Yahoo Finance PRESS DIGEST- British Business - April 19
April 19 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The Times
Flybe Group Plc's finance chief Philip de Klerk resigned from the struggling British airline dealing it a fresh blow as it prepares to nosedive into the red. De Klerk will become the next chief financial officer at the performance materials manufacturer Low & Bonar Plc. http://bit.ly/2oJFWFF
Goldminer Asa Resource Group Plc has said that millions of dollars seem to have been transferred from its bank accounts without explanation, prompting the removal of its chief executive and finance director and halving the value of the shares. http://bit.ly/2peUqz4
The Guardian
Next Plc boss Lord Wolfson has missed out on his annual bonus for the first time in 18 years amid tough times on the British high street. Wolfson's total pay package dived by 58 percent to 1.8 million pounds ($2.31 million) in the year to 28 January, according to the fashion and homewares retailer’s annual report published on Tuesday. http://bit.ly/2oTaXaK
Philip Hammond has signalled that the government is facing a multibillion pound loss from selling off its 73 percent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland. The chancellor told MPs that "we have to live in the real world", as he indicated that the remaining shares could be sold below the 502 pence average price that was paid for them during 2008 and 2009 when 45 billion pounds of taxpayers' money was pumped into the Edinburgh-based bank. http://bit.ly/2oJKwSF
The Telegraph
The boss of German energy giant RWE has fuelled expectations that the company will target the UK energy market for future acquisitions. Rolf Martin Schmitz disclosed that the group is interested in owning power plants in countries where capacity margins are thin and the Government is willing to award contracts to secure power supplies. http://bit.ly/2pxQJ72
Volkswagen has significantly beaten expectations by reporting a first-quarter operating profit of 4.4 billion euros, as cost controls and the success of new models kicked in. http://bit.ly/2oJF4AM
Sky News
The world's most famous department store is to throw the towel in on efforts to build a sizeable presence in the UK banking market by hoisting a 'for sale' sign over the loss-making division. Harrods Group has been interviewing prospective advisers about handling a disposal of its banking unit. http://bit.ly/2olgEek
Anthony Browne is to quit as Britain's top bank lobbyist later this year as a new industry body begins to chart a course through the outcome of a snap General Election and the UK's exit from the European Union. http://bit.ly/2oJwNNw
Independent
The former owner of Jaeger, Harold Tillman, has accused bankers and private equity bosses of running the 133-year-old fashion chain into the ground. http://ind.pn/2pPYstE ($1 = 0.7786 pounds) (Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
