Connect with us

Published

on

The fresh delays to Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will “very likely” force the UK to burn more gas and import more energy than expected, analysts have told Sky News.

The already delayed project had been due to provide 7% of the UK’s electricity from 2027, until it was pushed back again last week by another 2-4 years.

The likely uptick in dirtier gas power would also add more greenhouse gases just as the UK is trying to slash them by 2030, the industry voices warned.

The UK government did not deny that gas and energy imports will likely increase, but insisted climate targets would not suffer as a result.

An energy department spokesperson said: “Hinkley Point C will serve Britain until well into the next century, making an important contribution to the UK’s net zero commitments.”

Professor Rob Gross, director of UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), said the delays to Hinkley made increasing gas burn in the meantime “almost inevitable”.

Wind or solar are unlikely to plug the gap because the UK is already “struggling to connect all the renewables schemes already in the pipeline for 2027/28″, he said.

More on Climate Change

Glenn Rickson, who analyses the UK power sector for S&P Global Commodity Insights, also said it is “almost inevitable” that UK gas generation “will be higher” than if Hinkley had fired up in 2027.

He added: “Albeit well below current levels, mostly due to increased wind generation in the meantime.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

UK’s electricity grid problem

Increased energy imports and emissions likely in short term

But the “the single biggest change may be an increased pull on power imports from the UK’s neighbours”, said Mr Rickson.

Prof Gross also said the UK “might import more power” by increasing the use of undersea electricity cables known as interconnectors.

The extra electricity imports might come from nuclear in France, wind in Denmark or hydro in Norway, but it could also mean more from gas generation too.

“Certainly the net impacts will be to lift overall fossil fuel generation, whether that’s in the UK or elsewhere in Europe,” said Mr Rickson.

With more fossil fuel generation comes more emissions of greenhouse gases, which governments are trying to cut in order to reign in climate change.

The prime minister Rishi Sunak in September watered down some climate measures on the basis the UK was on track to meet its target to cut emissions by 68% by 2030.

But the country is now missing an important part of that plan – Hinkley was due to provide 3.2GW of clean power from 2027.

That’s about 7% of the UK’s electricity, and enough to power six million homes.

“The most significant impact from a UK perspective will be higher greenhouse emissions,” said Robert Sansom, energy consultant for the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Tom Greatrex, chief executive of business group the Nuclear industry Association, said: “Without more nuclear and renewables, it’s inevitable that we’ll burn more gas.”

“Hinkley will produce clean, reliable power for around 80 years, stretching into the next century, and alongside other stations it will complement wind and solar with a baseload of power available whatever the weather.”

UK plans to ‘revive’ nuclear power

Once upon a time Hinkley was slated to produce power from 2017, but it has been plagued by setbacks and delays, as have two similar plants in Finland and France.

Operator EDF blames Hinkley’s woes on inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit and reportedly thousands of extra additional design changes required by the UK regulator.

The government last month set out plans to radically increase the UK’s nuclear capacity and simplify and accelerate the process.

Industry says future projects can be built faster and cheaper if projects are less spread out in time, and thanks to what is learned from building Hinkley.

The UK hasn’t built any new nuclear projects since Sizewell B was finished in 1995.

Eight of its 9 reactors are due to retire by 2028, and have already had their lives extended, meaning they are unlikely to plug the gap left by Hinkley either.

A spokesperson for the energy security and net zero department said: “We have the right energy mix to meet our net zero targets – investing in renewables, building the five largest operational offshore wind farms in the world, and supporting the revival of nuclear power.”

Continue Reading

Business

Hovis and Kingsmill-owners in talks about historic bread merger

Published

on

By

Hovis and Kingsmill-owners in talks about historic bread merger

The owners of Hovis and Kingsmill, two of Britain’s leading bread producers, are in talks about a historic merger amid a decades-long decline in the sale of supermarket loaves.

Sky News has learnt that Associated British Foods (ABF), the London-listed company which owns Kingsmill’s immediate parent, Allied Bakeries, and Hovis, which is owned by investment firm Endless, have been involved in prolonged discussions about a combination of the two businesses.

City sources said this weekend that the talks were ongoing, but that there was no certainty that a deal would be finalised.

Bankers are said to be working with both sides on the talks about a transaction.

A deal could be structured as an acquisition of Hovis by ABF, according to analysts, although details about the mechanics of a merger or the valuations attached to the two businesses were unclear this weekend.

ABF is also said to be exploring other options for the future of Allied Bakeries which do not include a deal with Hovis.

If completed, a merger would unite two of Britain’s best-known ambient food brands, with Allied Bakeries having been founded in 1935 by Willard Garfield Weston, part of the family which continues to control ABF.

More from Money

Hovis traces its history back even further, having been created in 1890 when Herbert Grime scooped a £25 prize for coming up with the name Hovis, which was derived from the Latin ‘Hominis Vis’ – meaning strength of man.

Persistent inflation, competition from speciality bread producers and shifting consumer habits towards lower-carb diets have combined to impair the bread industry’s financial health in recent decades.

The impact of the war in Ukraine on wheat and flour prices has been among the factors increasing inflationary pressures on bread producers, according to the most recent set of accounts for Hovis filed at Companies House last year.

