Starbucks Sales Fall For First Time In 16 Years

Starbucks' turnover dropped last year for the first time, in the wake of revelations about its corporate tax practices.

Sales for the year to September 29 were £399m, a decline of 3.4% compared to the previous year.

The company said the decline, the first since it started UK operations 16 years ago, was due to the closure of unprofitable outlets and not the result of other reasons.

It reduced its average UK workforce by 11.6% in the financial year to 7,726.

Starbucks was able to increase its gross profit by 13% to £79.7m, before deductions of £100.5m were taken into account.

Its pre-tax loss was £20.4m in the period, down from the £30.4m recorded in the 2011-12 financial year.

The company's tax liability in the period was £3.4m, but including deferred taxation was reduced to £2.25m.

A Starbucks spokesman told Sky News: "The UK business is moving in the right direction, but the turnaround will take time.

Protests outside Starbucks stores were held during this accounting period

"The continued loss is largely because the reforms we have introduced are yet to take full effect.

"Many of the expensive leases we have renegotiated occurred after our financial year started in October 2012. The benefits of this action will be shown in the accounts for this current year."

It said the £10m fall in the pre-tax loss was largely due to the rise in gross profits. Its staff costs dropped £13.5m in the tax year compared to the previous year.

In October and December 2012, key executives were grilled by MPs about multinational corporate (MNC) arrangements.

Revelations about royalty, licensing and transfer pricing structures used by MNCs to minimise UK tax burden became a focus for Westminster's Public Accounts Committee.

Seattle-based Starbucks was quizzed on why it remained a loss-making business for tax purposes while telling investors it was profitable.

Groups such as UK Uncut urged boycotts of Starbucks and organised store protests and the company's unmoderated website blog was flooded with hundreds of critical comments.

But the company said the latest sales drop was not related to the 2012 tax furore and says Britain is its star EU performer.

Executives from Amazon, Google and Starbucks were grilled by MPs in 2012

"The UK is our fastest growing market in Europe. We are on schedule to open 100 new stores this year and expect the business to continue to grow as economic growth picks up," the spokesman said.

However, the latest accounts filed with Companies House show that it is acutely aware of the impact certain issues may have on the company.

It said there was potentially a "significant risk" of "adverse impacts resulting from negative publicity regarding the company's business practices".

Responding to the widespread criticism in late 2012 it offered to pay a voluntary £20m in tax over two years, and has already given £15m of that to HM Revenue and Customs.

It also dropped total remuneration for its three directors by almost a fifth to £886,000, with the highest paid executive's salary falling by more than half to £268,582.

At the end of last September Starbucks had 549 company-operated stores in the UK, down 44 in the period.

It also had 125 licensed and 57 franchised operations. Although it has a planned franchise expansion, the company's website says it is not looking for new partners.

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RBS Ditches Double-Salary Bonuses For Bankers

Taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland has ditched a proposal to give bankers bonuses of up to twice their salaries.

The bank had wanted to give workers lucrative and competitive bonuses, despite making a pre-tax loss of £8.2bn in 2013.

British taxpayers own 81% of the bank, which received the biggest bailout in history following the financial crisis.

UK Financial Investments, which manages the Government's stake, said it would not support the proposal.

As a result, RBS said a planned vote at the bank's annual general meeting (AGM) in June would not take place.

The Treasury rebuked the bonus plan and said "an increase to the bonus cap cannot be justified and the Government made clear it would not have supported such a proposal".

Last year the European Parliament agreed to cap bonuses for bankers at their fixed annual salary, or twice that sum if shareholders approve.

Mindful of London's importance in world finance, the Government remains opposed to the EU 2:1 bonus-to-salary cap.

A Treasury spokesman said: "The European bonus cap is not a well-thought out idea and will not support stronger and safer banks, which is why the Government is challenging it in the European Court.

"But while it exists, we will make sure it is applied fairly.

