Tory peer Lord Tyrie in contention to put spark back into Ofgem

Published

2 years ago

May 13, 2023

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Lord Tyrie, the former chair of the competition watchdog and architect of many of Britain’s post-financial crisis banking reforms, is among the candidates vying to head Ofgem, the under-fire energy regulator.

Sky News has learnt that Lord Tyrie has put his name forward to replace Professor Martin Cave, who is due to step down as Ofgem’s chairman in October, at the end of his five-year term.

The Conservative peer’s interest in the role comes after he was also considered as a potential chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority and of the Court of the Bank of England – both of which went to other candidates.

Lord Tyrie stepped down as chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority in 2020 amid unhappiness about his leadership style among senior colleagues.

Nevertheless, he has been one of the most significant figures in parliament in the last 15 years, chairing a commission on banking standards responsible for introducing key changes to the way the industry is supervised.

The Ofgem chair recruitment process, which will ultimately be a decision for Grant Shapps, the energy security and net zero secretary, is still at a relatively early stage, with longlisted candidates yet to be formally interviewed.

If Lord Tyrie does progress to its latter stages, he would inevitably be regarded as a change agent capable of enforcing a radical shake-up at an organisation that is widely regarded to have underperformed during the energy crisis.

Sky News revealed earlier this year that the government was preparing to replace a slate of Ofgem’s directors in the coming months, with four new non-executives to be appointed as well as Professor Cave’s successor.

Ofgem and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero both declined to comment on the appointment process for the chair role, although a spokesperson for the energy regulator had previously said: “The chair will be appointed by the Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, who are overseeing the selection process.”

The watchdog has faced criticism over its handling of the recent scandal over energy companies’ use of prepayment meters.

Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem’s chief executive, has come under intense pressure, with the former prime minister Gordon Brown saying that he should consider resigning after thousands of vulnerable households were forced to install costlier prepayment meters.

Ofgem has since unveiled a series of measures to crack down on misconduct by energy suppliers.

Its new chairman will be paid up to £180,000-a-year for an average of about three days a week.

In recent months, Lord Tyrie has aligned himself with a new grouping of parliamentarians and private sector chiefs seeking to overhaul the UK’s approach to economic regulation.

The Regulatory Reform Group, which is chaired by Bim Afolami, a Tory MP, is examining whether watchdogs are acting as an impediment to investment.

In an article for The Times last month, Lord Tyrie and Mr Afolami wrote: “The regulators that shape the British public’s daily lives are far too often black boxes – inscrutable institutions offering little explanation of their decisions.

“It can sometimes be difficult to tell if a decision has been made in pursuit of a clear goal or if regulation is simply the unforeseen side-effect of a decision made elsewhere.

“Nor is it always clear if multiple regulators are communicating effectively in pursuit of shared goals.

“Businesses that fall under more than one regulatory remit often express frustration that those involved do not share information, duplicating work and causing confusion.”

This weekend, Lord Tyrie did not respond to a request for comment about his interest in the Ofgem job.

Business

Woman and three teenagers arrested over M&S, Co-op and Harrods cyber attacks

Published

4 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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Woman and three teenagers arrested over M&S, Co-op and Harrods cyber attacks

Four people have been arrested by police investigating cyber attacks targeting M&S, Co-op and Harrods.

A 20-year-old woman and two males, both aged 19, and a male aged 17, were detained in London and the West Midlands this morning as part of a National Crime Agency (NCA) operation.

They were arrested at their homes on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences, blackmail, money laundering and participating in the activities of an organised crime group.

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Electronic devices were seized from the suspects and are currently being analysed by forensic experts.

M&S halted online orders, and shelves were empty in shops after the cyber attack on the retailer earlier this year.

The initial hack into the retailer’s systems took place in April through “sophisticated impersonation” involving a third party.

Disruption is expected to continue at the retailer until the end of this month.

The Co-op and Harrods were also subsequently targeted by hackers.

Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s National cybercrime unit described the arrests as a “significant step” in their investigation, which remains “one of the Agency’s highest priorities”.

He added: “…our work continues, alongside partners in the UK and overseas, to ensure those responsible are identified and brought to justice.”

The National Crime Agency is keen to “signal” to “future victims” the “importance of seeking support and engaging with law enforcement”, stating that “the NCA and policing are here to help”.

The NCA has also thanked M&S, Co-op and Harrods for their support in their investigations.

The arrests, which took place early on Thursday morning, were supported by officers from the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit.

Earlier this week, the chairman of M&S told MPs that the hack had been “traumatic” and like an “out-of-body experience”.

