The Daily Telegraph Friday 16 August 2019 *** 29

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Markets Currencies

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Inside

Believing

in unicorns

WeWork

has signs of

being the

next Uber

after its

public float

Populists’

poison

Let’s hope

Americans

wake up to

economic

realities

before it’s

too late

Ryan

Bourne

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Turkey’s

Ataer poised

to win bid for

British Steel

By Alan Tovey

TURKISH investor Ataer Holding has

been selected as the preferred bidder

for British Steel, safeguarding thou-

sands of manufacturing jobs, with an

announcement due today.

Sources close to the situation said

that Ataer – backed by a Government

support package – is thought to have

the strongest offer for British Steel,

which collapsed into insolvency in May.

The company was taken over by the

Official Receiver, assisted by managers

from consultancy  EY, who have been

seeking a buyer.

Official confirmation of the pre-

ferred bidder has been delayed by what

one insider called “minor business

questions and queries for Ataer”. The

Eid religious festival and a national hol-

iday in Turkey has meant that much of

the country is shut down until today. 

Once the preferred offer is an-

nounced, there will be a four- to eight-

week period allowing the bidder to

carry out due diligence on Scunthorpe-

based British Steel, which in addition to

its 4,500 staff supports many more jobs

in the supply chain and local economy.

Should Ataer not go ahead with a

purchase after due diligence, it is likely

that Liberty, part of the GFG Alliance,

will take run at British Steel, having

been seen as the next best bidder.

It is understood that Ataer, the in-

vestment arm of Oyak, the Turkish

military pension scheme, is proposing

to pay between £60m and £70m for

British Steel. The deal hinges on a fi-

nancial package from the UK taxpayer

worth up to £300m, coming in the

form of commercial loans and grants.

Ataer’s plan for the Scunthorpe site

would preserve the vast majority of the

jobs, but is understood to follow a strat-

egy conceived by British Steel’s exist-

ing management, which could see

about 500 positions cut. There is also a

long-term plan to swap Scunthorpe’s

blast furnaces to gas power. 

A spokesman for the Official Re-

ceiver said: “The sales process is ongo-

ing and we continue to assess the most

attractive offers received.”

‘The sales process is

ongoing and we continue

to assess the most attractive

offers received’

Max crisis delays Boeing’s new 777X

By Alan Tovey

BOEING has put develop-
ment of an ultra-long-range
version of its new 777X air-
liner on hold as it scrambles
to fix the  737 Max crisis that
has left its bestselling plane
grounded.
The 777X wide-body,
which will have a range of
10,500 miles, was  expected
to be purchased by the likes
of Qantas, among others.
“We reviewed our develop-

ment schedule and the needs

of our current 777X custom-

ers and decided to adjust the

schedule,” Boeing said.

It insisted it remained

committed to building the

aircraft and said the delay

would reduce  risks to the

programme.

Boeing is already facing

problems with the 777X, re-

vealing in its half-year re-

sults that the aircraft may

not have its first flight until

2020 because of issues with

the new General Electric en-

gine it carries.

It is the latest in a series of

blows for Boeing as it battles

to find a fix for its bestselling

737 Max airliners, grounded

since March after two fatal

crashes. A software problem

is widely suspected to be the

cause.

Boeing reported a record

$3bn (£2.5bn) loss in the sec-

ond quarter after  taking a

$4.9bn charge to help cover

costs related to the 737 Max.

Government signals about-turn on tough

regulations governing impact of fracking

By Michael O’Dwyer

THE Government has signalled a pos-
sible rethink over  strict rules that re-
strict fracking in a move that is likely to
draw anger from environmental cam-
paigners.
Ineos, owned by billionaire busi-
nessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and fellow
shale gas explorer Cuadrilla, previ-
ously attacked the UK’s tough restric-
tions on seismic activity triggered by
fracking, arguing that they would
make it impossible for the industry to
operate commercially. 
The possible about-turn came as
Cuadrilla resumed fracking at its Pres-

ton New Road site in Lancashire after

securing the required permits. The site

suffered a number of shutdowns last

year after seismic activity in the area. 

Under the current rules  fracking

companies must stop all work at a site if

they trigger a tremor above a magni-

tude of 0.5 on the Richter scale. The

Government said previously that it had

no plans to review the rules.

But the Department for Business,

Energy and Industrial Strategy told The

Daily Telegraph that the Government

was “open-minded” on its options once

it receives the results of an ongoing sci-

entific study of industry data by the Oil

and Gas Authority. 

Fracking has been heavily criticised.

“Kick-starting an entire new fossil fuel

industry when the impacts of climate

breakdown are already ruining lives,

including right here in the UK, doesn’t

line up with the Government’s claims

to be a climate leader,” said Jamie Pe-

ters at Friends of the Earth.