"Under the new strategy set out by RBS chief executive Ross McEwan, RBS is heading in the right direction, but it has not yet completed its restructuring and remains a majority publicly-owned bank."

RBS also said Mr McEwan and chief financial officer Nathan Bostock would not receive bonuses from 2014.

But it said they would still receive share-based "long-term incentive awards" that vest in five years.

The RBS bonus block comes just a day after a heated Barclays AGM saw jeering from shareholders and a partial rejection - reaching 24% of votes - of its remuneration proposals.

And on Friday, 38.5% of pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca shareholders rejected a lucrative management remuneration plan.

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Mortgage Lending Clampdown Comes Into Force

Homebuyers will face more scrutiny by mortgage lenders under new regulations which take effect today.

The industry-wide changes affect home buyers and people looking to re-mortgage and they will mean that lenders have to take a much stronger interest in people's spending habits and how their life plans could affect their ability to meet their repayments.

Mortgage applicants will need to sit through longer interviews, and provide more evidence that they can afford a home loan before being offered one.

Each lender will have their own interpretation of the new rules, but in general people are likely to be asked for more detail about regular outgoings such as childcare, food, household bills, loans, credit cards and leisure activities.

The changes also mean lenders will have to test whether homebuyers will be able to afford their mortgage payments if interest rates rise sharply, to 7% or above.

The Mortgage Market Review (MMR) rules aim to ensure there is no return to any irresponsible lending practices of the past, but there are some concerns that it could slow down the housing market.

The changes come amid growing consternation about rising house prices

Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage policy for the Building Societies Association, said: "The Mortgage Market Review was introduced in order to ensure that a common sense approach to mortgage lending is applied by all lenders and that people are not borrowing more than they can afford to pay.

"A number of building societies implemented the process early and have been lending this way, without problems, for a number of weeks."

Andrew Montlake, a director at broker Coreco, said that for people considering applying for a mortgage: "It's important for people to prepare a lot earlier, potentially six months before you apply. Start looking through your documentation and go through a budget."

He said most lenders will want to know whether mortgage applicants are planning to increase their spending for any reason in the near future and if they are expecting a change in their income.

Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority was asked this week about reports that some people are being asked if they are planning to have children.

He told the Daily Mail: "If you are eight months pregnant, that is a reasonable question. But most of the time that is probably too invasive - and that is not committed expenditure. People have a right to a certain degree of privacy.

"People should be expected to talk about known costs, such as school fees and car loans, but planning for future unknown events is a much more difficult space."

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Barclays Board Face Angry Shareholders At AGM

Senior management of Barclays bank have faced angry shareholders at the bank's annual general meeting, with its chairman forced to defend its bonus payments.

Sir David Walker told shareholders there would have been an exodus of top executives if it did not raise bonus levels.

The meeting, held at London's Royal Festival Hall and attended by 840 people, was the scene of successive hostile questions and jeering from the audience.

Laughter erupted after one angry investor told the board of directors: "We're paying for Manchester United but we are getting Colchester United."

Outside the venue, protesters took potshots at the board over bonuses and alleged tax haven support.

In 2012 Sir David Walker told MPs that banking culture must change

Despite the criticism, the proposals to pay £2.4bn in bonuses in 2013 were rejected by just 24% of shareholders who voted while a resolution to pay bonuses of 200% salary in future was overwhelmingly supported.

Standard Life - with a 1.9% stake in the bank - went public ahead of the vote and said it would not support the remuneration committee's proposals.

Standard Life governance and stewardship director Alison Kennedy said its remuneration report recommendations had harmed the bank's brand.

"We are unconvinced that the amount of the 2013 bonus pool was in the best interests of shareholders," she said.

"Particularly when we consider how the bank's profits are divided amongst employees, shareholders and ongoing investment in the business."

CEO Antony Jenkins did not take a bonus last year over the pay furore

On Tuesday, Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman revealed the board would receive a mixed response from its powerful institutional investors.

