Thursday newspaper round-up: Diesel prices, Amazon, Whitbread
Supermarkets have cut more than 7p a litre from the price of diesel since the UK’s competition watchdog warned it would question retail bosses about unnecessarily high forecourt prices, according to the RAC. The motoring group found that the average price of diesel fell by 7.44p a litre, from 151.02p two weeks ago to 143.58p this week, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raised concerns that retailers were making “sustained higher margins” from sales of diesel. – Guardian
Amazon’s main UK division has paid no corporation tax for the second year in a row after benefiting from tax credits on a chunk of its £1.6bn of investment in infrastructure, including robotic equipment at its warehouses. Amazon UK Services, which employs more than half of the group’s UK workers, received a tax credit of £7.7m in the year to the end of December, according to accounts filed at Companies House, advance details of which were shared by Amazon with the Guardian. – Guardian
The owner of Premier Inn plans to swap mains gas for heat pumps and solar panels at more than 800 of its hotels as it pushes for net zero. The hotel chain, which is owned by Whitbread, one of the UK’s largest hospitality businesses, wants to remove mains gas connections wherever possible by 2040 to boost its green credentials. – Telegraph
The City regulator has launched a criminal investigation into the racehorse-owning boss of WealthTek around a potential £81 million gap in the collapsed fund management company’s finances. Officials at the Financial Conduct Authority confirmed that John Dance was being investigated over possible fraud and money-laundering offences, as well as potential regulatory breaches. – The Times
Sean Combs, the American rapper, actor, record producer who also has been known as Puff Daddy, P Diddy and Diddy, has accused Diageo of breaking the terms of their business partnership and of neglecting the tequila brand they had bought together, saying the company had done so because he is black. The lawsuit comes after years of partnership between the spirits company that owns Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Tanqueray and Combs, 53, with their joint DeLeón tequila brand. – The Times