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Round-up: PM on brush with death; Dealer’s Covid-19 test centre; Brits oppose lockdown easing

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Time 7:41 am, May 3, 2020

  • Here’s your world, business and motoring news round-up for Sunday, May 3

PM’s doctors prepared to announce his death 

Boris Johnson has revealed that doctors prepared to announce his death as he battled coronavirus in hospital last month.

The Prime Minister spent three nights in intensive care at St Thomas’ in London with the disease, where he said medics gave him ‘litres and litres of oxygen’.


He described it as a ‘tough old moment’, telling the Sun On Sunday: ‘They had a strategy to deal with a “death of Stalin”-type scenario.

Mr Johnson, 55, said it was hard to believe his health had deteriorated in just a few days, saying he ‘couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting better’.

Big Motoring World car dealership used as Covid-19 testing centre


Peter Waddell – the owner of car supermarket group Big Motoring World – has cleared the forecourt of his Stratford dealership to allow the government to set up a Covid-19 testing centre.

In a statement on social media the group said Waddell welcomed the army to the branch on Friday which has had stock cleared due to the pandemic.

The group said: ‘We are happy to help the Mayor of London and all council workers at Newham council.’ 

Tesla applies to generate electricity in UK

Tesla has applied for a licence to generate electricity in the UK, documents show.

The US company is mainly known for its electric vehicles but also has operations in battery energy storage, solar panels and solar roof tile manufacturing. The application, made to the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority by Tesla, does not specify the reasons for seeking a licence.

It comes as this week the manufacturer could claim the top spot in the new car registrations chart for the first time as its Model 3s were likely to be among the few cars delivered in April.

Dealer groups Lookers and Pendragon ‘have merger talks’

Lookers and Pendragon – two of the biggest dealer groups in the UK – have held talks about a possible merger.


Sky News reported that Lookers rejected the approach and the decision not to engage with Pendragon was ‘largely a consequence of its board’s existing workload’. 

It is believed there are no ‘live discussions’ so it is unlikely the approach will be reported to the Stock Market tomorrow. Read the full story here.

Document on how dealers could reopen discussed at summit

Discussions at a summit between car industry representatives and the government on Friday centred around the detail of letting dealers back to work.

Utilising the large spaces most car showrooms occupy, health and safety measures and social distancing, discussions were around letting car dealers reopen as soon as May 11. Read the full story here.

Most Britons oppose loosening lockdown this week

More than four-in-five Britons are against lockdown restrictions being eased for schools, pubs and restaurants this week, a poll suggests.

PM Boris Johnson has promised a ‘road map’ this week for easing measures, but only 17 per cent of those polled thought the time was right to consider re-opening schools.

The Opinium poll for the Observer questioned 2,000 adults between Wednesday and Friday and showed 79 per cent were continuing to follow lockdown restrictions into their sixth week.

James Bond Defender heads to auction

A Land Rover Defender which had a starring role in the James Bond movie Spectre is heading to auction.

It’s one of 10 Defenders used in the film – only seven survived filming – each of them created by specialist Bowler Motorsport.

Massive 37-inch tyres are among the noticeable upgrades on the 110 pick-up, along with stiffened suspension and a heavy-duty roll cage. The Silverstone Auctions online sale will be held on May 23. 

Small firms that missed £10k grant could now benefit

Small businesses that missed out on the £10,000 government grant because they were not on the local council’s rates list could now get the money.

The Department for Business, Energy, Innovation & Skills (BEIS) has confirmed a new £617m scheme to support businesses in shared spaces, regular market traders and small charity properties.

Aimed at those firms who have ‘fallen through the cracks’ with the support already announced, the new money could see businesses who pay their rates via their landlord and market traders who do not have a rates assessment get the £10,000 grant. Read the full story here.

Shopping centre firm Intu threatens large tenants over unpaid rent

Shopping centre owner Intu has threatened to take ‘robust action’ against large tenants who have not paid their latest rent bills.

The cash-strapped retail property firm – that runs the Trafford Centre and 20 other intu sites – said it has only received 40 per cent of all rent and service charges for the first quarter of the year, which was due by the end of March.

Many tenants have been forced to shut their doors due to the government-mandated lockdown in the face of coronavirus.

Bounce back loan rate will be 2.5 per cent

The chancellor has told banks offering Bounce Back loans to small firms tomorrow that the rate should be pegged at 2.5 per cent.

In a letter to lenders who will be offering small businesses loans, 100 per cent backed by the government, the chancellor Rishi Sunak said the price of the loans was critical to their success.

He wrote: ‘As a 100 per cent guaranteed loan scheme, the price of BBLS is critical to its success: together, we need to ensure that these loans are affordable and accessible. As such, and incorporating a range of data, I have come to the decision that the rate should be set at 2.5 per cent.’ Read the full story here.

Tomorrow on Car Dealer Live: Devonshire Motors’ Nathan Tomlinson and Batchelors Motor Group MD Tony Denton chat to us live at midday Monday.

Yesterday’s round-up: Temp checks for commuters; Puma ST teased; US approve coronavirus drug; Elon’s Tesla tweet disaster

James Baggott's avatar

James is the founder and editor-in-chief of Car Dealer Magazine, and CEO of parent company Baize Group. James has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years writing about cars and the car industry.



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