Thursday newspaper round-up: Betting advertising, Ferrari, Mike Ashley
The UK’s current trade deal with the EU is not working and the country must stop “walking on eggshells” around the issue of building closer ties with its biggest trading partner, the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is expected to say. At the annual BCC global conference in London on Thursday, Shevaun Haviland will say that the UK must forge closer ties with the EU and the next government should focus on improving trading relations to grow the economy. – Guardian
The UK’s leading gambling charity has called on the next government to ban betting advertising at sports events and on pre-watershed television, citing research that indicates strong public support for stricter controls. The survey, for GambleAware, which comes amid the usual marketing frenzy that accompanies a major football tournament such as Euro 2024, found that two-thirds of people in the UK think there are too many betting adverts. – Guardian
Ferrari is to charge customers a €7,000 (£5,900) annual subscription fee in exchange for free battery replacements amid fears of burnout in its supercars. The luxury car maker will reportedly offer an extended warranty service for its next generation of electric and hybrid vehicles in a bid to allay concerns about ageing battery packs. The subscription will entitle drivers of supercars such as the €418,000 plug-in hybrid SF90 Stradale to a replacement battery after eight years, while defects will also be covered. – Telegraph
Mike Ashley, the billionaire founder of Sports Direct, is in talks with the Crown Estate to take full ownership of the Princesshay shopping centre in Exeter. Through his Frasers Group retail empire, Ashley is already the frontrunner to buy a 50 per cent stake in Princesshay from Nuveen, a US-based asset manager that invests the retirement savings of American teachers. – The Times
Car manufacturing output in the UK fell by nearly 12 per cent in May as assembly lines continued to retool for electric vehicles. The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the trade body, show production was down 11.9 per cent to 69,652 units last month. Almost three quarters of all cars built in Britain were exported to global markets, with 52.5 per cent going to the European Union followed by the US, on 18.2 per cent, and Turkey, which took 8 per cent of shipments. – The Times