BUSINESS LIVE: BoE expected to keep rates on hold; Thames Water names new boss; Currys sales slump

BP last night concluded former chief executive Bernard Looney was guilty of ‘serious misconduct’ after a scandal over past relationships with colleagues.

The oil giant’s board led by industry veteran Helge Lund decided to strip Looney of £32million in pay and bonuses.

Looney quit in September after the scandal first erupted.

Currys sales slumped 7 per cent year-on-year in the first half as the electricals retailer suffered subdued market for discretionary spending and particular weakness in its Nordics business.

The group posted an adjusted pre-tax loss of £16million for the six months to 28 October, versus a loss of £17million in the same period last year, on revenues of £4.2billion.

Currys said trading since the period end had been consistent with the board’s expectations, with analysts pointing to a full-year adjusted pretax profit of £103million, down from £119million last year.

The seller of ovens, fridges, washing machines, TVs, computers and mobile phones had already warned that the outlook for its 2023/24 year would be tough as consumers grapple with less disposable income.

Embattled utilities group Thames Water has named Chris Weston as its new chief executive, with the former boss of Aggreko taking up the role on 8 January.

Sir Adrian Montague, chairman, said: ‘I am delighted that Chris will be joining the business. He has a proven track record working in regulated environments, turning round business performance and improving customer experience.

‘He brings strong operational and strategic expertise as we enter this crucial period of delivering our refocused turnaround plan and providing the service that customers rightly expect of us.

‘I would also like to express my gratitude to Cathryn Ross and Alastair Cochran for their hard work and the progress they have made over the last few months whilst leading Thames Water as Interim Co-CEOs.’

Zara owner Inditex posted a slowdown in sales growth just weeks before Christmas in another gloomy episode for retail.

It comes as recent sales data has sounded alarm bells that the UK High Street is struggling to entice consumers to part with cash.

The world’s largest fashion retailer said its sales in stores and online grew 11 per cent over the nine months to October 31, hitting £22billion.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is expected to keep base rate on hold at 5.25 per cent in an announcement at midday today.

It follows evidence of easing inflation, with wage growth moderating, and slowing economic growth after fresh data on Wednesday showed GDP contracted 0.3 per cent last month.