Connect with us

Published

on

Environment secretary George Eustice has described a ban on exporting sausages and processed meats from Great Britain to Northern Ireland agreed as part of the Brexit process as “nonsensical”.

Under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol a ban will come into force if the UK and EU cannot agree new regulatory standards to cover the sale of processed meats before the end of a “grace period” on 1 July.

UK and EU officials will meet on Wednesday to discuss the protocol amid heightened political rhetoric between London and Brussels and increasing community tension in Northern Ireland.

Construction has been halted for border inspection facilities in Northern Ireland
Image:
The protocol is designed to govern post-Brexit trading with Northern Ireland

A spokesman for prime minister Boris Johnson echoed Mr Eustice’s comments, saying there was “no case whatsoever” for barring the sale of chilled meets in Northern Ireland and saying its attempts to resolve the impasse had met a stony response.

European Commision lead Maros Sefcovic had warned earlier that the EU will act “swiftly, firmly and resolutely” if the UK decides unilaterally to extend the grace period.

His comments, published in the Daily Telegraph, came after Brexit Minister Lord Frost, who negotiated the EU withdrawal agreement, admitted the government had underestimated the impact of the customs checks and regulations required by the Protocol.

For months before and after the Brexit deal was signed in December 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other members of the government including Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis denied there would be any customs checks.

More from Business

Mr Eustice told Sky News the EU was to blame for the impasse.

“What you have to bear in mind is that the Protocol always envisaged that both parties would show best endeavours to make the Northern Ireland Protocol work, and that included recognising that Northern Ireland was an integral part of the UK and that you should support the free flow of goods to Northern Ireland,” he said.

Rioters clash with police in the Sandy Row area of Belfast. Picture date: Friday April 2, 2021.
Image:
Northern Ireland has seen an increase in community tension

“What we really need the EU to do is to respect that part of the Protocol and put in place sensible measures to remove things like the nonsensical ban on selling sausages or chicken nuggets to Northern Ireland – not just requiring paperwork, but actually having an outright ban on some of those goods – that clearly doesn’t make sense.”

“We’re committed to making it work but we just need the European Union to engage in that process to iron out those issues.”

The protocol is intended to manage the technical, trading and political complexities of Northern Ireland’s unique position post-Brexit, and crucially to avoid a hard land border with Ireland.

While Northern Ireland has left the EU customs area along with the rest of the UK, it continues to abide by EU single market regulations covering all manner of goods, including food imports.

This effectively placed a customs border in the Irish Sea and means goods exported from Great Britain to Northern Ireland have to meet EU regulations and tariffs where applicable unless the two sides can agree alternatives.

Under EU rules governing food safety, to which the UK was party until 1 January, processed meats cannot be imported from outside the union.

Environment secretary, George Eustice, has said the government can't completely rule out having to delay the easing of lockdown.
Image:
George Eustice said the EU was to blame for the impasse

A Downing Street spokesman said: “There’s no case whatsoever for preventing chilled meat from being sold in Northern Ireland.

“We think an urgent solution needs to be found

“We have not heard any new proposals from the EU.

“We have sent more than 10 papers to the Commission proposing potential solutions on a wide range of issues and we’re yet to receive a single written response.”

The Federation of Small Businesses in Northern Ireland called on both sides to end the public posturing and work on practical solutions in order to protect jobs and livelihoods.

“This gets boiled down to a single issue like whether British sausages can be sold in Northern Ireland, but there are around 30 issues the negotiators need to deal with, everything from VAT on second-hand cars to pot plants and moving pets around,” said Tina McKenzie, chair of the FSB’s Northern Ireland policy unit.

“We knew there would be issues to work through as a result of Brexit but we are now more than six months on.

“The two sides need to stop talking to their own sides through newspaper articles and get on to the closed-door diplomacy to deliver practical solutions.”

