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Monday newspaper round-up: House prices, Arcadia, Carillion, Brexit
The average price of a UK property coming on to the market has risen by more than £2,400 in a month to just over £300,000 amid evidence of "record" levels of house-hunting activity, according to Rightmove. The website, which tracks 90% of the UK property market, said the national average asking price for a home had increased by 0.8% during the past month, following the 0.7% rise it reported in mid-January. - Guardian
Sir Philip Green is thought to be considering the sale of his Topshop-to-Burton empire Arcadia as a Chinese textiles giant reportedly looks over its books. Green is thought to be seeking an exit from the group as his ageing, poor-performing brands including Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Evans come under attack from fast-expanding online players such as Boohoo and Missguided. - Guardian
One of Carillion's largest shareholders was lining up to sue the group for loss of its clients' money when the firm collapsed, as investors said the board failed to effect change as the company floundered. A letter sent from Kiltearn Partners' chief executive Murdoch Murchison to the House of Commons select committee leading the inquiry on Carillion's downfall said that if it had not gone into liquidation, the company would have "considered participation in civil legal action against Carillion with a view to recovering a proportion of its clients' crystallised losses". - Telegraph
The UK's competition watchdog is launching a crackdown on cartels after the success of its first advertising campaign led to a rise in tip-offs about illegal activity. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) paid for adverts for the first time last year to encourage tip-offs about potential price-fixing activity. - Telegraph
Savers are being tricked out of half a million pounds every day after a surge in criminals targeting British pension riches, The Times can reveal. People with nest eggs to invest, including those with new freedoms to access their pensions, are falling for well-resourced foreign fraudsters impersonating the identities of legitimate companies. Investigations into "clone fraud" have almost doubled over the past year, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the City's chief watchdog, with some victims losing hundreds of thousands of pounds. - The Times
The government must guarantee that it will not interfere with the way industry standards are set in the UK after Brexit, three of Britain's biggest business groups have warned. Many businesses are concerned that the government may choose to establish new UK rules and standards of its own once Britain has left the EU in order to simplify regulations. - The Times