The chairman told the AGM the bank was losing staff to US rivals as they paid up to 15% more.

He said the resignation rate for senior Barclays employees in the US almost doubled in 2013, amid increasing rejection of job offers at his bank.

Sir David said: "The challenge was the need for damage limitation and franchise protection... Despite all the reservations that have been expressed, I remain confident in my view that we took the right decision."

Chief executive Antony Jenkins also faced the hostile shareholders.

He has come under increasing criticism for bonus awards approved under his tenure.

Mr Jenkins is reviewing the future of the group's investment bank and will unveil the details on May 8.

As previously revealed by Kleinman, the CEO is expected to axe thousands of jobs to cut costs and help improve returns.

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GM Profit Skids To A Halt Due To Recalls

General Motors (GM) has seen its first-quarter profit plunge 85%, due to a series of vehicle recalls.

America's biggest car maker said net profit was $125m (£75m) for the first three months of the year.

The company was hit by a $1.3bn (£775m) charge for the cost of a worldwide recall of seven million vehicles.

The Detroit-based firm said it also spent $300m (£180m) for its ongoing restructure of its European operations.

Net revenue in the first quarter was $37.4bn (£22bn), up 1.35% from the first quarter of 2013.

"The performance of our core operations was very strong this quarter, reflecting the positive response of customers to the new vehicles we are bringing to market," GM chief executive Mary Barra said in a statement.

"Our focus remains on creating the world's best vehicles with the highest levels of safety, quality and customer service, while aggressively addressing our business opportunities and challenges globally."

GM has also been hit by successive investigations and legal actions because of a delay in recalling cars with a potential ignition switch fault.

The problem has been linked to 13 deaths in the US and a number of injuries.

The problem was first spotted in pre-production in 2001, however it was not until early 2014 that it instigated a recall.

It appointed a new head of safety and Ms Barra was called before a Senate hearing to testify about the cars.

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Starbucks Sales Fall - First Time In 16 Years

Starbucks' turnover dropped last year for the first time, in the wake of revelations about its corporate tax practices.

Sales for the year to September 29 were £399m, a decline of 3.4% compared to the previous year.

The company said the decline, the first since it started UK operations 16 years ago, was due to the closure of unprofitable outlets and not the result of other reasons.

It reduced its average UK workforce by 11.6% in the financial year, to 7,726.

Starbucks was able to increase its gross profit by 13% to £79.7m, before deductions of £100.5m were taken into account.

Its pre-tax loss was £20.4m in the period, down from the £30.4m recorded in the 2011-12 financial year.

It said the £10m fall in the pre-tax loss was largely due to the rise in gross profits. Its staff costs dropped £13.5m in the tax year compared to the previous year.

In a statement given to Sky News, Starbucks said: "This has been another quarter of strong growth for Starbucks across the EMEA region, with profitability more than tripling year-on-year and revenue growth of 13% the highest in two years."

Executives from Amazon, Google and Starbucks were grilled by MPs in 2012

In accounts filed with Companies House the firm said of its British operations: "The company is being supported by an improving economic environment in the UK which is predicted to continue through 2014.

"This in turn is expected to lead to an increase in comparable (like-for-like) sales per store and, alongside the realignment of our portfolio, a further reduction in the loss before tax next year."

The company's accounts started on September 30, 2012 and in October and December of that year key executives were grilled by MPs about multinational corporate (MNC) arrangements.

Revelations about royalty, licensing and transfer pricing structures used by MNCs to minimise UK tax burden were explored by the Public Accounts Committee.

Seattle-based Starbucks was quizzed on why it remained a loss-making business for tax purposes while telling investors it was profitable.

Groups such as UK Uncut urged boycotts of Starbucks and organised protests outside stores, and the company's website blog was flooded with hundreds  of critical comments.

But the company said the latest sales drop was not related to the 2012 tax furore.

