Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, construction, RPC, Vodafone

Fears are growing internationally that a no-deal Brexit poses a threat to the stability of the global economy, the head of Britain’s leading business body has warned. Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the CBI, said the failure to sort out Britain’s departure from the European Union was damaging Britain’s brand abroad and had joined a list of systemic risks to the world economy. - Guardian

Theresa May is preparing a last-gasp push to get her deal through the Commons if MPs vote to seize control of the Brexit timetable next week. The prime minister privately accepts that she is powerless to prevent legislation removing the immediate threat of a no-deal exit proposed by Yvette Cooper of Labour. - The Times

Airbus is assessing which investments to pull from the UK, with the aerospace giant's boss signalling the company has lost its patience the UK government’s failure to deliver a Brexit deal. In a video message chief executive Tom Enders revealed the pan-European company’s frustration at the lack of progress. - The Times

The Dutch government is in talks with more than 250 British-based companies to lure them to the Netherlands after Brexit. After Sony became the latest company to announce that it is to shift its European base to the Netherlands, the Dutch investment agency has revealed that it is in talks with a further 250 companies as a result of the “great uncertainty” in Britain. - The Times

The construction of new shops, offices and warehouses in Britain has come to a standstill for the first time in six years. A survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found almost no growth in commercial and industrial construction work in the final quarter of last year. - The Times

Michael Gove was accused of ditching legal commitments to stop overfishing in British waters after Brexit. Ministers are signed up to European Union rules, due to come into force in 2020, that would prevent fishing quotas being set at levels judged by scientists to be unsustainable. - The Times

Former Barclays’ bosses paid secret fees to Qatar at the height of the financial crisis so that they could avoid a taxpayer bailout and pocket “very large bonuses”, a jury has heard. Prosecutors from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said the four executives, including former boss John Varley, were “very anxious” to avoid a government bailout in 2008 and managed to avoid the “dire” consequences of one by raising billions of pounds in emergency fundraising with Qatar. - Telegraph

Plastics packaging company RPC Group has come under fire after agreeing to be bought for £3.3 billion. David Cumming, chief investment officer for Aviva, with 1.9 per cent of the stock, complained that the bid process had “not delivered fair value” to shareholders and that the valuation “clearly underestimates future growth prospects that will now accrue to the buyer and the RPC management team”. - The Times

O2 and Vodafone are exploring a multibillion-pound sale of their shared collection of mobile phone masts as part of preparations for the arrival of 5G technology. The rivals are joint owners of Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited (CTIL), which controls 16,500 sites nationwide. - Telegraph

An audacious attempt to save “at least half” of Patisserie Valerie’s shops is underway following the collapse of the bakery chain into administration. David Scott, a veteran restaurateur who sold his former business Druckers to Patisserie Valerie more than a decade ago, has lined up advisers and will make a bid for most of the remaining 122 outlets. - Telegraph.

The administrator of Patisserie Valerie is confident of selling the failed café chain, but Luke Johnson is said to be unlikely to buy it back. One institutional investor said yesterday that he was open to the prospect of joining a class action. - The Times

Drug companies will be paid millions for developing antibiotics to fight a superbug threat described as more dangerous than terrorism or climate change. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, will introduce a “subscription model” to encourage the creation of medicines to fight antibiotic-resistant infections. - The Times

The IT failures that have caused chaos in the courts date back years to Chris Grayling’s “nihilistic legacy” at the Ministry of Justice, lawyers have said. Thousands of cases have been disrupted, with trials adjourned and delayed, after the main computer system in England and Wales went down at hundreds of courts. - The Times

Sadiq Khan is to make a campaign for wide-ranging rent control the key plank of his 2020 re-election bid, asking the government to give the London mayoralty the power to combat soaring rents in the capital. The mayor of London is to work out a blueprint for an overhaul of the laws for private renters to allow new restrictions on rent to be imposed – a change he could not make without legislation by central government. - Guardian

Wisconsin-based manufacturer Techniplas has unveiled plans to float on the London Stock Exchange, in a show of confidence in the UK even as experts warn of difficult times ahead for London stocks. Techniplas said it was planning to join the junior AIM market later this year. It is seeking to raise $50-60million on an enterprise value of $280-360million. - Telegraph

Technology being trialled by air traffic controllers at Heathrow could mean the third runway is built without a new control tower, the airport said. A £2.5m “digital tower laboratory”, which uses a suite of ultra high definition cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor aircraft, has been built in the base of Heathrow’s existing tower. - Guardian