Drugmaker Indivior to abandon London listing amid exodus of companies

The drugmaker Indivior has become the latest company to abandon its listing in London, heaping further pressure on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to reinvigorate itself.The Virginia-based company, which makes the opioid addiction treatments Sublocade and Suboxone, switched its main stock listing to the US last year but now plans to cancel the secondary listing it had retained in London.Indivior said on Monday that in making the decision it had considered the liquidity and trading volumes of its shares on the US’s Nasdaq exchange compared with the LSE; the location of its shareholders; and the cost and administrative requirements related to the London listing.More than 80% of Indivior’s net revenues come from the US, which has been in the grip of an opioid crisis for decades, after a rise in the use of opioid painkillers led to increasing addiction rates and a sharp rise in fatal overdoses.David Wheadon, the Indivior chair, said: “A single primary listing on Nasdaq best reflects the profile of Indivior’s business

Vodafone vows to invest more than £1bn in a year as it seals Three UK merger

Vodafone has promised to invest more than £1bn in expanding its network coverage in the next year, as it sealed a £16.5bn merger with its former mobile rival Three UK.The new business, named VodafoneThree, will invest £11bn in its coverage over the next decade, in line with commitments agreed with the UK competition regulator last year. It will invest £1.3bn in capital expenditure projects in its first year, the company said on Monday

Calls for Drax to be forced to fully disclose its biomass sourcing

The owner of the Drax wood-burning power station should be forced to disclose full details of its tree consumption, campaigners have argued, as MPs review the billions in renewables subsidies the North Yorkshire plant receives.A delegated legislation committee will decide on Monday whether to pass the government’s plans to extend billpayer-funded subsidies to the country’s biomass power generators, of which Drax is by far the biggest.Green campaigners said a condition of any extension should be that Drax published a key report by KPMG into its operations and sourcing. Reports by the auditor have been provided to the government and the energy regulator Ofgem but not the public.Ofgem has said KPMG shows Drax has not breached rules on sourcing trees for burning from environmentally sustainable forests

High electricity bill taxes holding us back, say industry groups

The UK government is being pressed to wipe billions from the energy costs facing households and heavy industry by reforming the high taxes levied on electricity bills.These policy levies mean the UK pays some of the highest energy bills in the world, and are simultaneously disadvantaging British industry and stifling the efforts of households to transition to lower-carbon heating systems, according to industry trade groups.Make UK has warned that the government’s long-awaited industrial policy is at risk of being derailed by the high energy prices charged to UK manufacturers, which the lobby group states make the sector’s energy bills 46% higher than the global average.The trade organisation has called on the government to cut industrial energy costs as part of Labour’s long-awaited industrial strategy, which is due later this month, by reforming “the complex and unfair policy levies that make low-carbon energy more expensive than fossil fuels”.Its plan includes the state underwriting a fixed energy price for manufacturers

Starling pays out fivefold bonus sum despite FCA fine and Covid loan errors

Starling Bank has handed its staff an almost fivefold increase in bonus pay despite an embarrassing regulatory fine and losses on government-backed Covid loans that the digital lender has blamed on its own weak controls.The digital-only challenger bank paid out £24.6m in bonuses for the 2024-25 financial year, compared with £5.3m a year earlier.Starling’s annual report showed the bank’s remuneration committee approved a £600,000 bonus for its highest-paid director – believed to be the chief executive, Raman Bhatia – taking their total pay packet to £1

When are people too old to do their jobs?

Old people are making news. Just this past week in Denmark, the retirement age for collecting a government pension was increased to 70 years old, an issue that has caused much debate in that country. Here in the US, questions have been raised about Joe Biden’s mental acuity while he was still in office. Warren Buffett announced his retirement at the age of 94 from Berkshire Hathaway. Donald Trump’s behavior, at the age of 78, continues to raise concern, if not alarm