Sunday press review
Nelson Peltz + Sheryl Sandberg + Paddington Bear and the Queen
Morning everyone, hope you are enjoying the Jubilee weekend. Here is a quick run-through of what I think is interesting in the newspapers today and the stories that are likely to be followed up in the days ahead. Thanks for all the feedback I got after doing this for the first time last week. Please let me know if you have any thoughts on the format or tweaks that you would like….
Good get by The Sunday Times, which has spoken to activist investor Nelson Peltz, who this week got a seat on the board of Unilever after revealing a 1.5 per cent stake in the consumer goods giant. The main newsline in the interview is his hint that Trian, his investment fund, will push to cut costs in Unilever’s head office. “Huge amounts of people in corporate is an L,” he says. There is also some colour on how he stays at Claridge’s when in London and that his new son-in-law Brooklyn Beckham (who has just married his daughter Nicola) needs to watch out because his daughter was tough when she played hockey. The full piece is here.
Danny Fortson at The Sunday Times has done the best piece I have read so far on Sheryl Sandberg’s departure from Facebook. This long-read includes the lowdown on Mark Zuckerberg’s desire to reshape Facebook’s management structure (which may have led to tension with Sandberg) but also a look at what Sandberg may do next – chief executive of Twitter under Elon Musk? Politics and a run at being a senator in California? You can read the piece here.
Regular Off to Lunch readers will know I am a fan of Julian Richer’s column in The Sunday Times. It is rare to find a business leader who can 1) generate ideas for a column every week 2) write with such honesty and clarity and 3) deliver useful nuggets of advice and information for a wide range of people. It helps that Richer is so passionate about business and is by all accounts a very decent man (I would certainly say that about my dealings with him). This week he writes about the financial benefits of treating staff well (less spent on recruitment, training etc…) and makes the point that there are not many business leaders out there making this case and corroborating the advice of business self-help books because they don’t have the time to write their own book. The column is here.
The online used-car dealer Carzam has collapsed, The Sunday Times also reports. This is a sector that now looks under growing pressure after a rapid rise that saw brands such as Cazoo and Cinch advertise everywhere. Story here.
The Sunday Telegraph business section leads on a story that Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, is looking at ways to help steelmakers and other manufacturers which are facing a sharp rise in their energy bills. Consumers have already been offered support by the government and this is a sign that businesses may also get some. Story here.
A consequence of the government threatening windfall taxes on businesses is that investors rethink their plans. Hence, just a week after the prime minister threatened to “name and shame” petrol station operations which didn’t pass on the cut in fuel duty to motorists, the £5 billion auction of forecourt operator Motor Fuel Group is now in doubt with potential buyers rethinking their plans. Sunday Telegraph story is here.
Shai Weiss, the boss of Virgin Atlantic, has revealed in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph’s Oliver Gill that he has colon cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. Best wishes to Weiss, who says that the cancer has been caught in time and hasn’t spread to other major organs. It’s a great interview that covers working with cancer and why Virgin Atlantic has avoided the chaos that has beset other airlines. The piece isn’t online yet, so it’s a good reason to go out and buy a newspaper today…
Fish and chip shops are worried about the rising cost of cod and haddock, according to The Mail on Sunday, and want help from Norway. Story here.
Alex Brummer, the Daily Mail’s City editor and columnist, has taken a look at the finances behind the Royal Family, including their exemption from inheritance tax. Mail on Sunday feature here.
For Ted Lasso fans looking forward to the new season, Brett Goldstein, aka Roy Kent, has spoken to The Sunday Times…
One last thing to finish. Who doesn’t want to see the Queen and Paddington Bear having tea again? If you haven’t seen it already, what have you been doing?! The video is below…
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Graham