Friday newspaper round-up: Tax cuts, Endeavour Mining, Google
Jeremy Hunt has dangled the prospect of big tax cuts in his March budget, in what is seen as one of the last opportunities for the Conservatives to claw back Labour’s huge opinion poll lead. In his first public comments on his budget strategy, the chancellor made clear that only unexpected bad news would prevent him from answering the call from Tory MPs for a substantial giveaway before an expected autumn general election. – Guardian
The gold producer Endeavour Mining is to clawback more than $29m in pay and awards after firing its chief executive this month for alleged “serious misconduct” over allegations of a multimillion-dollar “irregular payment”. London-headquartered Endeavour said on Thursday that Sébastien de Montessus, who had led the FTSE 100 company since 2016, would be forced to forfeit $29.1m (£22.9m) in remuneration. – Guardian
A Norfolk couple have won a battle with one of the world’s richest men over the name of their home and gardening business. A tribunal ruled in favour of Victoria and Lawrence Osborne, L V Bespoke, this week after the French luxury goods giant LVMH launched a trademark dispute against the couple. LVMH, whose brands include Louis Vuitton and Dior, is owned by Bernard Arnault who vies with Elon Musk for title of the world’s richest man. – Telegraph
Google has announced a billion-dollar investment in a UK data centre in a move hailed by the government as a “huge vote of confidence in Britain”. The data centre, which will be built on a 33-acre site in Hertfordshire, will power Google’s cloud and AI services for British customers and will be the company’s third big site around the capital, after King’s Cross and Central Saint Giles in London. – The Times
Recycling Lives processes end-of-life vehicles for scrap metal, as well as electronic waste for customers such as BT, British Gas and Sharp. The company, which was owned by Three Hills Capital Partners, a private equity firm, appointed EY as administrator to its metals business, which employs more than 300 people, with most of those transferring on Thursday to a new, undisclosed owner via a pre-pack administration. – The Times