Tag: News Story

STORY

Liverpool businessman Lawrence Kenwright has been banned from acting as a company director for five years after an Insolvency Service investigation into Signature Works Gold Limited. The company distributed false and misleading marketing material to investors, who suffered losses of more than £4.8 million. The Insolvency Service said Kenwright is not accused of direct fraud.

Signature Works Gold sold desk space to investors in three Liverpool city centre properties, with rental income intended to fund investor returns. Marketing material stated or implied that investors would acquire a legal interest in the properties which would be registered at HM Land Registry. Investigators found that Signature Works Gold did not own a registered freehold or leasehold interest in any of the three buildings and investor returns stopped after September 2019.

The company was wound up in the public interest in December 2022. At the time of its winding up it had assets of less than £100,000 and liabilities of £4,848,654. Kenwright signed a disqualification undertaking before a planned trial and the ban took effect on 18 August. It prevents him from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company without permission from the court.

STORY

Petrol and diesel prices at the pump fell in June as wholesale costs declined, but they remained significantly above levels seen before the conflict in the Middle East, according to the Competition and Markets Authority. The regulator said it had found no evidence that fuel retailers actively changed their pricing strategies to take advantage of the crisis.

The CMA said it remains concerned that passive pricing strategies used by many retailers are contributing to sustained high margins. Its analysis found that some retailers did not immediately pass reductions in wholesale diesel prices on to motorists. A more detailed review is planned for the autumn, including further analysis of how quickly wholesale price changes are reflected at the pump and why prices vary between local areas.

The regulator also reported that around 97% of UK petrol stations are now registered with Fuel Finder and that those sites account for an estimated 99% of road fuel sold in the UK. Since the registration grace period ended in April, the CMA has sent 1,166 letters to retailers and issued compliance notices covering 53 sites. No financial penalties have yet been required.

STORY

A Leeds freight company has been shut down after an Insolvency Service investigation found it had left businesses in the United States, Europe and the UK with substantial unpaid debts. Malcolm Wright Associates Limited was wound up in the public interest following a hearing at the High Court in Manchester on 11 August 2026. The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator.

The investigation found that between August and October 2024 the company incurred freight costs with at least 16 members of the international JCTrans freight network but failed to make the required payments. The outstanding debts included more than US $508,000, €334,000 and £25,000. The Insolvency Service said the company had presented information which appeared to give it credibility with international freight businesses before running up the debts.

Investigators also found that the company failed to cooperate with their enquiries, had no current director or person with significant control and had failed to file its latest accounts and confirmation statement. David Hope, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said the winding up action was intended to protect the public and prevent further harm to businesses after suppliers were left with significant unpaid bills.

STORY

A warehouse belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries has been hit during a major Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow region. A large fire broke out at the company’s facility in Koledino, near Podolsk, around 45 kilometres south of central Moscow, with footage showing a substantial plume of smoke rising from the site. Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov described the wider assault as one of the largest drone attacks on the region in recent memory.

Vorobyov said an 83 year old man was killed and several other people were injured in Podolsk during the attacks. Damage was also reported elsewhere in the Moscow region, including at a warehouse in Domodedovo. Russia’s Defence Ministry said hundreds of Ukrainian drones had been intercepted across the country, although independent verification of Russian interception figures is not available.

Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian forces in recent weeks. Ukraine accuses the company of supporting Russian military logistics and says seven of its ten largest warehouses have now been disabled. Wildberries and the Russian authorities reject claims that the company supplies the Russian military. Around 20 Wildberries facilities have been targeted since the campaign began in July, disrupting a distribution network used by hundreds of thousands of businesses and sellers across Russia.

STORY

A court order has been imposed to prevent people entering or bringing waste onto an illegal waste site at Severnside Farm in Gloucester. The Environment Agency obtained the six month Restriction Order on 12 August as part of an ongoing investigation into waste crime at the site.

The order follows a joint operation by the Environment Agency, Gloucester City Council and Gloucestershire Police on 22 and 23 July. During the operation, 84 concrete blocks were installed to prevent additional waste from being deposited. It is now a criminal offence for anyone to enter the restricted site and dump waste while the order remains in force.

The Environment Agency said the site has been secured while criminal investigations continue and that it will monitor the location with its partners. The action forms part of the agency’s wider programme to tackle persistent waste crime, including greater use of restriction notices and court orders. People with information about illegal waste activity can report it to the Environment Agency or anonymously through Crimestoppers.