Continue Reading

Business

Lloyds Banking Group in talks to buy digital wallet provider Curve

Published

on

By

Lloyds Banking Group in talks to buy digital wallet provider Curve

Britain’s biggest high street bank is in talks to buy Curve, the digital wallet provider, amid growing regulatory pressure on Apple to open its payment services to rivals.

Sky News has learnt that Lloyds Banking Group is in advanced discussions to acquire Curve for a price believed to be up to £120m.

City sources said this weekend that if the negotiations were successfully concluded, a deal could be announced by the end of September.

Curve was founded by Shachar Bialick, a former Israeli special forces soldier, in 2016.

Three years later, he told an interviewer: “In 10 years time we are going to be IPOed [listed on the public equity markets]… and hopefully worth around $50bn to $60bn.”

One insider said this weekend that Curve was being advised by KBW, part of the investment bank Stifel, on the discussions with Lloyds.

If a mooted price range of £100m-£120m turns out to be accurate, that would represent a lower valuation than the £133m Curve raised in its Series C funding round, which concluded in 2023.

More on Lloyds

That round included backing from Britannia, IDC Ventures, Cercano Management – the venture arm of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s estate – and Outward VC.

It was also reported to have raised more than £40m last year, while reducing employee numbers and suspending its US expansion.

In total, the company has raised more than £200m in equity since it was founded.

Curve has been positioned as a rival to Apple Pay in recent years, having initially launched as an app enabling consumers to combine their debit and credit cards in a single wallet.

One source close to the prospective deal said that Lloyds had identified Curve as a strategically attractive bid target as it pushes deeper into payments infrastructure under chief executive Charlie Nunn.

Lloyds is also said to believe that Curve would be a financially rational asset to own because of the fees Apple charges consumers to use its Apple Pay service.

In March, the Financial Conduct Authority and Payment Systems Regulator began working with the Competition and Markets Authority to examine the implications of the growth of digital wallets owned by Apple and Google.

Lloyds owns stakes in a number of fintechs, including the banking-as-a-service platform ThoughtMachine, but has set expanding its tech capabilities as a key strategic objective.

The group employs more than 70,000 people and operates more than 750 branches across Britain.

Curve is chaired by Lord Fink, the former Man Group chief executive who has become a prolific investor in British technology start-ups.

When he was appointed to the role in January, he said: “Working alongside Curve as an investor, I have had a ringside seat to the company’s unassailable and well-earned rise.

“Beginning as a card which combines all your cards into one, to the all-encompassing digital wallet it has evolved into, Curve offers a transformative financial management experience to its users.

“I am proud to have been part of the journey so far, and welcome the chance to support the company through its next, very significant period of growth.”

IDC Ventures, one of the investors in Curve’s Series C funding round, said at the time of its last major fundraising: “Thanks to their unique technology…they have the capability to intercept the transaction and supercharge the customer experience, with its Double Dip Rewards, [and] eliminating nasty hidden fees.

“And they do it seamlessly, without any need for the customer to change the cards they pay with.”

News of the talks between Lloyds and Curve comes days before Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is expected to outline plans to bolster Britain’s fintech sector by endorsing a concierge service to match start-ups with investors.

Lord Fink declined to comment when contacted by Sky News on Saturday morning, while Curve did not respond to an enquiry sent by email.

Lloyds also declined to comment, while Stifel KBW could not be reached for comment.

Continue Reading

Business

UK economy figures not as bad as they look despite GDP fall, analysts say

Published

on

By

UK economy figures not as bad as they look despite GDP fall, analysts say

The UK economy unexpectedly shrank in May, even after the worst of Donald Trump’s tariffs were paused, official figures showed.

A standard measure of economic growth, gross domestic product (GDP), contracted 0.1% in May, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Rather than a fall being anticipated, growth of 0.1% was forecast by economists polled by Reuters as big falls in production and construction were seen.

It followed a 0.3% contraction in April, when Mr Trump announced his country-specific tariffs and sparked a global trade war.

A 90-day pause on these import taxes, which has been extended, allowed more normality to resume.

