Jun 5: Shopper footfall stutters; Burnham vows leadership challenge; Skoda Peaq teased

Shopper footfall suffers in record-breaking May temperatures Record-breaking May temperatures led to a sharp fall in shopper footfall, with shopping centres and retail parks suffering especially badly, figures show. Sunny weather initially encouraged more consumers to the shops, but soaring heat towards the end of the month led to an overall 2.6% drop in UK footfall across the month, according to British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic data. Shopping centre visits were down 2.4%, while the high street emerged relatively unscathed with a 1.5% fall. Lex Greensill banned from directing companies in UK for nine years Lex Greensill will be banned from directing companies in the UK for nine years after an investigation into the financier’s conduct at the helm of collapsed lending firm Greensill Capital. The Australian businessman agreed to be disqualified, bringing an end to planned court action, the Insolvency Service said. He had previously sought to challenge the government’s bid to ban him from directing companies for 12 years and a six-week trial in the High Court had been due to begin on Monday. Greensill was the founder and chief executive of Greensill Group, the UK arm of which entered administration in March 2021. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) began proceedings against him in 2024 after the Insolvency Service investigated various companies in the group that became insolvent, claiming he had committed misconduct. Skoda releases closer look at upcoming Peaq SUV ahead of launch Skoda has unveiled a series of sketches which better outline what its new Peaq SUV will look like ahead of its launch later this month. The Peaq will sit as the brand’s largest SUV when it is fully revealed on June 23, bringing seven-seater versatility in a car that will sit above Skoda’s Enyaq in its electric line-up. Few technical details of the new Skoda Peaq have been announced, though it’s expected to deliver a range of up to 380 miles in big-battery versions. Further information will be revealed at the car’s unveiling later this month. The markets The FTSE 100 made steady progress on Thursday, shrugging off weak oil majors as the oil price fell, and falls in Asian-focused banks and insurers. The FTSE 100 closed up 28.02 points, 0.3%, at 10,360.32. The FTSE 250 ended up 116.36 points, 0.5%, at 23,302.65, while the AIM All-Share rose 1.02 points, 0.1%, to 808.26. The pound traded at 1.3436 US dollars on Thursday, little changed from 1.3435 dollars on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling eased to 1.1558 euros from 1.1574 euros on Wednesday. Keir Starmer ‘will not walk away’ after Andy Burnham vows leadership challenge Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer ‘will not walk away’ after Andy Burnham said he will challenge him for the Labour leadership if he wins the Makerfield by-election. Downing Street said the process for challenging the Labour leader ‘has not been triggered’, and that the country expects ministers to ‘focus on governing’. The Greater Manchester Mayor has previously promised a vote for him in Makerfield would be a vote to ‘change Labour’ but had not explicitly said he would launch a bid until pressed on the BBC’s Question Time by-election special. Royal Navy helicopter crash victims named as families and military pay tribute Britain’s only serving female commando has been named amongst the three victims of a helicopter crash in Devon. Lieutenant Lily-Mae Fisher, 31, died alongside 42-year-old Lieutenant Commander Chris Gayson and 24-year-old Petty Officer Owen Green following the incident at Sourton Down, near Okehampton, just before 4am on Wednesday. The Merlin Mk4 helicopter crashed into a field during a training exercise, leaving the aircraft completely destroyed.