Tuesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, AstraZeneca, Johnston Press, Heathrow

Shoppers hit the high street in their droves last month, helping retail sales to bounce back and grow at the sharpest rate in four years. Figures from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed retail sales up by 4.1 per cent in May compared with a year earlier. This was the highest rate of growth since January 2014. - The Times

Johnston Press is in talks about a deal that would hand control of the newspaper publisher to a US hedge fund and jettison its underfunded pension scheme. It is understood that the publisher of the i, the Scotsman and more than 200 local titles is in debt restructuring discussions that include plans for a Regulated Apportionment Agreement (RAA) that would offload its pension scheme to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). - Telegraph

One of AstraZeneca’s most important new drugs could help men with advanced prostate cancer, bringing the pharmaceutical company a step closer to its long-term goal of generating $45bn (£33.6bn) of annual sales by 2023. Lynparza is the first drug of its kind shown to be effective against late-stage prostate cancer which has spread to other parts of the body, AstraZeneca revealed at a major oncology conference in the US today. - Telegraph

Chris Grayling is to confirm the government’s final plans for a third runway at Heathrow as the Tories prepare to impose a three-line whip in favour and Labour considers whether to remove its backing for the project. The transport secretary will set out his proposals for the expansion to senior colleagues on the cabinet’s economic subcommittee on Tuesday morning, before the decision goes to the full cabinet for approval. - Gauridan

The president of embattled EN+ has stepped down in a bid to ease the brunt of US sanctions on the Siberian power and aluminium group, which joined the London market late last year. EN+ has accepted the board room resignation of Maxim Sokov, an executive director and long-standing associate of majority owner Oleg Deripaska, effective from June 1. -Telegraph

A former FBI lawyer who has pursued the mafia, bank robbers and corrupt financiers has been named as the new head of the Serious Fraud Office. Lisa Osofsky, who has dual US and British nationality, has prosecuted more than 100 cases for the US government during a 30-year career. Osofsky will take up the SFO role in September. - Guardian

The bosses of England’s privatised water companies have been criticised for banking £58m in pay and benefits over the last five years while customers have been faced with above-inflation rises in their water bills. The GMB union said the chief executives of England’s nine water and sewage companies were “fat cats” earning “staggering sums” from the management of a natural resource. - Guardian

A pioneering project in north-west England will turn air into liquid for energy storage to help electricity grids cope with a growing amount of wind and solar power. The world’s first full-scale “liquid air” plant is based on a technology that advocates say is cheaper and able to provide power for longer periods than lithium-ion batteries. - Guardian

The restructuring of Mothercare hit a snag when it emerged that creditors in one of its trading companies had not backed its proposed company voluntary arrangement. The maternity and babywear retailer disclosed that a “rigorous post-meeting review of the voting documentation” by KPMG had revealed that creditors in Children’s World had failed to back the CVA, an insolvency process that allows retailers to close shops and cut rents at landlords’ expense. - The Times

A law firm that received investment from a Dragons’ Den panelist is set to become the latest legal practice to float on the London Stock Exchange. Knights received a large cash injection in 2012 from James Caan, who appears on the BBC Two series. It has announced that it will make an initial public offering this month. - The Times

Savills has established a foothold in the Middle East by acquiring Cluttons’ business in the region. The acquisition will lead to the property advisor and estate agency taking full ownership of Cluttons Middle East, which is based in Dubai and has been operating in the region for more than 40 years. The business provides surveying and property advisory services for residential and commercial buildings. - The Times