Wednesday newspaper round-up: Private rents, M&S, Hipgnosis

Average private rents in Great Britain have climbed to record highs, prompting a call for the next government to prioritise measures to help create an extra 120,000 rental properties. Data shows that the typical advertised rent outside London reached a record £1,316 a calendar month in May, the property website Rightmove said. The figure for London was £2,652 a month – almost three times the £894 asked for in north-east England. – Guardian

Much has changed in Belfast since the 1930s. Yet through the second world war, decades of Troubles and the steep decline of heavy industry, the Short Brothers factory has continued to make planes and parts. Yet now a takeover by US planemaker Boeing of the factory’s owner, Spirit AeroSystems, has raised questions over its future. Workers and politicians fear a new ownership structure could lead to steep job cuts at one of Northern Ireland’s main manufacturers, which has about 3,500 employees. – Guardian

Dozens of airports across Europe are unprepared for new post-Brexit fingerprinting rules scheduled to be introduced in months, threatening chaos for British tourists unless the timeline is delayed. Senior industry figures have expressed alarm that many smaller airports across the EU have so far failed to install fingerprint technology that is set to be activated in October. Under the so-called European Entry/Exit System (EES), all British nationals travelling to the EU will have to have their biometric data taken upon crossing the border for the first time. – Telegraph

Marks & Spencer has faced shareholder questions over paying an annual dividend of only 3p, despite handing millions of pounds in bonuses to its bosses. At the retailers’ annual meeting on Tuesday, several investors told the board they were “really disappointed with the really low dividend payment” that it awarded — its first for four years — after delivering forecast-busting profits. Archie Norman, its chairman, said the dividend should have hopefully “put a nice little bit of a chink in people’s pockets”, but admitted that it was a modest return. – The Times

The founder of Hipgnosis Songs Fund is to step down as chairman of its investment adviser as part of the $1.58 billion takeover of the London-listed music rights investment company by Blackstone. Merck Mercuriadis, 60, will depart Hipgnosis Song Management, the investment adviser, once Blackstone’s $1.31-per-share acquisition closes, bringing to an end an acrimonious period. – The Times