Responding to the widespread criticism at the time it offered to pay a 'voluntary' £20m in tax over two years, and has already given £15m of that to HM Revenue and Customs.

It also dropped total director remuneration by almost a fifth to £886,000, with the highest paid executive's emolument falling by more than half to £268,582.

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Labour Looks At Breaking Ties With Co-Op Bank

Labour is considering breaking its historic links with the struggling Co-op bank.

The party has confirmed it is "reviewing its financial arrangements", but insists it is for commercial reasons.

It is reported Labour is looking to move loans worth more than £1m to the trade union-owned Unity Trust Bank, in which the Co-op Bank is thought to have a 27% stake.

This could pave the way for Labour to move all its current account facilities to the same bank.

It follows a year of turmoil at the Co-op bank, which came close to collapse and saw the resignation its chairman Paul Flowers, who is now facing drug charges.

The bank recently reported a pre-tax annual loss of £1.3bn, and said it would not return to profit for at least two years.

And the parent Co-op Group, confirmed a loss of £2.5bn for 2013, in what it described as a "disastrous year".

A Labour Party spokesman said: "The Labour Party is constantly reviewing its financial arrangements. All decisions are taken for commercial reasons."

The move would see one of the oldest political and banking relationships come to an end.

The Co-op Movement and Labour joined as parties in 1927, and the financial links are thought to have started then.

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Gym Fees 'Could Stop Mortgage Approvals'

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

Homebuyers could find themselves turned down for a mortgage because of their gym memberships, phone bills and pension payments, under new rules introduced this weekend, experts have warned.

Mortgage advisers said new restrictions introduced under the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) would drastically increase the intrusiveness of checks undergone by applicants.

The warning coincided with advice from economists, who claim the rules could dampen down activity in the housing market.

The new rules, part of a push to prevent lenders handing out loans to those unable to afford them, will stipulate banks and building societies must inspect customers' spending commitments to ensure they can keep up their monthly payments.

Those commitments might include items as innocuous as informal club memberships, according to Peter Marriott of Westexe Mortgage Solutions.

He said: "They might have a gym membership, they might be contributing to a pension plan - anything that's deemed by a mortgage lender to be a commitment could be held against them as an ongoing expense, which would in turn affect the affordability and the lender's decision on how much they can borrow."

The MMR changes will also mean lenders have to test whether homebuyers will be able to afford their mortgage payments if interest rates rise sharply, to 7% or above.

The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee has recommended it should be able to change the suggested stress test rate in future, giving it an extra lever to influence house prices.

The changes come amid growing consternation about rising house prices.

According to the Office for National Statistics, house prices across the UK have increased by 9.1% in the past year.

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Travis Perkins Sales Up As Housing Market Warms

Building supply firm Travis Perkins has seen its first quarter like-for-like sales rise by 12.7%, after weaker trading in the same period last year.

Total sales in the three months to the end of March were up 14.2% on a comparable trading day basis.

The Northampton-based company has been boosted by the upturn in building work and the ongoing strengthening of housing sales.

It said the gains were made after the weaker trading period last year and growth of its market share.

The results come after Britain suffered wet and windy weather in the first two months of the year, which hampered building work.

The Office for National Statistics said construction output fell to £5.8bn in February, down 2.8% from January.

It said February's foul weather wiped more than a quarter of a billion pounds from the sector.

But the industry was expected to see renewed growth as repairs and renovations got under way.

Chief executive John Carter said: "All of our businesses recorded strong sales growth in the first quarter of 2014 and lead indicators for our different markets are encouraging ... and we remain on course to meet our targets set out in February.

"We are confident that the plans we have in place will support our drive to outperform our markets, improve earnings and ultimately increase return on capital."

Travis Perkins has more than 600 outlets across the UK, and specialises in supplying the trade sector.

Like-for-like sales in its general merchandise division rose by 16.6%.

