Business Roundup for Spain and the UK

Record broken SANTANDER has reported record attributable profits of €8.14 billion during the first nine months of  2023.

This was 11.3 per cent more than during the same period in 2022, putting the bank on course for “historic” figures, thanks in part to a strong increase in revenues, particularly in Europe and Mexico.

Santander’s third quarter attributable profits of €2.9 billion were 20 per cent up on last year, announced Santander’s executive chairwoman Ana Botin.

“The group has achieved another record quarter with earnings per share up 17 per cent and a return on tangible equity of 14.8 per cent,” she said.

Flat batteries A £1 BILLION (€1.15 billion) allocation for improving Britain’s electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities has not yet been used.

Announced by Rishi Sunak three years ago when the now PM was Chancellor of the Exchequer, the charging points were to have been installed at motorway service stations.

The fund is not yet accessible to applicants, while a pilot scheme scheduled for the end of 2022 was initially postponed until spring 2023 and subsequently to this summer.

Sources in the EV sector have now told the UK media that the trial was “unlikely” to launch before Christmas and could be delayed until after a general election.

Messi’s own goal LIONEL MESSI’S branding company MGO Global received a Nasdaq delisting warning after its shares lost 90 per cent of their value.

These were originally worth $5 (€4.7), giving MGO Global a value of €58 million when it was floated last January. Instead, the company has failed to cash in on the name of the champion footballer who now plays for Inter Miami, co-owned by David Beckham.

Messi receives a 12 per cent royalty for lending his name and image to merchandise but slow sales have resulted in the Nasdaq warning.

Tiktok standoff  EMPLOYEES at Majorel, the Barcelona company which moderates content for internet platform TikTok, have announced an indefinite strike.

Insistence on in-person working was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”, announced Workers’ Solidarity and Unity (SUT), the union which represents the employees.

The veto on working from home was the latest episode in a long history of non-payment, contract irregularities and “mortifying hours.”  Together moderating content that was frequently violent content, their working conditions were having a detrimental effect on employees’ mental health, the union maintained.

A major issue SHARON WHITE, John Lewis chair, called on the police to allocate more resources to shoplifting and record all retail crime incidents.

She also wanted to see more stringent sentences for assaulting or abusing a retail worker,

The Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, now suffers a £12 million (€13.75 million) year-on-year increase in theft, White said.

Matt Hood, who heads the Co-op grocery chain, also voiced frustration at the lack of action against shoplifting which had cost the retailer £33 million (€37.83 million) during the first six months of this year.

This was becoming a major issue, Hood warned in September.