Monday newspaper round-up: Robots, corporation tax, pensions, private equity

Britain’s decision to leave the EU will force companies that rely on migrant labour to rethink their business models, if it leads to restrictions on low-skilled immigration. For some, robots may be the most likely replacement, according to a report by the Resolution Foundation think-tank. Almost one third of the workforce in food manufacturing are EU migrants. More than a fifth of domestic personnel are from the EU, and more than one in eight workers in sectors ranging from agriculture to warehousing and textiles manufacturing. – Financial Times

George Osborne is planning to slash corporation tax to less than 15 per cent in an effort to woo business deterred from investing in a post-Brexit Britain as part of his new five-point plan to galvanise the economy. While the chancellor did not backtrack on his warning that leaving the EU could push the country into recession, he told the Financial Times: “We must focus on the horizon and the journey ahead and make the most of the hand we’ve been dealt.” – Financial Times

The Pension Regulator should be given new powers to block company deals so that employees and pensioners are better protected in the wake of events such asthe collapse of BHS, the former chair of the Pension Protection Fund has said. Lady Judge, who stepped down last month, said the regulator was not equipped to deal with situations such as that at BHS, sold by Sir Philip Green to Dominic Chappell for £1 last year and now left with an estimated £571m pensions black hole. – Guardian

The weakness in the pound will absorb some of the shock of the Brexit vote as it weighs on domestic business spending in the next few months, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The business group said the boost to exporters, whose goods will become relatively cheaper after the decline in sterling, could provide politicians some breathing space to ensure long-term global trade links are maintained. – Telegraph

Britain’s private equity industry group has set out a post-Brexit plan including access to the single market and accepting freedom of movement, as data shows that funds have held off high-value deals in the lead-up to the referendum. British buy-out firms invested £6bn in the first half of the year, down from £9bn in the previous six months to December, as investors were less likely to strike mega-deals, according to Imperial College London’s Centre for Management Buy-Out Research. – Telegraph

Billions of pounds of European funding for UK clean energy projects including offshore wind farms as well as universities and other big infrastructure schemes have been jeopardised by Britain’s vote to quit the EU. Britain is a 16 per cent shareholder in the European Investment Bank (EIB), which in the past decade has lent more than £42 billion at super-cheap rates to wind farms, hospitals, railways, social housing and a string of other projects. – The Times

London Stock Exchange shareholders are expected to nod through a £20.3 billion merger with Deutsche Börse today. The deal between the exchanges may be modified in the wake of British voters’ decision last month to leave the European Union, but those close to the deal have insisted that the parties remain undeterred by the result of the referendum. – The Times