Wednesday newspaper round-up: Saudi expansion, o2, Heathrow, Amazon

The boss of Saudi Arabia’s state oil producer set out plans for expansion yesterday as he prepares for a potential $2 trillion flotation that will create the world’s largest quoted company. Saudi Aramco, which has a monopoly on the country’s vast oil reserves, is set to further boost output despite pleas for restraint from rival Opec members reeling from a supply glut that has lowered prices. - The Times

Liberty Global would consider a takeover of Telefónica’s O2 in the UK as a long-running deal to sell the business to Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison moves closer to being blocked by Brussels antitrust regulators. European commissioners met on Tuesday to discuss the £10.5bn takeover of O2 in the UK by CK Hutchison, which is then expected to be officially rejected in an announcement on Wednesday, leaving Telefónica looking for a new buyer for the business. - Financial Times

Heathrow has abandoned resistance to a longer ban on night flights in a bid to secure the government’s backing for its £18bn expansion plan, pledging to meet or exceed all of the conditions laid down by the independent airports inquiry last year. John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow’s chief executive, has also agreed to forgo any future attempt at further expansion with a fourth runway if that will secure permission to build a long-awaited third strip at Britain’s busiest airport. - Financial Times

The number of offices being built in London is at its highest level for 20 years, with 51 developments currently under construction, according to a new report. Deloitte Real Estate’s London Office Crane Survey, which is released every six months, found that construction was up more than 28pc between October 2015 and March 2016 compared to the previous six months. - The Telegraph

Hopes were rising that a white knight investor will save British Home Stores after five bidders submitted offers for the bulk of the failed retailer before the final deadline yesterday. Duff & Phelps, the administrator to BHS, which collapsed last month putting more than 10,000 jobs at risk, set a deadline of 5pm for offers, with Sports Direct; Yousuf Bhailok, a Preston-based property entrepreneur; Philip Day, the entrepreneur behind the Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Peacocks chains; and a mystery “European retail business” are all understood to be interested in buying BHS. - The Times

Amazon is poised to start selling fresh groceries including staples such as milk and bananas on the back of its tie-up with supermarket chain Morrisons. Amazon inadvertently made public its listings for Morrisons branded fresh food on Tuesday, including diced chicken breasts, smoked ham slices and ready meals. All had been removed by the end of the day. - The Guardian

Bosses at easyJet have failed to appease the outspoken founder of the no-frills airline despite acceding to his demands to raise its dividend. Rather than praising management’s decision to lift the airline’s pay-out ratio to 50pc of after-tax profits from 40pc, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, whose family owns a 33% stake, instead highlighted today what he believes is “the real issue” at easyJet: that fleet expansion will drag on its profits and dividends. - The Telegraph

Britain generated no electricity from coal on Tuesday morning for what is believed to be the first time since the 19th century, in a major milestone in the decline of the polluting power source. National Grid confirmed that none of Britain’s coal stations were running between midnight and 4am. - The Telegraph

Plans to expand London City airport to create more long-haul flights leapt forward yesterday after the new mayor reversed opposition to the proposals. Sadiq Khan overturned a ruling by Boris Johnson, his predecessor, that had resulted in City Hall opposing plans for more aircraft stands, a bigger taxiing lane and an expanded terminal. - The Times

Dyson could become the next Tesla motors as it develops a new electric car, according to a leading industry expert. Filed patents show the Dyson vehicle may use solid-state batteries, which would see the car’s range stretch to hundreds of miles and also be safer than current batteries. - The Guardian

The head of Britain’s consumer watchdog has been recruited to become Whitehall’s leading energy mandarin. Alex Chisholm will leave the Competition and Markets Authority, which he has run since its inception in October 2013, to become permanent secretary at the Department of Energy and Climate Change. - The Times