McDonald's instructed to close franchises, electric car battery factory announced in Somerset & increases in nuclear energy

Good morning! I’m trialling a new format that shares the biggest news stories of the day, but with less fluff. I’d be extremely grateful if you took a minute to let me know whether you prefer this to the previous format. (The idea is to keep the content briefer and give you summaries of the most important stories).

Here are the 5 most important stories for British business leaders today:

1. McDonald’s told to end deals with abusive franchisees

   • What happened: A BBC investigation uncovered “sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying” at McDonald’s restaurants in the UK. These allegations were supported by more than 100 current and recent UK staff. The chair of the Business and Trade Committee has told McDonald's to terminate deals with franchise owners who’ve fallen guilty. (Read more)

   • Why it matters: The fast food giant is one of the UK’s largest employers with more than 170,000 people working in 1,450 restaurants.

2. Electric car battery factory announced by Tata

   • What happened: Tata, who own Jaguar Land Rover, are expected to announce plans to build a flagship electric car battery factory in Somerset on Wednesday. (Read more)

   • Why it matters: This deal is being touted as the most significant investment in UK automotive since Nissan came to Britain in the 1980s, providing encouraging signs for the UK economy.

3. Record number of insolvencies in the UK since 2009

   • What happened: Between April and June, 6,403 companies were declared insolvent. This is the highest number of insolvencies since the first quarter of 2009 (right after the financial crisis). (Read more)

   • Why it matters: Higher insolvencies are an indicator of a struggling economy. A restructuring company partner stated “UK corporates are struggling to cope with a challenging combination of rising interest rates, sticky inflation, higher wage expectations whilst recovering from a hangover of Covid debt”.

4. Food price inflation rate slows down

   • What happened: The rate at which food prices are increasing is now due to slow down according to Ocado’s boss. (Read more)

   • Why it matters: Food inflation has been one of the primary drivers of inflation, which in turn has driven interest rate increases. An easing could signal lower overall inflation and fewer increases in interest rates to come.

5. Government triggers competition to develop nuclear power plants

   • What happened: The UK government has opened a competition to develop small modular nuclear reactors with an objective to see them operating in the country by the early 2030's. (Read more)

   • Why it matters: Britain is seeking to increase the percentage of electricity that’s generated from nuclear from 14% today to 25% by 2050. This is part of the government’s broader efforts to meet climate targets and boost energy security.

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