Sales were up 6.9% in its consumer division, which includes the Wickes home improvement chain.

The company also saw a jump of 13.2% in its plumbing and heating business.

Travis Perkins entered the blue chip FTSE 100 index last June and its shares have risen by around 25% since then. Shares in the company were up more than 1% in early trading on Thursday.

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Co-op Admits 'Disastrous Year' Amid £2.5bn Loss

The embattled Co-operative Group has confirmed a loss of £2.5bn for 2013, in what it described as a "disastrous year".

The loss comes on the back of a £529m figure recorded in its 2012 results.

Interim group chief executive Richard Pennycook said: "2013 was a disastrous year for the Co-operative Group, the worst in our 150-year history.

"Today's results demonstrate that but they also highlight fundamental failings in management and governance at the group over many years.

"These results should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who doubts just how serious the challenges we face are."

It said most of the losses were from "discontinued operations" of its banking arm, which totaled £2.1bn.

Group sales were £10.5bn, down from the £11bn recorded in the previous year.

Profit from its food division were down 8% at £247m but it also recorded a goodwill impairment charge of £226m for its purchase of Somerfield stores.

The Co-operative Group consists of a number of divisions

However, it recorded more encouraging figures for some other divisions.

General insurance profit jumped from £13m in 2012 to £33m last year.

The pharmacy chain, which is being offered for sale, saw profit rise by about a fifth to £33m.

And its funeral services business saw sales up 3% to £370m and profit up £2m to £62m.

Co-operative Group chair Ursula Lidbetter said: "During 2013, it became apparent that our governance had fallen far short of the standards to which we aspire as a co-operative society.

"Now is the time to put that right through fundamental reform - we have to act with urgency if we are to lay the foundations for a stronger, healthier co-operative business in the future."

The group's bank division revealed a £1.5bn capital black hole last year and then in March announced a plan to raise another £400m.

Amid risks of the bank's collapse, the group reduced its stake in the institution to 30% as private equity bondholders provided capital - raising concerns of how it would maintain its 'ethical' stance.

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British Gas Bonus Claims To Be Investigated

Claims that British Gas workers have been paid large bonuses to inflate customer bills are to be investigated by the energy regulator, Ofgem.

It comes after a former employee claimed the energy company encouraged its sales staff to sign up charities, churches and small businesses to its highest-priced tariffs in order to boost their own earnings.

British Gas has strongly denied the allegations.

The whistleblower, who worked for the company between 2010 and 2013, told the Daily Mail the firm's policies were designed "to rip off" customers.

He claimed sales agent typically earned between £4 and £37 in commission per deal if they persuaded existing customers to renew contracts.

But by moving a customer to a more expensive deal they could earn more than £400 a time, he alleged.

"People were desperate to make the salaries they had been promised, so everyone inflated the prices," he told the paper.

"Scout clubs was a favourite one; churches, charities, small businesses, where people would just go for the maximum 5p notch-up," he added.

Ofgem will investigate whether the sales activities were 'honest and fair'

A British Gas spokeswoman said: "British Gas strongly refutes any suggestion that employees are paid commission on any prices charged to residential customers."

British Gas Business managing director Stephen Beynon said his sales agents are paid commission, but he denied any suggestion that contracts were negotiated inappropriately.

"This is a highly regulated market, and every part of the sales negotiation process is closely monitored," he said.

"Sales agents in British Gas Business do receive commission, but we are reducing its importance.

"We're leading the way in addressing the variability in price that customers face in this market, and we'll continue to do so."

Ofgem said in a statement: "There are strict rules in place which require suppliers to take all reasonable steps to ensure information provided is accurate and not misleading, and that sales activities are conducted in a fair, honest, transparent and professional manner.

"Ofgem is an evidenced-based regulator and we would encourage anyone with information that an energy company is not complying with Ofgem rules to provide us with this."