This was borne out by other figures released by the ONS on Friday.

Exports to the United States rose £300m but “remained relatively low” following a “substantial decrease” in April, the data said.

More on Inflation

Overall, there was a “large rise in goods imports and a fall in goods exports”.

A ‘disappointing’ but mixed picture

It’s “disappointing” news, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said. She and the government as a whole have repeatedly said growing the economy was their number one priority.

“I am determined to kickstart economic growth and deliver on that promise”, she added.

But the picture was not all bad.

Growth recorded in March was revised upwards, further indicating that companies invested to prepare for tariffs. Rather than GDP of 0.2%, the ONS said on Friday the figure was actually 0.4%.

It showed businesses moved forward activity to be ready for the extra taxes. Businesses were hit with higher employer national insurance contributions in April.

Read more:
Trump plans to hit Canada with 35% tariff – warning of blanket hike for other countries
Woman and three teenagers arrested over M&S, Co-op and Harrods cyber attacks

The expansion in March means the economy still grew when the three months are looked at together.

While an interest rate cut in August had already been expected, investors upped their bets of a 0.25 percentage point fall in the Bank of England’s base interest rate.

Such a cut would bring down the rate to 4% and make borrowing cheaper.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Is Britain going bankrupt?

Analysts from economic research firm Pantheon Macro said the data was not as bad as it looked.

“The size of the manufacturing drop looks erratic to us and should partly unwind… There are signs that GDP growth can rebound in June”, said Pantheon’s chief UK economist, Rob Wood.

Why did the economy shrink?

The drops in manufacturing came mostly due to slowed car-making, less oil and gas extraction and the pharmaceutical industry.

The fall was not larger because the services industry – the largest part of the economy – expanded, with law firms and computer programmers having a good month.

It made up for a “very weak” month for retailers, the ONS said.

Continue Reading

Business

UK economy remains fragile – and there are risks and traps lurking around the corner

Published

on

By

UK economy remains fragile - and there are risks and traps lurking around the corner

Monthly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures are volatile and, on their own, don’t tell us much.

However, the picture emerging a year since the election of the Labour government is not hugely comforting.

This is a government that promised to turbocharge economic growth, the key to improving livelihoods and the public finances. Instead, the economy is mainly flatlining.

Output shrank in May by 0.1%. That followed a 0.3% drop in April.

Ministers were celebrating a few months ago as data showed the economy grew by 0.7% in the first quarter.

Hangover from artificial growth

However, the subsequent data has shown us that much of that growth was artificial, with businesses racing to get orders out of the door to beat the possible introduction of tariffs. Property transactions were also brought forward to beat stamp duty changes.

More from Money

Read more:
Trump to hit Canada with 35% tariff
Woman and three teens arrested over cyber attacks

In April, we experienced the hangover as orders and industrial output dropped. Services also struggled as demand for legal and conveyancing services dropped after the stamp duty changes.

Many of those distortions have now been smoothed out, but the manufacturing sector still struggled in May.

Signs of recovery

Manufacturing output fell by 1% in May, but more up-to-date data suggests the sector is recovering.

“We expect both cars and pharma output to improve as the UK-US trade deal comes into force and the volatility unwinds,” economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics said.

Meanwhile, the services sector eked out growth of 0.1%.

A 2.7% month-to-month fall in retail sales suppressed growth in the sector, but that should improve with hot weather likely to boost demand at restaurants and pubs.

Struggles ahead

It is unlikely, however, to massively shift the dial for the economy, the kind of shift the Labour government has promised and needs in order to give it some breathing room against its fiscal rules.

The economy remains fragile, and there are risks and traps lurking around the corner.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Is Britain going bankrupt?

Concerns that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is considering tax hikes could weigh on consumer confidence, at a time when businesses are already scaling back hiring because of national insurance tax hikes.

Inflation is also expected to climb in the second half of the year, further weighing on consumers and businesses.

Continue Reading

Trending