The overall UK bakery market is said to be worth about £5bn in annual sales, with the equivalent of 11m loaves being sold each day.

The principal obstacle facing a merger of Allied Bakeries, which also owns the Sunblest and Allinson’s bread brands, and Hovis would reside in its consequences for competition in the UK market.

Warburtons, the family-owned business which is the largest bakery group in Britain, is estimated to have a 34% share of the branded wrapped sliced bread sector in the UK, with Hovis on 24% and Allied on 17%, according to industry insiders.

A merger of Hovis and Kingsmill would give the combined group a larger share of that segment of the market, although one source said Warburtons’ overall turnover would remain larger because of the breadth of its product range.

Nevertheless, reducing the number of major supermarket bread suppliers from three to two would be a test of the Competition and Markets Authority’s approach to such industry-reshaping mergers at a time when the watchdog is under intense government scrutiny.

Read more on Sky News:
Aston Martin in pay concern
Co-op ‘sorry’ over hacking
Mintago £6m funding boost

In January, the government removed the CMA chairman, Marcus Bokkerink, as part of a push to reorient Britain’s economic regulators around growth-focused objectives.

An industry insider suggested that a joint venture involving the distribution networks of Hovis and Kingsmill was a possible, although less likely, alternative to a full-blown merger of the companies.

They added that a combined group could benefit from up to £50m of cost savings from such a tie-up.

In its interim results announcement this week, ABF said the performance of Allied Bakeries had continued to struggle.

“Allied Bakeries continues to face a very challenging market,” it said.

“We are evaluating strategic options for Allied Bakeries against this backdrop and we expect to provide an update in [the second half of] 2025.”

In a separate presentation to analysts, ABF described the losses at Allied as unsustainable.

The company does not disclose details of Allied Bakeries’ financial performance.

Allied also owns Speedibake, an own-label bread manufacturer.

Hovis has been owned by Endless, a prominent investor in British businesses, since 2020, having previously been owned by Mr Kipling-maker Premier Foods and the Gores family.

At the time of the most recent takeover, High Wycombe-based Hovis employed about 2,700 people and operated eight bakery sites and its own flour mill.

Hovis’s current chief executive, Jon Jenkins, is a former boss of Allied Milling and Baking.

This weekend, ABF and Endless both declined to comment.

Continue Reading

Business

Struggling Aston Martin steers into fresh pay controversy

Published

on

By

Struggling Aston Martin steers into fresh pay controversy

Aston Martin is steering a path towards a twin-pronged pay row with shareholders as it grapples with the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on car manufacturers.

Sky News can reveal that the influential proxy voting adviser ISS is urging investors to vote against both of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings’ remuneration votes at next week’s annual general meeting.

The pay policy vote, which is binding on the company, has attracted opposition from ISS because it proposes significant increases to potential bonus awards to Adrian Hallmark, the company’s new chief executive.

“Concerns are raised regarding the increased bonus maximums, which are built upon competitively[1]positioned salary levels and do not appear appropriate given the company’s recent performance,” ISS said in a report to clients.

More from Money

Aston Martin is also facing a meaningful vote against its pay report for last year – which is on an advisory basis only – because of the salaries awarded to Mr Hallmark and other executive directors.

The company’s shares have nearly halved in the last year, and it now has a market value of little more than £660m.

Despite the ISS recommendation, Aston Martin will win the vote by virtue of chairman Lawrence Stroll’s 33% shareholding.

The luxury car manufacturer has had a torrid time as a public company and now faces the headwinds of President Trump’s tariffs blitz.

This week it said it would limit exports to the US to offset the impact of the policy.

Aston Martin did not respond to a request for comment ahead of next Wednesday’s AGM.

Continue Reading

Business

Financial wellbeing platform Mintago lands £6m funding boost

Published

on

By

Financial wellbeing platform Mintago lands £6m funding boost

A financial wellbeing platform which counts the alcohol-free beer producer Lucky Saint among its clients has landed a £6m funding injection from a syndicate of well-known investors.

Sky News understands that Mintago, which was founded in 2019, will announce in the coming days that Guinness Ventures has jointly led the Series A round alongside Seed X Liechtenstein and Social Impact Enterprises.

Mintago, which also counts car rental firm Avis and Northumbrian Police among its customers, aims to help employees save and manage their money more effectively.

More from Money

A number of the start-up’s current investors, Love Ventures and Truesight Ventures, are also understood to have reinvested as part of the fundraising.

MINTAGO
Image:
The company, which counts Lucky Saint and Avis among its users, has finalised a Series A funding round

The company was set up by Chieu Cao and Daniel Conti, and claims to offer more salary sacrifice schemes than any other UK provider.

It also provides independent financial advice, a service for finding lost pension pots, retail discounts and GP services.

“We realised that organisations are crying out for the same help we provide their staff,” Mr Conti said.

“The benefits of providing that support impact everyone.

“When a company improves their salary sacrifice benefits engagement, they can save thousands in National Insurance Contributions, but their employees save too, easing the strain on their finances.”

The new capital will be used to develop additional products using artificial intelligence, according to the company.

“Mintago is enabling its customers to become truly people-centric organisations by giving them the tools to support their employees’ financial wellbeing,” Mathias Jaeggi, a partner at Seed X Liechtenstein, said.

Continue Reading

Trending