Thursday newspaper round-up: Homebase, P&O Ferries, Boohoo

(Sharecast News) - The struggling DIY chain Homebase has collapsed into administration, leaving thousands of workers facing an uncertain future, despite the purchase of the bulk of its stores by the owner of The Range homeware retailer. Gavin Park, Gavin Maher and Adele Macleod from the financial advisory firm Teneo were appointed as joint administrators of Homebase's owners, HHGL Limited and Hampden Group Limited. - Guardian P&O Ferries spent more than £47m on sacking hundreds of UK seafarers in 2022, according to its long overdue accounts that will be published in the coming days. The filings, which the Guardian has seen, confirm the financial cost of the company's actions two and a half years ago when it outraged the public and parliament by dismissing 786 mainly British ferry workers - and then largely replacing them with low-cost agency staff from countries including India, the Philippines and Malaysia. - Guardian

Boohoo has urged shareholders to reject Mike Ashley's attempts to take control of the fashion brand, claiming the Sports Direct billionaire could have "ulterior motives" in his approach. The fast fashion company has written to investors calling for them to vote against demands being made by its largest shareholder Frasers, which is seeking to add its founder Mr Ashley to the Boohoo board, along with Mike Lennon, its restructuring expert. - Telegraph

Consumer group Which? has launched a £3 billion claim against Apple, claiming the tech giant has breached competition law by "forcing its iCloud services on customers". It says Apple has encouraged users to sign up to iCloud to store photos, videos and other data and is therefore favouring its own products, while simultaneously making it difficult to use alternative providers, ultimately stifling competition. - The Times

An independent interest rate setter at the Bank of England who has consistently favoured restrictive monetary policy said on Wednesday that she is prepared to "move big" on cutting interest rates once it is clear inflation has stabilised. Catherine Mann, an external member of the monetary policy committee (MPC), said that "when I have evidence that there has been a removal or sufficient moderation of inflation persistence, then I will move at a bigger step". - The Times