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A “shattering blow” has been dealt to farmers with the sudden pausing for new applications for environmental payments, according to the National Farmers’ Union.

The NFU says it was given just 30 minutes notice by the government that applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) were to close on Tuesday.

The post-Brexit scheme, launched in 2022, pays farmers and land managers to take up practices that improve productivity and protect the environment and climate.

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Protesters disrupted Defra Secretary Steve Reed’s speech at the NFU conference. Pic: PA

There were more than 100 options for farmers to choose from, including the management of hedgerows, organic farming development and providing habitat for wildlife.

The government says the budget for SFI has now been reached, adding that a “record” 50,000 farm businesses and more than half of all farmed land is now managed under the schemes.

Both Conservatives and Liberal Democrat politicians have criticised the move and the lack of any prior warning.

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But NFU president Tom Bradshaw said the decision showed “how little” the Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (Defra) understood the industry.

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Fourth farmers’ protest through London

‘Growing disregard for agriculture within Defra’

“This is another shattering blow to English farms, delivered yet again with no warning, no understanding of the industry and a complete lack of compassion or care,” Mr Bradshaw said.

“Today’s terrible news was delivered with only 30 minutes warning to us before ministers briefed the press, leaving us unable to inform our members.

“There has been no consultation, no communication; there has been a total lack of the ‘partnership and co-design’ Defra loves to talk about. It is another example of the growing disregard for agriculture within the department.”

The government has said “every penny” in all existing SFI agreements will be paid to farmers, and outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will also be taken forward.

It said details of a new SFI scheme will be announced following the Spending Review.

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The ‘cruellest betrayal so far’


Dan Whitehead

Dan Whitehead

West of England and Wales correspondent

@danwnews

It was only last week that thousands of farmers were protesting outside Downing Street at the inheritance tax policy that’s angered so many in agriculture.

But one group representing farmers said on Tuesday the SFI decision is the “cruellest betrayal so far”.

The scheme was introduced under the Conservatives post-Brexit, to encourage sustainable farming.

It took years to develop – and was seen as world leading in a way of ensuring farming was both productive for the sector and protective of the environment.

Although a new scheme after the spending review is promised, many farmers will be left wondering whether it’ll be as comprehensive.

The National Farmers’ Union was preparing on Wednesday to release a report saying that farming confidence in England and Wales is at its lowest level ever.

It’s described Tuesday’s news as a “bleak irony”.

In a statement, minister for food security and rural affairs Daniel Zeichner said: “This government is proud to have set the biggest budget for sustainable food produce in history, to boost growth in rural communities and all across the UK, under our plan for change.

“More farmers are now in schemes and more money is being spent through them than ever before. That is true today and will remain true tomorrow. 

“We have now successfully allocated the SFI24 budget as promised.”

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The government claims the last administration left the scheme uncapped – and they had to put a limit on to stop it running over budget.

‘Absolutely bonkers’

Olly Harrison, an arable farmer on Merseyside who organised the latest farming protest in London earlier this month, said the decision showed farmers were being “attacked from every single angle”.

“It’s just absolutely bonkers. The scheme worked. It was to replace what we had when we were in Europe [the EU] and a lot of farms embraced it, they were doing real good with it.”

“Why have we got people who don’t understand and don’t understand the environment in power?”

Edward Morello, the Liberal Democrat MP for West Dorset, told Sky News the decision will “alarm farmers across the UK” – and called for the government to “start listening and responding” to the agricultural community.

Tim Farron, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said the decision was made with “no warning”.

Conservative shadow farming minister Robbie Moore said the change was “absolutely scandalous”.

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New Look owners pick bankers to fashion sale process

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New Look owners pick bankers to fashion sale process

The owners of New Look, the high street fashion retailer, have picked bankers to oversee a strategic review which is expected to see the company change hands next year.

Sky News has learnt that Rothschild has been appointed in recent days to advise New Look and its shareholders on a potential exit.

The investment bank’s appointment follows a number of unsolicited approaches for the business from unidentified suitors.

New Look, which trades from almost 340 stores and employs about 10,000 people across the UK, is the country’s second-largest womenswear retailer in the 18-to-44 year-old age group.

It has been owned by its current shareholders – Alcentra and Brait – since October 2020.

In April, Sky News reported that the investors were injecting £30m of fresh equity into the business to aid its digital transformation.

Last year, the chain reported sales of £769m, with an improvement in gross margins and a statutory loss before tax of £21.7m – down from £88m the previous year.

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Like most high street retailers, it endured a torrid Covid-19 and engaged in a formal financial restructuring through a company voluntary arrangement.

In the autumn of 2023, it completed a £100m refinancing deal with Blazehill Capital and Wells Fargo.

A spokesperson for New Look declined to comment specifically on the appointment of Rothschild, but said: “Management are focused on running the business and executing the strategy for long-term growth.

“The company is performing well, with strong momentum driven by a successful summer trading period and notable online market share gains.”

Roughly 40% of New Look’s sales are now generated through digital channels, while recent data from the market intelligence firm Kantar showed it had moved into second place in the online 18-44 category, overtaking Shein and ASOS.

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Coca-Cola brews up sale of high street coffee giant Costa

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Coca-Cola brews up sale of high street coffee giant Costa

The Coca-Cola Company is brewing up a sale of Costa, Britain’s biggest high street coffee chain, more than six years after acquiring the business in a move aimed at helping it reduce its reliance on sugary soft drinks.

Sky News can exclusively reveal that Coca-Cola is working with bankers to hold exploratory talks about a sale of Costa.

