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Boris Johnson is facing a backlash from MPs, mayors and a coordinated local newspaper campaign as he’s poised to scrap the eastern leg of the HS2 rail project between Birmingham and Leeds.

The prime minister is this week expected to confirm a watering-down of plans for both HS2 and a new Leeds to Manchester rail line.

Ahead of an anticipated scaling back of the projects, likely to be confirmed when the government’s “Integrated Rail Review” is announced on Thursday, Mr Johnson has been hit by anger from northern politicians.

Tracy Brabin, the Labour mayor of West Yorkshire, wrote to the prime minister to urge him to stick with delivering HS2’s eastern leg “in full”, as well as to build a new rail line from Leeds to Manchester.

Following reports that the Leeds-Manchester section of the £39bn Northern Powerhouse Rail project will be delivered through upgrades to existing track, rather than a new line via Bradford, Ms Brabin wrote: “The government has a choice to make.

“It can choose to unlock the potential of the North, or it can let us down once again, limiting your levelling up ambitions.”

South Yorkshire mayor Dan Jarvis said ministers were “either serious about levelling up or not” and warned that those he represents “will not be fooled by half-measures and spin”.

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Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake, who represents Thirsk and Malton in North Yorkshire, told the i newspaper that scaling back rail plans would show the government is “not willing to put our money where our mouth is”.

Labour’s Naz Shah, MP for Bradford West, said: “This is Boris pulling the whole damn rug from under our feet and ripping up the floor behind him.”

HS2
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The eastern leg of HS2, from Birmingham to Leeds, is set to be scrapped

Shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon accused ministers of attempting to “quietly back out” of infrastructure schemes that they had “committed to dozens of times”.

In his Conservative Party conference speech last month, Mr Johnson vowed: “We will do Northern Powerhouse Rail, we will link up the cities of the Midlands and the North.”

In February last year, on HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, Mr Johnson told MPs: “Both are needed, and both will be built – as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.”

As well as the backlash from politicians, a string of northern newspapers have published the same front page on Tuesday calling for the government to deliver on Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 in full.

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One of those newspapers, the Manchester Evening News, said on its website: “Today the North calls on government to finally put its money where its mouth is.

“With ministers poised to release their long-delayed plan for railway investment this week, we warn it is time to replace rhetoric with reality where the north of England is concerned.

“Enough’s enough. The prime minister has been prepared to use chronic central government neglect of northern England to his political advantage. It is time to keep his side of the bargain.

“Where rail investment is concerned, that does not mean a smattering of piecemeal upgrades dressed up as a transport revolution, ready for deployment on leaflets at the next election.

“It means new inter-city lines to and across the North, a move supported both by Northern leaders and the Conservative manifesto.”

The Manchester Evening News was joined in the campaign by five other newspapers; The Gazette in Teesside, The Journal and The Chronicle in Newcastle, the Huddersfield Examiner and the Hull Daily Mail.

At a Downing Street news conference on Monday, the prime minister advised people to “wait and see” the results of the Integrated Rail Review on Thursday.

But he said it would be “absolutely fantastic” for the North, the North East, the North West, and the Midlands.

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English cricket goes into bat with bulk of £520m Hundred windfall

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English cricket goes into bat with bulk of £520m Hundred windfall

English cricket’s governing body will on Wednesday hail a landmark moment for the sport when it announces that three-quarters of the deals to bring in new investors to The Hundred have been completed.

Sky News understands that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) plans to issue a statement confirming that it has received proceeds from the sale of stakes in Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Southern Brave and Welsh Fire.

The two other franchise deals – involving the Oval Invincibles and Nottinghamshire’s Trent Rockets – will be completed on October 1, the ECB is expected to say.

One insider said a statement was likely to be issued on Wednesday, although they cautioned that the timing could slip.

When all eight deals are concluded, they will generate a collective windfall of £520m for the sport’s strained coffers.

Last week, Sky News revealed that unresolved talks between India’s richest family and Surrey County Cricket Club – which hosts the Oval Invincibles Hundred team – were threatening to delay the delivery of a vast windfall for the sport.

One of the outstanding issues relates to the name under which the Oval Invincibles will play in future years, with the Ambani family keen to use a derivative of the Mumbai Indians brand that it also owns.

