Monday newspaper round-up: Pay gap, Thames Water, Boohoo
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 20 Jul 2026
(Sharecast News) - The bosses of Britain's largest listed companies received record pay last year, fuelling the widest earnings gap with workers in eight years. Median pay for FTSE 100 chief executives hit £5.06m in the last financial year, according to data released by the High Pay Centre, an 8.6% increase on £4.66m the previous year and the highest level on record. Executive remuneration has been rising steadily since the pandemic, when CEOs took pay and bonus cuts as the lockdowns affected business performance. - Guardian
The group of investors pursuing a rescue bid for Thames Water have said they are willing to discuss greater public control but are also preparing for a potential multi-billion pound legal battle amid reports that Andy Burnham could temporarily nationalise the company. London & Valley Water (L&VW), a consortium of 100 institutional investors that hold £17bn of the company's £21bn debt, has said it is open to government involvement with Thames Water, but indicated that this does not include public ownership in the struggling company. - Guardian
Heat pump households face winter warmth rationing as the drive to net zero raises increasing fears of blackouts. By the end of next year, electricity suppliers will be able to remotely turn down heat pump central heating to help Britain's energy system cope with high demand. Suppliers are expected to do so on the instructions of the quango responsible for coordinating the grid, which is overseen by Ed Miliband's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). - Telegraph
Boohoo has been hit with £10m worth of new legal claims from investors alleging that top executives knew the fast-fashion company was using sweatshops in Leicester to make its clothes. A further 11 institutional investors have joined a High Court lawsuit against Boohoo after a 2020 crash in its share price, which was triggered by revelations about its use of sweatshops. The new claims have pushed the value of the compensation sought to £245m. - Telegraph
The government's £11 billion overhaul of late payment rules could be a "car crash" if not properly thought through and the new sanctions are not enforced, a former government business tsar has warned. Philip King, the small business commissioner during the pandemic, said previous drives to tackle the issue had fallen flat partly because of a lack of enforcement. - The Times
Boeing has signalled it will commit to building training jets and sophisticated aerial drones in Britain to win contracts from the Ministry of Defence in a sign of the changing relationship between the UK and the US under the Trump administration. Speaking at a briefing before the Farnborough International Airshow, the biennial defence and commercial aerospace jamboree that opens in Hampshire on Monday, Kelly Ortberg, the chief executive of the US aerospace giant, admitted that while President Trump had been "very good" for Boeing, relationships with European nations were being recalibrated. - The Times
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