Initial talks have already been held with a small number of potential bidders, including private equity firms, City sources said on Saturday.

Lazard, the investment bank, is understood to have been engaged by Coca-Cola to review options for the business and gauge interest from prospective buyers.

Indicative offers are said to be due in the early part of the autumn, although one source cautioned that Coca-Cola could yet decide not to proceed with a sale.

Costa trades from more than 2,000 stores in the UK, and well over 3,000 globally, according to the latest available figures.

It has been reported to have a global workforce numbering 35,000, although Coca-Cola did not respond to several attempts to establish the precise number of outlets currently in operation, or its employee numbers.

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This weekend, analysts said that a sale could crystallise a multibillion pound loss on the £3.9bn sum Coca-Cola agreed to pay to buy Costa from Whitbread, the London-listed owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain, in 2018.

One suggested that Costa might now command a price tag of just £2bn in a sale process.

The disposal proceeds would, in any case, not be material to the Atlanta-based company, which had a market capitalisation at Friday’s closing share price of $304.2bn (£224.9bn).

At the time of the acquisition, Coca-Cola’s chief executive, James Quincey, said: “Costa gives Coca-Cola new capabilities and expertise in coffee, and our system can create opportunities to grow the Costa brand worldwide.

“Hot beverages is one of the few segments of the total beverage landscape where Coca-Cola does not have a global brand.

“Costa gives us access to this market with a strong coffee platform.”

However, accounts filed at Companies House for Costa show that in 2023 – the last year for which standalone results are available – the coffee chain recorded revenues of £1.22bn.

While this represented a 9% increase on the previous year, it was below the £1.3bn recorded in 2018, the final year before Coca-Cola took control of the business.

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Coca-Cola has been grappling with the weak performance of Costa for some time, with Mr Quincey saying on an earnings call last month: “We’re in the mode of reflecting on what we’ve learned, thinking about how we might want to find new avenues to grow in the coffee category while continuing to run the Costa business successfully.”

“It’s still a lot of money we put down, and we wanted that money to work as hard as possible.”

Costa’s 2022 accounts referred to the financial pressures it faced from “the economic environment and inflationary pressures”, resulting in it launching “a restructuring programme to address the scale of overheads and invest for growth”.

Filings show that despite its lacklustre performance, Costa has paid more than £250m in dividends to its owner since the acquisition.

The deal was intended to provide Coca-Cola with a global platform in a growing area of the beverages market.

Costa trades in dozens of countries, including India, Japan, Mexico and Poland, and operates a network of thousands of coffee vending machines internationally under the Costa Express brand.

The chain was founded in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa.

It was sold to Whitbread for £19m in 1995, when it traded from fewer than 40 stores.

The business is now one of Britain’s biggest private sector employers, and has become a ubiquitous presence on high streets across the country.

Its main rivals include Starbucks, Caffe Nero and Pret a Manger – the last of which is being prepared for a stake sale and possible public market flotation.

It has also faced growing competition from more upmarket chains such as Gail’s, the bakeries group, which has also been exploring a sale.

Coca-Cola communications executives in the US and UK did not respond to a series of emails and calls from Sky News seeking comment on its plans for Costa.

A Lazard spokesperson declined to comment.

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TikTok puts hundreds of UK jobs at risk

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TikTok puts hundreds of UK jobs at risk

TikTok is putting hundreds of jobs at risk in the UK, as it turns to artificial intelligence to assess problematic content.

The video-sharing app said a global restructuring is taking place that means it is “concentrating operations in fewer locations”.

Layoffs are set to affect those working in its trust and safety departments, who focus on content moderation.

Unions have reacted angrily to the move – and claim “it will put TikTok’s millions of British users at risk”.

Figures from the tech giant, obtained by Sky News, suggest more than 85% of the videos removed for violating its community guidelines are now flagged by automated tools.

Meanwhile, it is claimed 99% of problematic content is proactively removed before being reported by users.

Executives also argue that AI systems can help reduce the amount of distressing content that moderation teams are exposed to – with the number of graphic videos viewed by staff falling 60% since this technology was implemented.

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It comes weeks after the Online Safety Act came into force, which means social networks can face huge fines if they fail to stop the spread of harmful material.

The Communication Workers Union has claimed the redundancy announcement “looks likely to be a significant reduction of the platform’s vital moderation teams”.

In a statement, it warned: “Alongside concerns ranging from workplace stress to a lack of clarity over questions such as pay scales and office attendance policy, workers have also raised concerns over the quality of AI in content moderation, believing such ‘alternatives’ to human work to be too vulnerable and ineffective to maintain TikTok user safety.”

John Chadfield, the union’s national officer for tech, said many of its members believe the AI alternatives being used are “hastily developed and immature”.

He also alleged that the layoffs come a week before staff were due to vote on union recognition.

“That TikTok management have announced these cuts just as the company’s workers are about to vote on having their union recognised stinks of union-busting and putting corporate greed over the safety of workers and the public,” he added.

Under the proposed plans, affected employees would see their roles reallocated elsewhere in Europe or handled by third-party providers, with a smaller number of trust and safety roles remaining on British soil.

The tech giant currently employs more than 2,500 people in the UK, and is due to open a new office in central London next year

A TikTok spokesperson said: “We are continuing a reorganisation that we started last year to strengthen our global operating model for Trust and Safety, which includes concentrating our operations in fewer locations globally to ensure that we maximize effectiveness and speed as we evolve this critical function for the company with the benefit of technological advancements.”

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