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: "This is a very serious and deeply disturbing allegation that comes as we are doing all we can to make the energy markets work better for all consumers - whether domestic or businesses.

"The Government fully supports Ofgem's recommendation for a full market investigation.

"In the meantime, we'll continue to help people pay less for the energy they use, driving the competition that has seen the number of energy suppliers triple since 2010 and people switching supplier in record numbers."

The allegations come days after Ofgem fined British Gas Business for a series of failures including blocking firms from switching to other suppliers.

Ofgem said British Gas Business would pay a total penalty of £5.6m of which £800,000 would be in fines, on top of £1.3m already paid to 1,200 customers who paid higher bills because they were not notified when their contracts were due to expire.

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Best Of British Gear Up For China Car Show

Some of Britain's most famous cars are on parade today at one of the most important days in the motoring calendar.

Ford cars on display at the 50 years celebration ceremony of Ford

UK brands such as Rolls-Royce, Jaguar and Land Rover are showing their new models at the China Motor Show in Beijing to help boost sales in an intensely competitive market.

An original 1965 Ford Mustang Convertible alongside today's model

More than 1,100 vehicles will be on display at the exhibition which will also be attended by General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai, along with SAIC and Dongfeng, China's domestic carmakers.

Although sales growth is forecast to slow from last year's 15.7% to 8 to 10% this year, China remains the world's biggest auto market with 17.9 million vehicles sold last year.

Car sales are expected to slow in China this year

The expo comes as a growing number of Chinese cities are restricting the number of cars on the road in a bid to battle pollution and congestion, moves that analysts warn could cut into purchases.

The eastern city of Hangzhou, a popular tourist destination, last month became the sixth major city to implement such a restriction, with some estimates placing the limit at 80,000 cars a year.

More than 1,100 vehicles will be on display at the exhibition

The boss of Mercedez-Benz in China told Sky News earlier this year that survival in the automotive industry is based largely on success in China.

German auto giant Daimler also announced recently it had signed a $1.4bn deal with Chinese partner Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation to expand production at their joint venture in Beijing.     

Among the cars on display at the exhibition will be one of the first 1965 Ford Mustang Convertibles.

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Co-op Admits 'Disastrous Year' Amid £2.5bn Loss

The embattled Co-operative Group has confirmed a loss of £2.5bn for 2013, in what it described as a "disastrous year".

The loss comes on the back of a £529m figure recorded in its 2012 results.

Interim group chief executive Richard Pennycook said: "2013 was a disastrous year for the Co-operative Group, the worst in our 150-year history.

"Today's results demonstrate that but they also highlight fundamental failings in management and governance at the group over many years.

"These results should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who doubts just how serious the challenges we face are."

It said most of the losses were from "discontinued operations" of its banking arm, which totaled £2.1bn.

Group sales were £10.5bn, down from the £11bn recorded in the previous year.

Profit from its food division were down 8% at £247m but it also recorded a goodwill impairment charge of £226m for its purchase of Somerfield stores.

The Co-operative Group consists of a number of divisions

However, it recorded more encouraging figures for some other divisions.

General insurance profit jumped from £13m in 2012 to £33m last year.

The pharmacy chain, which is being offered for sale, saw profit rise by about a fifth to £33m.

And its funeral services business saw sales up 3% to £370m and profit up £2m to £62m.

Co-operative Group chair Ursula Lidbetter said: "During 2013, it became apparent that our governance had fallen far short of the standards to which we aspire as a co-operative society.

"Now is the time to put that right through fundamental reform - we have to act with urgency if we are to lay the foundations for a stronger, healthier co-operative business in the future."

The group's bank division revealed a £1.5bn capital black hole last year and then in March announced a plan to raise another £400m.

Amid risks of the bank's collapse, the group reduced its stake in the institution to 30% as private equity bondholders provided capital - raising concerns of how it would maintain its 'ethical' stance.

