Here are the business stories making the headlines locally and across the country this morning.
Care home operator Four Seasons plots £300m sale
A care home operator which once ranked among the largest in Britain is being put up for sale in a move expected to fetch about £300m.
Sky News has learnt that Four Seasons Health Care Group has appointed CBRE, the property agent, to oversee an auction in the coming months.
The process will be launched after a protracted period in which Four Seasons was reshaped and slimmed-down through a string of asset sales.
The operator has one home in Aberdeen, located on Queens Road.
Interest rates expected to be held at 5.25%
Interest rates are expected to be held at 5.25% for the seventh time in a row by the Bank of England on Thursday.
Despite inflation hitting the central bank's target level for the first time in three years, most economists have predicted rates, currently at a 16-year high, will not be cut.
They believe the Bank will wait to see if inflation stays at 2% in the coming months, with a first rate cut in the autumn now looking more likely than the summer.
The Bank's decision comes in the run up to the general election, with policies for the future of the UK economy a key battleground for political parties.
Telegraph finds £278m black hole in finances
The Telegraph Media Group has disclosed a £278 million black hole in its finances after its parent company, linked to the Barclay family, borrowed money that may not be repaid, according to latest company accounts.
The board has also warned of risks to its balance sheet from “potential irregularities” in the recording of transactions in the new filings to Companies House.
The group has outlined its financial position as bidders line up for an auction of The Telegraph and The Spectator magazine following the collapse of a bid for the titles by an Abu Dhabi-backed venture.
It reported a 5 per cent increase in turnover to £268 million in 2023 but swung to a loss of £244.6 million as a result of the provision as compared to a profit of £33.3 million in 2022. Underlying earnings, excluding the exceptional costs, were £59.8 million, up 28%.
Consumers cut spending on eating out, takeaways and clothes
Consumers are cutting back on eating out, takeaway food, and clothing purchases to save on non-essential spending even as inflation has fallen back to 2% this year.
New figures from KPMG show that four in ten British households are saving around £77 a month by reducing expenditure on discretionary items after two years of a cost of living squeeze caused by rising prices. Just under half of those surveyed said their non-essential spending was unchanged this year.
Linda Ellett, head of consumer and retail at KPMG UK, said households were finding ways to “adapt to or prepare for significant cost hikes, such as a remortgage or rent increase.
“Slowing inflation does not mean that consumers are seeing a reduction in prices and costs and the overall squeeze on many monthly budgets continues,” Ellett said.