Sunday newspaper round-up: Flybmi, fracking, Primark, Brexit, Just Eat, Amey
Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who was knighted less than a year ago for his services to business and investment, has been planning to avoid up to £4bn in tax after switching his home and his fortune to Monaco. The Sunday Times reported that the prominent Brexiteer, who built up the chemicals giant Ineos, has been working with the accountant PwC on a tax avoidance plan. - The Sunday Times
Thousands of passengers were left stranded with their flights cancelled after British regional airline Flybmi went into administration on Saturday night. The East Midlands-based carrier, which operated 17 jet aircraft on routes to 25 European cities, cancelled all flights with immediate effect. - Sunday Telegraph
The UK’s nascent fracking firms are headed for a crunch moment that will determine whether the industry has a future, according to observers and insiders. The past fortnight has seen a concerted lobbying drive by two of the leading shale companies calling for the government to review rules on earthquakes caused by their operations. - Observer
Brokers at Jefferies said Primark could increase profits in the six months to March by as much as 25 per cent to £425 million. It said the chain could also have been lifted by better weather and solid performances in the US, Italy, France and Poland. - Mail on Sunday
Theresa May made a desperate appeal for unity this weekend as a leader of the party’s hardline Eurosceptic wing warned that continuing with her Brexit deal risked splitting the Conservative Party. The prime minister wrote to all 317 Tory MPs yesterday urging them to back her deal by sacrificing “personal preferences” to unite in the “higher service of the national interest”. - The Sunday Times
The future of celebrity casual dining favourite The Breakfast Club remains in doubt despite a stay of execution on a multimillion-pound loan. The company is in a race against time to restructure its debts against the backdrop of an uncertain outlook for the casual dining sector. - Sunday Telegraph
Campaigners against Theresa May’s “my deal or no deal” Brexit strategy are planning to mobilise the public and politicians for a showdown over the UK’s future in Europe in the final six days before Britain is due to leave the EU, the Observer reported. The plans will involve a huge march in London on Saturday, 23 March, aimed at demonstrating the scale of public anxiety about the two Brexit options May is offering, which will conclude with speeches outside the Palace of Westminster. - Observer
Takeaway delivery firm Just Eat faces mounting pressure to merge with a rival after a second investor broke ranks to call for a shake-up. Last week activist investor Cat Rock Capital, which holds 2% of Just Eat, wrote an open letter to the firm's board demanding a major overhaul. - Mail on Sunday
Troubled outsourcer Amey is preparing to pay more than £200m to free itself from a botched 25-year PFI contract to repair Birmingham’s roads. Terminating the deal would allow the Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial to sell Amey, one of the government’s biggest suppliers, which has been dragged down by a string of problematic deals. - The Sunday Times
Former Labour vice chairman Michael Dugher has said he is intending to leave the party, saying he now regards it as "institutionally anti-Semitic". Mr Dugher, who was elected as MP for Barnsley East in 2010 and left Parliament in May 2017, claimed the party he joined nearly three decades ago "no longer exists". - Sunday Telegraph
Dramatic rises in atmospheric methane are threatening to derail plans to hold global temperature rises to 2C, scientists have warned. In a paper published this month by the American Geophysical Union, researchers say sharp rises in levels of methane - which is a powerful greenhouse gas - have strengthened over the past four years. - Observer
Up to six people face arrest over the Patisserie Valerie scandal, it can be revealed. Their names are highlighted in a report by the accountant PwC into the alleged fraud at the cake shop chain. They are said to have signed fraudulent cheques and sent emails discussing fabricating invoices. - The Sunday Times
Britain and its European allies are running out of time to take back their jihadists captured in Syria to prevent a surge in terror attacks on home soil, Donald Trump and senior US officials have warned. With Isil's caliphate on the brink of collapse Trump administration officials have told The Sunday Telegraph they fear some of the 800 detained soldiers will wreak havoc unless European governments put them on trial. - Sunday Telegraph
Ryanair passengers will now have 48 hours to make changes to bookings for free after the airline announced a series of “customer care improvements”. Customers currently have a 24-hour grace period to correct any minor errors - for example, a misspelled name - free of charge, but this is being doubled. - Observer