British business: Heathrow, HSBC, Google and Poundland
British newspaper business pages reported potential legal action involving Heathrow and Virgin Atlantic, HSBC’s plan to keep its headquarters in London, Google’s objections to proposed UK AI rules and Poundland’s approach toward a potential collapse.
1. Newspaper business stories
British newspapers reported that Heathrow faces potential legal action from Virgin Atlantic over plans to move Delta Air Lines across terminals, which could separate the transatlantic partners and disrupt their joint operations. The UK parliament’s public accounts committee called the £40 billion Sizewell C nuclear project a poor deal for taxpayers.
2. Companies and regulation
HSBC’s chief financial officer said the bank had no plans to move its headquarters from London despite expected UK bank tax increases. Google accused Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority of unlawfully seeking to make it promote rival AI services, including ChatGPT and Claude, and called the proposed measures anti-competitive.
3. Other headlines
Poundland moved closer to a potential collapse after three recently appointed directors planned to resign following a dispute with majority owner Gordon Brothers. EY’s UK partners are set to receive an average payout of £870,000 this year after the firm reduced its partnership size.
