Oatly, stamp duty holiday, Google and Facebook, Primark, KPMG: your commercial news round-up

This week started with Prime Minister Boris Johnson setting out the roadmap to begin easing lockdown in the UK, with all restrictions due to be lifted by 21 June. But what else happened this week that you, as an aspiring lawyer, should know about? Read the round-up below for insight into some of the week’s news.

• The European Union has been given more time to approve the Brexit trade deal struck between the UK and EU on Christmas Eve last year. The EU, which only provisionally implemented the deal, requested an extension to the 28 February deadline, arguing that it did not have enough time to properly study the agreement prior to the Brexit transition period ending on 1 January. The deadline has been extended to 30 April. Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said that provisionally implementing the agreement “was not the United Kingdom’s preferred outcome given the uncertainty it creates for individuals and businesses and indeed the parties”.

Meanwhile, the EU has been accused of attempting to “poach” business from the City of London, following the UK’s departure from the bloc, according to the Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.

• Plant-based milk company Oatly has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, it revealed earlier in the week. The company is expected to be valued anywhere between $5 billion and $10 billion, according to a source speaking to City A.M. A number of celebrities have backed and invested in the Sweden-based company, including Oprah Winfrey and rapper Jay Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation.

• The stamp duty holiday will be extended to the end of June, following fears that the initial 31 March deadline could compromise hundreds of thousands of sales. The stamp duty holiday enables most buyers to save up to £15,000 for all properties £500,000 or below. The UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is also expected to extend the government’s furlough scheme to coincide with the easing of lockdown restrictions.

• The fourth round of grants from the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will see grants of up to £7,500 handed out to self-employed workers in the chancellor’s budget next week. This round of grants will cover February, March and April; however, the chancellor is reportedly reviewing whether to continue or scale back the scheme from May.

• Google and Facebook have a “duopoly” in the UK’s online advertising market, according to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) boss Andrea Coscelli. The tech giants have around an 80% share of the UK’s £14 billion digital advertising market. Coscelli has called for regulatory changes to deal with this market dominance and ensure “others had a bigger share of the market”. Talking to the BBC, he said: "When companies have too much economic power, that creates a number of distortions, first for competitors, secondly for consumers, and at some level potentially in terms of the political process as well, in some cases.

"We, in general terms, like to see markets more competitive, with more players, with more diversity of players, because we think that delivers better outcomes."

• Primark is expected to lose £1.1 billion in sales in the first half of its financial year, according to its owner Associated British Foods. Meanwhile, Frasers Group revealed that it also expects to lose more than £100 million, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed the roadmap out of lockdown, which states that non-essential retailers must remain closed until 12 April at the earliest. The group, which is owned by Mike Ashley, includes Sports Direct and House of Fraser. The company said: “Given the length of this current lockdown, potential systemic changes to consumer behaviour and the risk of further restrictions in future, we believe this non-cash impairment could be in excess of £100.” Evans Cycles is the group’s only chain that has been able to continue trading throughout lockdown as it deemed ‘essential’.  

• Big four accountancy firm KPMG is in talks with HIG Europe regarding the sale of its UK restructuring business in a deal worth £400 million. The transaction, which could be revealed as early as next week, is set to be the highest valued sale by one of the UK’s big four accountancy firms.

Be sure to check the News every Thursday for this weekly commercial news round-up. Follow @LawCareersNetUK on Twitter and like us on Facebook for instant business news updates.