Thursday newspaper round-up: Green power industry, Boots, M&S

Britain’s under-pressure green power industry has received a surprise fillip after a renewables developer pledged to plough £10bn into what would become the largest portfolio of battery storage projects in the country. NatPower, a UK startup that is part of a larger European energy group, is poised to submit planning applications for three “gigaparks”, with a further 10 to follow next year. – Guardian

Boots has ordered thousands of staff to return to the office five days a week as bosses prepare the retailer for a potential stock market float. Seb James, Boots’ UK managing director, sent letters to employees earlier this week informing them of the home-working crackdown, as he vowed to make the business “more effective”. Head office workers in London, Nottingham and Weybridge will be affected by the change, marking a reversal of Boots’ previous policy that encouraged staff to attend the office three days a week. – Telegraph

Middle-class earners will still be paying more tax despite Jeremy Hunt’s £10bn National Insurance (NI) cuts, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said. Anyone earning more than £60,000 faces a bigger tax bill this year because the Chancellor’s stealth income tax raid will cost them more than they will gain from reductions to other taxes on income. – Telegraph

Katie Bickerstaffe, the joint chief executive of Marks and Spencer, is set to leave the company later this year after only two years in the job. Her departure will leave the high street retailer under the sole leadership of Stuart Machin, who has been driving a turnaround of the struggling clothing and home business. – The Times

Carlyle, the giant US private equity firm, is to take control of Southend airport and plans to turn the Essex terminal and runway into a sixth airport for London. After a tetchy few months of negotiations and rows, Esken, the listed company which owns Southend, has finally thrown in the towel and Carlyle will now take 82.5 per cent control of the airport. – The Times