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This week’s announcement will come after months of talks after the ECB and the eight Hundred-playing counties agreed exclusivity periods with their preferred investors.

The backers include some of the world’s most prominent financiers, billionaires and technology executives.

Following protracted talks, the ECB has agreed to revised terms with the investors, with host venues now retaining control of their teams’ intellectual property rights.

The investors will also hold an effective veto over future expansion of the Hundred, while the ECB will be barred from launching any other short-form professional version of the sport while the Hundred remains operational.

Meanwhile, the governing body will retain full ownership of the competition itself as well as controlling the regulation of it and the window within which it can be played each year.

The ECB has been waiting for investors in the eight franchises to sign participation agreements since an auction in February, which valued the participating teams at just over £975m.

Some of the deals involve the investors owning 49% of their respective franchise, while India’s Sun TV Network has taken full ownership of Yorkshire’s Northern Superchargers.

The proceeds of its stake sales will be distributed to all of English cricket’s professional counties as well as £50m being delivered to the grassroots game.

The windfalls are being seen as a lifeline for many cash-strapped counties which have been struggling under significant debt piles for many years.

The most valuable Hundred sale saw a group of technology tycoons, including executives from Google and Microsoft, paying about £145m for a 49% stake in Lord’s-based London Spirit.

This year’s tournament kicks off next week with fixtures including a clash between the two London-based franchises.

The ECB declined to comment.

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Italian restaurant chain Gusto on brink of administration

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Italian restaurant chain Gusto on brink of administration

The intense financial pressure facing Britain’s casual dining sector will be underlined this week when Gusto, the Italian restaurant chain, falls into administration.

Sky News has learnt that Interpath Advisory is preparing a pre-pack insolvency of Gusto, which trades from 13 sites.

Sources said that a vehicle set up by Cherry Equity Partners, the owner of Latin American restaurant concept Cabana, was the likely buyer.

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It is expected to take over most of Gusto’s sites although some job losses are likely.

A deal could be announced in the coming days, according to insiders.

The collapse of Gusto, which is backed by private equity investor Palatine, follows a string of increasingly heated warnings from hospitality executives about the impact of tax rises on the sector.

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Kate Nicholls, who chairs UK Hospitality, said this month that the industry faced a jobs bloodbath amid growing financial pressure on operators.

This week, Sky News reported that the restaurant industry veteran David Page, a former boss of PizzaExpress, was raising £10m to take advantage of cut-price acquisition opportunities in casual dining.

Mr Page is planning to become executive chairman of London-listed Tasty, which owns Wildwood and dim t, and rename it Bow Street Group.

A placing of shares in the company is likely to be completed this week.

Interpath declined to comment on the Gusto process.

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Tide turns as TPG leads talks to lead digital bank fundraising

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Tide turns as TPG leads talks to lead digital bank fundraising

TPG, the American private equity giant, is in advanced talks to take a stake in Tide, the British-based digital banking services platform.

Sky News has learnt that TPG, which manages more than $250bn in assets, is discussing acquiring a significant shareholding in the company.

Sources said that Tide’s existing investors were expected to sell shares to TPG, while a separate deal would involve another existing shareholder in the company acquiring newly issued shares.

The two transactions may be conducted at different valuations, although both are likely to see the company valued at at least $1bn, the sources added.

The size of TPG’s prospective stake in Tide was unclear on Monday.

Earlier this year, Sky News reported that Tide had been negotiating the terms of an investment from Apis Partners, a prolific investor in the fintech sector, although it was unclear whether this would now proceed.

Tide has roughly 650,000 SME customers in both Britain and India, with the latter market expanding at a faster rate.

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Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street bank, has been advising Tide on its fundraising.

Tide was founded in 2015 by George Bevis and Errol Damelin, before launching two years later.

It describes itself as the leading business financial platform in the UK, offering business accounts and related banking services.

The company also provides its SME ‘members’ in the UK a set of connected administrative solutions from invoicing to accounting.

It now boasts a roughly 11% SME banking market share in Britain.

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Tide, which employs about 2,000 people, also launched in Germany last May.

The company’s investors include Apax Partners, Augmentum Fintech and LocalGlobe.

Chaired by the City grandee Sir Donald Brydon, Tide declined to comment on Monday.

TPG also declined to comment.

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