From cradle

to grave we’re

a generation

stuck in debt

By Tim Wallace

WORKERS are in the grip of a  “cradle
to grave” crisis in living standards  as
swathes of the population fear for their
jobs, earn too little to save month to
month and are struggling to put away
money for a decent pension, top ana-
lysts have warned.
At the same time home buyers are
stretching out their mortgages for
longer than ever before in a bid to make
the monthly payments on their record
debts more affordable.
As a result, increasing numbers face
debts right up to their retirement and
into the years when they are hoping to
live off their pension instead of paying
the mortgage each month.
At the other end of the age scale, a
graduate can now expect to leave uni-
versity with £50,000 of student debt.
Record employment and surging
pay growth indicate that the jobs mar-
ket is working well at the economy-
wide level, a development which is also
supporting GDP growth and is ex-
pected to help Britain skirt a recession
in the coming months.
But a study by the Royal Society for
the Encouragement of Arts, Manufac-
tures and Commerce (RSA) found three
in 10 workers say they do not earn
enough to maintain a decent standard
of living. Almost six in 10 would strug-
gle to pay an unexpected bill of £500
while more than one-third said it would
be hard to cover even a £100 surprise
cost. The same proportion are also con-
cerned about their rising debts.
That makes it hard to save for retire-
ment – almost half do not expect to
have enough money put away to pro-
vide a decent standard of living in old

We need a 21st century

safety net which provides

genuine lifelong support,

economic analysts warn

age, despite the auto-enrolment rules

pushing millions to start saving.

All of these findings have lowered

perceptions of living standards since

the RSA last surveyed workers two

years ago, despite official figures show-

ing wages rising well ahead of inflation.

Fabian Wallace-Stephens at the RSA

said: “With more and more people fac-

ing financial precariousness from the

cradle to the grave, from young people

struggling to save for a house deposit,

to those facing retirement with little in

the way of savings, we need a 21st cen-

tury safety net which provides genuine

lifelong support – which neither the

traditional welfare state nor the labour

market alone currently provide.

“Economic insecurity is creeping up

the income scale and is no longer just

confined to those on low-incomes.

Many of those ‘just managing’ are a fi-

nancial shock away from failing to pay

rent or pay a childcare bill, while even

people on higher incomes fear the

grinding effect of inflation, flatlining

pay and falling living standards.”

Almost three-quarters do not be-

lieve the current pay spurt will last,

predicting price inflation will soon out-

strip wage growth. Mr Wallace-Ste-

phens said insecure work is part of the

problem, with “non-standard” work

such as gig economy jobs resulting in

unpredictable pay levels.

Steady contracts would often help

those workers, the report found, while

better retraining programmes could be

of more use to help the unemployed

and low-paid workers into better jobs.

Meanwhile banking data showed

home buyers taking bigger mortgages

than ever before. The average home-

mover is 40 years old and takes a 25-

year loan, meaning they will be in debt

right up to the age of  65, a record ac-

cording to industry group UK Finance.

As a result, the usual dream of a

homeowner to spend their late 50s and

early 60s mortgage-free while earning

the highest salary of their working

lives is moving out of reach.

By Harriet Russell

and Michael O’Dwyer

LITIGATION funder Burford Capital

has promised to shake up its board-

room in the wake of a blistering “bear

attack” on its shares by US short seller

Muddy Waters last week.

Burford’s chief financial officer Eliz-

abeth O’Connell, who is married to

Christopher Bogart, the company’s

chief executive, will immediately move

into the role of chief strategy officer.

She will make way for a new number

cruncher, Jim Kilman, who will hold

the role for no more than two years. 

The firm  has kicked off a search for

two new independent directors to join

the board “as rapidly as possible”

and Mr Bogart will also join the board.

Sir Peter Middleton, the chairman,

and David Lowe, non-executive, will

step down.

Carson Block, the Muddy Waters

boss, called Mr  Kilman’s appoint-

ment “a farce”. “It is clear from this that

Burford is more interested in imposing

fig leaves than real guard-rails. We note

Mr  Kilman was Burford’s principal in-

vestment banker at Morgan Stanley,”

said Mr Block.

Mr Block said investors would be

“much better served” by a finance

chief “from the outside who is un-

tainted by Burford’s conduct to date”. 

Analysts  at Jefferies said the

changes  signalled  “a greater willing-

ness to act on shareholder concerns,

which we think is welcome”.

Shares in Burford Capital rose 13pc

by market close in London to 880.5p.

They are still 35pc lower than their

value before Muddy Waters launched

its attack.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the

billionaire boss of

Ineos, has argued

against the current

rules on shale gas

extraction

Making a splash A wine company launching its first rosé unveiled a 20ft-high shocking

pink fountain on London’s Southbank. Campo Viejo, usually known for its red wine,

created an alfresco bar and rosé fountain that reached higher than an average house.

SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Muddy Waters calls for ‘untainted’ finance

chief as it criticises Burford’s board ‘farce’

‘It is clear from this that

Burford is more interested

in imposing fig leaves

than real guard-rails’

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