BUSINESS LIVE: Nissan UK factory investment; L&G in Boots pension buy-in; Mothercare hit by MENA volatility

James Bond and Christmas-themed toy car and train sets will fly off the shelves this winter, Hornby said.

The maker of model trains expects a £49.99 Scalextric James Bond 007 racing set and a £79.99 Santa train set to be popular as it sets course for a ‘positive’ second half, with a ‘strong’ order book.

The Margate firm has planned stronger seasonal promotions than in previous years but added that ‘like everyone, we are seeing the ramp up into Christmas trade coming later ’.

Mothercare sales have been severely affected by trading conditions in its key market of the Middle East.

The retailer’s international retail sales by franchise partners fell 15 per cent year-on-year to £137.2million in the first half, reflecting ‘difficult trading conditions in the Middle East’ where sales fell 20 per cent over the period.

Chairman Clive Whiley said: ‘These results are testament to our continued drive to preserve the strength of the Mothercare brand in a fast changing retail and macroeconomic trading environment.

‘Against significant headwinds in the Middle East, one of our core markets, we are pleased that our business model and disciplined approach to cost has resulted in an increase in profitability for the first half.’

British life insurer and asset manager Legal & General ohas agreed to a £4.8billion full buy-in of the Boots Pension Scheme, in what it said was the largest such transaction in Britain by premium size.

The deal forms part of a rising trend for pension risk transfer, whereby trustees of pension schemes, such as the Boots one, pay a premium for the insurer to assume some of the liabilities of a scheme, to reduce uncertainty.

Rising funding ratios for pension schemes are driving unprecedented demand, Legal & General said, as funds scramble to protect schemes against the vagaries of market movements amid rising interest rates worldwide.

Jeremy Hunt was given a double boost yesterday as figures showed the economy was returning to growth and experts upgraded their GDP forecasts after his Autumn Statement.

The UK purchasing managers’ index (PMI) revealed Britain’s private sector was just about back in expansion mode after three months of decline – and ahead of the eurozone which continues to struggle.

Businesses were buoyed by the end of interest rate increases and falling inflation, the closely-watched survey found.

Nissan will invest £1.12billion to build electric versions of two popular crossover models at its Sunderland plant in a fresh boost for Britain’s auto industry amid the switch to electric vehicles.

The Japanese automaker said its plans for electric versions of the Qashqai and Juke – which are currently produced at the Sunderland plant – will require an investment of up to £2billion in a third battery plant in the UK and infrastructure projects.

Nissan did not provide additional details on those investments.

Japan’s third-biggest automaker said it would announce the names of the new EV models and timings for production launches at a later date.

‘With electric versions of our core European models on the way, we are accelerating towards a new era for Nissan,’ CEO Makoto Uchida said in a statement