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British Gas Bonus Claims To Be Investigated

Claims that British Gas workers have been paid large bonuses to inflate customer bills are to be investigated by the energy regulator, Ofgem.

It comes after a former employee claimed the energy company encouraged its sales staff to sign up charities, churches and small businesses to its highest-priced tariffs in order to boost their own earnings.

British Gas has strongly denied the allegations.

The whistleblower, who worked for the company between 2010 and 2013, told the Daily Mail the firm's policies were designed "to rip off" customers.

He claimed sales agent typically earned between £4 and £37 in commission per deal if they persuaded existing customers to renew contracts.

But by moving a customer to a more expensive deal they could earn more than £400 a time, he alleged.

"People were desperate to make the salaries they had been promised, so everyone inflated the prices," he told the paper.

"Scout clubs was a favourite one; churches, charities, small businesses, where people would just go for the maximum 5p notch-up," he added.

Ofgem will investigate whether the sales activities were 'honest and fair'

A British Gas spokeswoman said: "British Gas strongly refutes any suggestion that employees are paid commission on any prices charged to residential customers."

British Gas Business managing director Stephen Beynon said his sales agents are paid commission, but he denied any suggestion that contracts were negotiated inappropriately.

"This is a highly regulated market, and every part of the sales negotiation process is closely monitored," he said.

"Sales agents in British Gas Business do receive commission, but we are reducing its importance.

"We're leading the way in addressing the variability in price that customers face in this market, and we'll continue to do so."

Ofgem said in a statement: "There are strict rules in place which require suppliers to take all reasonable steps to ensure information provided is accurate and not misleading, and that sales activities are conducted in a fair, honest, transparent and professional manner.

"Ofgem is an evidenced-based regulator and we would encourage anyone with information that an energy company is not complying with Ofgem rules to provide us with this."

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: "This is a very serious and deeply disturbing allegation that comes as we are doing all we can to make the energy markets work better for all consumers - whether domestic or businesses.

"The Government fully supports Ofgem's recommendation for a full market investigation.

"In the meantime, we'll continue to help people pay less for the energy they use, driving the competition that has seen the number of energy suppliers triple since 2010 and people switching supplier in record numbers."

The allegations come days after Ofgem fined British Gas Business for a series of failures including blocking firms from switching to other suppliers.

Ofgem said British Gas Business would pay a total penalty of £5.6m of which £800,000 would be in fines, on top of £1.3m already paid to 1,200 customers who paid higher bills because they were not notified when their contracts were due to expire.

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Best Of British Gear Up For China Car Show

Some of Britain's most famous cars are on parade today at one of the most important days in the motoring calendar.

Ford cars on display at the 50 years celebration ceremony of Ford

UK brands such as Rolls-Royce, Jaguar and Land Rover are showing their new models at the China Motor Show in Beijing to help boost sales in an intensely competitive market.

An original 1965 Ford Mustang Convertible alongside today's model

More than 1,100 vehicles will be on display at the exhibition which will also be attended by General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai, along with SAIC and Dongfeng, China's domestic carmakers.

Although sales growth is forecast to slow from last year's 15.7% to 8 to 10% this year, China remains the world's biggest auto market with 17.9 million vehicles sold last year.

Car sales are expected to slow in China this year

The expo comes as a growing number of Chinese cities are restricting the number of cars on the road in a bid to battle pollution and congestion, moves that analysts warn could cut into purchases.

The eastern city of Hangzhou, a popular tourist destination, last month became the sixth major city to implement such a restriction, with some estimates placing the limit at 80,000 cars a year.

More than 1,100 vehicles will be on display at the exhibition

The boss of Mercedez-Benz in China told Sky News earlier this year that survival in the automotive industry is based largely on success in China.

German auto giant Daimler also announced recently it had signed a $1.4bn deal with Chinese partner Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation to expand production at their joint venture in Beijing.     

Among the cars on display at the exhibition will be one of the first 1965 Ford Mustang Convertibles.

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