Sunday newspaper round-up: Budget, Brexit, banks, Debenhams, FirstGroup

The chancellor will cut business rates bills by a third for almost half a million small high street shops in a £1.5bn spending pledge to fight the threat posed by Amazon and other online retailers. In next week’s budget, Philip Hammond will order £900m of immediate business rates relief for small retailers in an effort to combat shuttered shops on the high street, where small businesses have been threatened by high rates and the rapid rise of online shopping. - Observer

Philip Hammond has said the government will have to abandon the economic plans he will lay out in Monday’s budget, supposedly marking the end of austerity, in the event of a no-deal Brexit. In a television interview, the chancellor said the proposals being announced on Monday afternoon were based on the assumption that there would be a Brexit deal and that, if that turns out to be wrong, there would have to be a new, emergency budget. - Observer

Five of America's biggest technology firms are depriving the Treasury of more than £1 billion a year by vastly understating how much money they make in the UK, an explosive new report claims. Researchers at think tank Tax Watch, which launches today, have estimated that Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft and IT giant Cisco generated profits of more than £6.6 billion in 2017 from customers based in the UK. - Mail on Sunday

Dozens of local councils have urged the chancellor not to delay planned cuts to the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals. Philip Hammond is due to reveal when the cut will be implemented when he presents his budget on Monday, days after the Guardian revealed that a draft version of the document envisages no change until October 2019. - Observer

At least five cabinet ministers have privately warned Theresa May in the past week not to sign up to a Brexit plan they fear will leave Britain in perpetual “colony” status with the EU. Dominic Raab, Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid, Michael Gove and Geoffrey Cox, the new attorney-general, have all told May that she risks making the government collapse if she signs up to a customs union with Brussels unless there is a break clause that allows the UK to leave at a time of its choosing. - Sunday Times

A no-deal Brexit could mean cancelled operations, delays in diagnoses and long-term pressure on staffing numbers, private letters and briefing notes have revealed. The set of 30 documents released under freedom of information requests provide a detailed portrait of contingency planning for Brexit in NHS Scotland and Wales. - Observer

Turmoil in emerging markets poses a serious risk to Britain’s financial system, the chief executive of the City watchdog has warned. Andrew Bailey, head of the Financial Conduct Authority, said the potential for a meltdown in heavily indebted emerging economies as the post-crisis era of low interest rates draws to a close was top of a list of external threats to the UK. - Sunday Times

Banks would face a £4 billion profits slump over the next two years under a no-deal Brexit, analysis reveals. Researchers at Wall Street giant JP Morgan forecast that UK banks will have to pay significant sums to deal with bad debts if the UK leaves the EU without a deal next March. - Mail on Sunday

FirstGroup, the South Western Railway operator, is facing demands to ­fast-track the break-up of its global transport empire. Leading investors have called on Wolfhart Hauser, the executive chairman, to take action. FirstGroup has been without a chief executive for nearly six months. After rebuffing two approaches from private equity giant Apollo earlier this year, boss Tim O’Toole quit after announcing full-year losses of £327m. - Sunday Telegraph

Dozens of concessions belonging to Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia fashion ­empire are at risk after Debenhams unveiled plans to shutter almost one third of its stores, adding to growing turbulence around the embattled tycoon. The Sunday Telegraph understands that Arcadia has around 350 concessions in Debenhams stores operating under its Wallis, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Topshop brands, with estimated combined annual sales of as much as £100m.

A veteran restaurateur has declared an intention to make a takeover bid for Patisserie Valerie, the troubled cafe chain whose shares have been suspended since a £40m hole was found in its accounts. David Scott, who used to run Druckers Vienna Patisserie, a Birmingham-based group of cafes sold to Patisserie Valerie in 2007, said he had backing from a family-run private equity firm. - Sunday Times

Patisserie Valerie will face demands for “wholesale” boardroom changes and questions over “collusion” between executives at a crunch shareholder meeting on Friday. Shareholders are due to vote on a fundraising package needed to rescue the business, after a £40m black hole was uncovered in its accounts. A conditional placing of 20 million shares requires the approval of 75pc of investors. - Sunday Telegraph

Ryanair will come under increased pressure this week to bring in fresh leadership, as investors call for its chairman, David Bonderman, to stand down after more than 20 years. As well as calling for Bonderman to be replaced, the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has told the Irish airline to start planning for a successor to Michael O’Leary, who has been chief executive since 1994. - Observer

Landlords have cast doubt on the feasibility of Debenhams’ accelerated store-closure plan as the struggling chain pleads for more flexibility from property owners. The majority of the 50 stores Debenhams wants to close over the next 3-5 years are poor performers in less-affluent locations, many of which are owned by private landlords rather than institutions. - Sunday Times