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Parents whose children have turned 16 are being reminded that Child Benefit can automatically stop on 31 August unless they tell HM Revenue and Customs that their teenager is continuing in qualifying education or approved training. The deadline affects families with teenagers beginning a new eligible course or training programme after their GCSEs or National 5s.

Child Benefit can continue for young people in full time non advanced education or approved unpaid training. HMRC says parents can extend a claim through its app or online service and do not need to wait for a reminder letter. Parents whose teenager is already part way through a course that has previously been reported to HMRC do not need to provide the information again.

The benefit is currently worth £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child and £17.90 a week for each additional child. HMRC says around 1.5 million parents of 16 to 19 year olds were due to receive reminder letters about the rules. Families subject to the High Income Child Benefit Charge may still claim the benefit and can choose to opt out of receiving the payments while retaining associated National Insurance credits.

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Thousands of new homes could be built around train, tram and underground stations in England under changes to national planning policy announced by the Government. The revised National Planning Policy Framework introduces a default presumption in favour of housing within reasonable walking distance of well connected stations, alongside minimum expectations for the density of development in those locations.

The changes are intended to make greater use of land around transport hubs and reduce the scope for local planning policies to block development where they conflict with national decision making policies. The revised framework also strengthens support for development in sustainable locations and introduces a national expectation that 40% of homes on major developments should meet accessible housing standards.

The Government is also reducing some statutory consultation requirements in an attempt to speed up planning decisions. Councils will no longer need to seek sign off from public bodies in cases where specialist advice is not considered necessary, although organisations including Sport England, the Gardens Trust and the Theatres Trust will continue to be involved in relevant applications. The reforms form part of the Government’s wider programme aimed at delivering 1.5 million homes.

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A man has been charged with arson after around ten fires were reported in London Fields in Hackney. Metropolitan Police officers and the London Fire Brigade were called at 5.07am on Saturday 15 August following several reports of a man starting fires near Lansdowne Drive. Firefighters extinguished the fires and no injuries were reported.

Police arrested a man in his 50s on suspicion of arson, setting fires and possession of a Class A drug. Later the same day, Isaac Shozi, 50, of Bodney Road in Hackney, was charged with arson. He was remanded in custody and is due to appear at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court at 10am on Monday 17 August.

Detective Superintendent Liz Cumber, who leads policing in central east London, said even small fires could spread quickly, particularly following the recent hot weather and heightened wildfire risk. Police said they were working closely with the London Fire Brigade and urged anyone who witnesses a fire or behaviour that could create a fire risk to call 999 immediately.

STORY

The Financial Conduct Authority has fined and banned two former senior executives of Blue Horizon Asset Management after finding that false and misleading information was used during attempted acquisitions. Former chief executive Paul Taylor was fined £489,000 and banned from working in financial services, while former managing director Esmeralda Toni was fined £121,200 and also banned.

The FCA said Taylor falsified, or arranged for the falsification of, documents claiming that he owned a bond portfolio worth about €200 million during an attempt to acquire a UK bank. Toni knowingly assisted by making misleading statements and helping to falsify documents. The regulator said the information was intended to be relied upon by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority when assessing the proposed acquisition.

Taylor later attempted to acquire Reading Football Club and again made misleading statements claiming ownership of the same €200 million bond portfolio. The FCA found that both executives had acted dishonestly and breached the individual conduct rule requiring people working in financial services to act with integrity. Both settled their cases and received a 30% reduction in the financial penalties that would otherwise have been imposed.

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Former University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday has been found dead at an address in Battersea, south London, aged 41. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called by the London Ambulance Service at 3.12pm on Friday 14 August after he was found unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his next of kin have been informed and are being supported by officers.

Police said Arday’s death is being treated as unexpected but is not believed to be suspicious. Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Central South Command Unit are investigating the circumstances and a file will be prepared for the coroner. No further details about the cause of his death have been announced.

Arday had been Professor of Sociology of Education at Cambridge and became the youngest Black professor in the University’s history when he took up the position in 2023. He resigned from Cambridge and Jesus College earlier this month following intense public scrutiny and allegations concerning plagiarism and aspects of his academic record, which he disputed. In his resignation statement he spoke of the toll that the controversy had taken on him and his family and asked for privacy and compassion.