Archie Norman, however, refused to be drawn on whether the retailer had paid any ransom.

“We are not discussing any of the details of our interaction with the threat actor, including this subject, but that subject is fully shared with the NCA,” he said.

It is estimated that the cyber attack will cost M&S up to £300m this year.

Days after M&S was attacked, the Co-op was targeted and forced to shut down some internal systems.

Harrods was then hacked, and also had to shut some systems despite its website and shops continuing to operate.

Of those arrested, a 17-year-old British male and a 19-year-old Latvian male were from the West Midlands.

A 19-year-old man was from London and a 20-year-old woman from Staffordshire.

Business

US-listed Ulta Beauty swoops on high street chain Space NK

Published

7 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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US-listed Ulta Beauty swoops on high street chain Space NK

A New York-listed company with a valuation of more than $21bn is to snap up Space NK, the British high street beauty chain.

Sky News has learnt that Ulta Beauty, which operates close to 1,500 stores, is on the verge of a deal to buy Space NK from existing owner Manzanita Capital.

Ulta Beauty is understood to have registered an acquisition vehicle at Companies House in recent weeks.

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The exact price being paid by Ulta was unclear on Thursday morning, although one source said it was likely to be well in excess of £300m.

Manzanita Capital, a private investment firm, engaged bankers at Raymond James to oversee an auction in April 2024.

The firm has owned Space NK for more than 20 years.

Manzanita has also owned the French perfume house Diptyque and Susanne Kaufmann, an Austrian luxury skincare brand.

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Founded in 1993 by Nicky Kinnaird, Space NK – which is named after her initials – trades from dozens of stores and employs more than 1,000 people.

It specialises in high-end skincare and cosmetics products.

Manzanita previously explored a sale of Space NK in 2018, hiring Goldman Sachs to handle a strategic review, but opted not to proceed with a deal.

None of Ulta, Manzanita, Space NK and Raymond James could be reached for comment.

Business

Royal Mail to scrap second-class post on Saturdays and some weekdays

Published

9 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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Royal Mail to scrap second-class post on Saturdays and some weekdays

Royal Mail is to be allowed to scrap Saturday second-class stamp deliveries, under a series of reforms proposed by the communications regulator.

From 28 July, Royal Mail will also be allowed to deliver second-class letters on alternate weekdays, Ofcom said.

The post will still be delivered within three working days of collection from Monday to Friday.

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The proposals had already been raised by Ofcom after a consultation was announced in 2024, and the scale back was proposed early this year.

Royal Mail had repeatedly failed to meet the so-called universal service obligation to deliver post within set periods of time.

Those delivery targets are now being revised downwards.

Rather than having to have 93% of first-class mail delivered the next day, 90% will be legally allowed.

The target for second-class mail deliveries will be lowered from 98.5% to arrive within three working days to 95%.

A review of stamp prices has also been announced by Ofcom amid concerns over affordability, with a consultation set to be launched next year.

It’s good news for Royal Mail and its new owner, the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Ofcom estimates the changes will bring savings of between £250m and £425m.

A welcome change?

Unsurprisingly, the company welcomed the announcement.

“It is good news for customers across the UK as it supports the delivery of a reliable, efficient and financially sustainable universal service,” said Martin Seidenberg, the group chief executive of Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services.

“It follows extensive consultation with thousands of people and businesses to ensure that the postal service better reflects their needs and the realities of how customers send and receive mail today.”

Citizens Advice, however, doubted whether services would improve as a result of the changes.

“Today, Ofcom missed a major opportunity to bring about meaningful change,” said Tom MacInnes, the director of policy at Citizens Advice.

“Pushing ahead with plans to slash services and relax delivery targets in the name of savings won’t automatically make letter deliveries more reliable or improve standards.”

Acknowledging long delays “where letters have taken weeks to arrive”, Ofcom said it set Royal Mail new enforceable targets so 99% of mail has to be delivered no more than two days late.

Changing habits

Less than a third of letters are sent now than 20 years ago, and it is forecast to fall to about a fifth of the letters previously sent.

According to Ofcom research, people want reliability and affordability more than speedy delivery.

Royal Mail has been loss-making in recent years as revenues fell.

In response to Ofcom’s changes, a government spokesperson said: “The public expects a well-run postal service, with letters arriving on time across the country without it costing the earth. With the way people use postal services having changed, it’s right the regulator has looked at this.

“We now need Royal Mail to work with unions and posties to deliver a service that people expect, and this includes maintaining the principle of one price to send a letter anywhere in the UK”.

Ofcom said it has told Royal Mail to hold regular meetings with consumer bodies and industry groups to hear their experiences implementing the changes.