspect the same is true in the UK too (Wall Street Journal)
BMW is developing a hydrogen car. The man leading the project for the German carmaker says: “I am convinced — I am not saying ‘I think’ or ‘I believe’ but that I am convinced — that hydrogen is the future.” (The Times)
France’s state bank Bpifrance invested €1.6 billion in start-ups last year. In total it provided an extraordinary €67 billion of funding for innovation, research and businesses in 2022. Emmanuel Macron is serious about challenging the UK to be Europe’s leading tech hub (Sifted)
A new way to evaluate decision-making and analytical skills in business, sport and beyond? Brock Purdy was the 262nd and final pick in the NFL draft last year. He had underwhelming physical traits - including arm strength and speed - and attracted little interest from teams. However, he went on to star for the San Francisco 49ers. This fascinating piece suggests that his success could have been predicted because he scored highly on an S2 Cognition test. This 45-minute exam tests your ability to process information at speed (The Athletic)
The new rugby league season started at the weekend. St Helens, a Merseyside town with a population of less than 200,000, have won the Super League four years in succession and are now club world champions too. This feature looks at the reasons for their success, including a small group of core players, many of whom came through the local academy (The Guardian)
Off to Lunch’s Sunday press review looked at the latest on Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland deal, Lord Sainsbury donating to Labour, a pay-row at BP, the reasons for shortages on supermarket shelves and Waitrose and Heston Blumenthal parting ways. More here
And finally…
A street-food recommendation for you. If you ever get the chance to try Jollof Mama’s Nigerian burritos then you must. They can normally be found at street food markets across London throughout the week but you can hire them for events or order meal kits online. They are on Instagram here and their website is here
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Best
Graham