Harrods owners bank £180m dividend despite dip in profits

Harrods owners bank £180m dividend despite dip in profits

The Qatari owners of Harrods have banked another £180 million dividend, despite a 17 per cent decline in operating profits at the world’s most famous department store. The luxury retailer is owned by Harrods Ltd, a company in turn owned by the state of Qatar via its Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund. The multimillion-pound…

SSE pleads for certainty on Coire Glas hydroelectric scheme

SSE pleads for certainty on Coire Glas hydroelectric scheme

SSE is spending £100 million to move forward with a hydroelectric storage scheme in the Highlands. That will include tunnelling into a hillside at the site of the Coire Glas project, at Loch Lochy in the Great Glen, to assess the geological conditions. The technology works with two reservoirs at different heights. During periods of…

Electric cars must make up fifth of sales next year, manufacturers told

Electric cars must make up fifth of sales next year, manufacturers told

Car makers will be forced to meet strict mandates on the sale of electric cars under plans announced by ministers. From next year motor manufacturers must ensure that 22 per cent of their sales are electric vehicles (EV), a target industry experts believe will be hard to achieve. The mandate will rise to 28 per…

Putting right the wrongs of the forced fitting scandal

Putting right the wrongs of the forced fitting scandal

This newspaper published details of an undercover investigation this year into the forced fitting of prepayment meters by contractors working for British Gas. It found evidence of actions and behaviour that are simply unacceptable and showed a lack of respect for our customers. I immediately apologised and ordered a thorough investigation, overseen by Promontory Financial…

Labour’s affordable housing plan ‘needs to be more flexible’

Labour’s affordable housing plan ‘needs to be more flexible’

Labour’s plan to make developers build affordable housing on at least 50 per cent of “grey belt” land renders 80 per cent of small development sites unworkable, research from the tech firm Viability has found. Lowering the government’s proposed “golden rule” requirement from 50 per cent to 35 per cent would make more sites feasible…

State pension scheme Nest won’t back nuclear plans

State pension scheme Nest won’t back nuclear plans

The government’s own workplace pension scheme has ruled out investing in nuclear projects such as Sizewell C, dealing a blow to ministers’ hopes of getting new plants off the ground. The National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) said it would not revise its policy on nuclear infrastructure investments despite an overhaul of energy policy last year….