The boss of one of the largest steel producers has called for Chinese and international steelmakers to cut production and boost prices. Guido Kerkhoff, head of German steel giant Thyssenkrupp, said that despite production curbs, there was “still overcapacity worldwide” and that it needed to be cut further. - Sunday Times

The ex-boss of Stobart Group has accused it of avoiding a shareholder vote on a possible £18m bonus for his successor by setting it up in a way that meant it did not have to be disclosed. Andrew Tinkler says the pay committee at the owner of Southend airport behaved “contrary to the spirit of the rules” by finalising the pay scheme shortly before Warwick Brady became a director. - Sunday Times

The dismal stock market float of Funding Circle descended into farce last night as it emerged staff offloaded shares at the earliest opportunity. The peer-to-peer lender, which connects small businesses in need of loans with thousands of investors, suffered one of the worst debuts in the London Stock Exchange's history when it floated earlier this month with a £1.5 billion valuation. - Mail on Sunday

Embattled WPP boss Mark Read came under renewed pressure last night as it emerged that his firm is at the centre of a controversial Saudi Arabian conference. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that last week's Future Investment Initiative, known as 'Davos in the Desert', was organised by a company half-owned by WPP.

Pret A Manger has been hit with a bill of almost $1m (£780,000) to settle claims that it underpaid staff in its New York sandwich bars. The fast-food chain had been accused in a class action lawsuit of violating US labour laws by failing to pay staff for all the hours they worked, according to court documents filed this month. - Sunday Times

Facebook investors are braced for the social network to report a second consecutive decline in European users as it shows more evidence of saturation in its most profitable markets, despite worldwide growth. Analysts at Deutsche Bank predict the effect of new data protection laws and a September cyber-attack that forced it to log millions of people out of their accounts will hit user numbers in Europe, Facebook’s most lucrative area outside North America. - Sunday Telegraph

Staff at stockbroker AJ Bell will share a £2m windfall when the “DIY” investment giant goes public later this year, The Telegraph has learnt. Founder Andy Bell, who is targeting a £500m stock market listing in the coming months, has told his 750-person workforce that they will each ­receive a free share award worth £750 after the fund shop floats. - Sunday Telegraph

Struggling energy companies have failed to pass on renewable energy subsidies, paid for by their customers, and have only days to go until their stay of execution ends. By this Wednesday, more than 30 of the market’s smallest suppliers must fork out £100m they owe to renewable energy generators after a month-long reprieve from the regulator. - Sunday Telegraph

British airline passengers are wasting up to £175m each year on unnecessary allocated seating fees, new research has found. Almost half (45%) of people who pay to sit with their companions would be seated together anyway, according to an investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority. - Observer

A prominent City broker has invested in a foreign exchange start-up and is set to join its advisory board. Oliver Hemsley, who founded stockbroker Numis Securities in 1989 and built it into one of the City’s biggest listed firms before his departure two years ago, has ploughed cash into Argentex. - Sunday Times

Pimlico Plumbers recorded record sales over the summer in spite of it being one of the hottest in recent memory. The extended heatwave failed to dampen business at the London-based services company and revenues were up 26 per cent on last year's summer to £10 million, making it the busiest in its 39-year history. - Mail on Sunday

The Japanese owner of Kwik Fit is investing in a British car-sharing start-up. Itochu, a mining-to-textiles conglomerate that also owns the tyre distributor Stapletons, has put money into Hiyacar. - Sunday Times

The company at the centre of the NHS “body parts” scandal is planning legal action against the government – if it can stay afloat in the meantime. Healthcare Environmental Services was stripped of 15 NHS contracts this month after the Environment Agency (EA) suspended permits at two sites because it had inadvertently stockpiled dozens of tons of hazardous waste and now faces a criminal investigation.- Sunday Telegraph

Media giant Disney has sprinkled cinematic cheer ahead of the Budget tomorrow with news it spent more than £85 million in Britain filming festive fairytale The Nutcracker And The Four Realms. The movie, which has its premiere on Friday, is a surreal take on the 19th Century book that inspired Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet. - Mail on Sunday

A host of celebrities face huge tax bills after the company behind a controversial avoidance scheme shut down. Film stars Jude Law and Sienna Miller are among hundreds of celebrities and sports stars who invested in Future Capital Partners, which has gone into liquidation after an HRMC crackdown. - Mail on Sunday

Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand Goop has been reported to British regulators over 113 alleged breaches of UK advertising law. Good Thinking Society, a charity that promotes scientific thinking, has accused the Oscar-winning actress of presiding over a company that issues “potentially dangerous” advice related to “unproven” health products. - Sunday Times