Payments firm to reorganise into four business units

Payment solutions provider PayPoint has revealed a restructuring plan aimed at cutting costs and attracting more customers to use its services in shops.

It will result in the company being restructured into four divisions, encompassing its network services, merchant services, digital payments and open banking, and its Love2shop brand.

PayPoint operates a retail network of over 30,000 convenience stores, offering community services such as cash withdrawals and deposits, ATMs, cash bill payments, energy top-ups and vouchers. It also runs Collect+ and Royal Mail Shops, enabling parcels to be collected and returned at thousands of local outlets.

The company has not disclosed cost-cutting targets or specified whether there will be any impact on its workforce, which numbered around 940 employees this time last year. However, it said the reorganisation will create cost savings and could potentially result in increased dividends for shareholders.

As part of the changes, PayPoint stated it is concentrating on boosting consumer footfall and enhancing sales from its services across retail partners. The overhaul will also entail a significant “reset” of the structure of its merchant services division, which collaborates with over 30,000 UK SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to provide payment services in their shops.

Meanwhile, PayPoint plans to expand the Love2shop brand, which provides digital and physical gift cards. That division, based in Liverpool’s landmark 20 Chapel Street building, is set to bring in £53.2m in revenue this financial year.

The group said: “The reorganisation will enable an improved focus on new business growth and on maximising opportunities across Love2shop’s distribution channels. Continued investment in our technology platform, ongoing product enhancement and leveraging AI to improve marketing insight will strengthen our go-to-market strategy and support accelerated new business growth across Love2shop Business, the expansion of our prepaid savings proposition and growth of our consumer channels, including through our Incomm Payments partnership. There also remain significant opportunities to integrate Love2shop more efficiently across the wider PayPoint Group and client base.”

PayPoint acquired Love2Shop when it took over Merseyside Christmas vouchers firm Appreciate Group in an £83m deal in 2023. That business, formerly known as Park Group, was founded by former Everton FC and Tranmere Rovers owner Peter Johnson and was originally best known for its Christmas hamper savings scheme.

London-listed PayPoint anticipates reporting a record financial performance for the year ending in March, with results due to be published in June. It also forecasts returning over £90 million to shareholders through buybacks and dividends during the financial year.

Ineos has reported a sharp widening in losses to $593 million, as rising energy costs, supply chain disruption and geopolitical tensions weigh heavily on Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s petrochemicals empire.

The group, controlled by Jim Ratcliffe alongside co-owners Andy Currie and John Reece, has also suspended its dividend for a second consecutive year, underscoring the financial pressure facing the business.

Losses before tax increased significantly from $71.1 million the previous year, while revenues declined to €14.3 billion from €16.2 billion. The downturn reflects a challenging operating environment for the European chemicals sector, where demand has weakened and costs have risen sharply.

Ineos pointed directly to the escalation of tensions in the Middle East as a key risk factor, warning that disruption to global energy markets is already impacting operations.

The group highlighted Iran’s strategic position near the Strait of Hormuz,  a critical shipping route for oil and liquefied natural gas, noting that any prolonged conflict could further destabilise supply chains and drive up commodity prices.

“Any escalation or expansion of hostilities could adversely affect global supply chains, commodity prices and macroeconomic conditions,” the company said in its annual report.

The surge in oil and gas prices has increased input costs across the petrochemicals industry, while also raising shipping expenses as companies adjust logistics routes to avoid high-risk areas.

The impact has been particularly acute in Europe, where Ineos has long warned of structural challenges including high energy prices, carbon taxes and competitive pressures from overseas producers.

Earnings before exceptional items in the region almost halved to €252.3 million in 2025, down from €470.2 million the previous year. Revenues in the European business fell by 9.2 per cent, reflecting weaker demand and margin compression.

Ratcliffe has previously described the European chemicals industry as facing “challenging market conditions”, with rising regulatory costs and energy prices eroding competitiveness.

The group has also been hit by logistical challenges linked to global shipping disruptions. In previous years, Ineos was forced to reroute shipments for its major Project One chemicals plant in Belgium around the Cape of Good Hope, adding more than €30 million in costs.

The company warned that similar disruptions could occur again if tensions escalate, potentially delaying the completion of key projects and further increasing expenses.

It also flagged risks to the delivery timeline of a new plant in the Netherlands, citing ongoing volatility in energy markets.

Ineos ended the year with net debt of €11.7 billion, highlighting the scale of its financial commitments at a time of declining profitability.

The decision to halt dividend payments reflects a focus on preserving cash and maintaining financial flexibility as the company navigates an uncertain outlook.

The results underline the pressures facing energy-intensive industries in Europe, where companies are grappling with a combination of high input costs, regulatory burdens and geopolitical instability.

For petrochemical producers, the reliance on oil and gas as both feedstock and energy source makes them particularly sensitive to price fluctuations.

Looking ahead, Ineos warned that continued volatility in energy markets could have a “significant” impact on its operations and financial performance.

The trajectory of the Middle East conflict will be a key factor, with prolonged disruption likely to exacerbate cost pressures and delay investment projects.

For Ratcliffe’s group, the challenge will be balancing investment in long-term growth with the need to manage short-term financial strain — a task made more complex by the increasingly uncertain global economic environment.

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is offering what could be big money for potentially “hundreds of billions” recouped from fraudsters emboldened during a Biden administration that unwound guardrails under the guise of COVID relief urgency, he told Fox News on Monday.

“We can pay up to a 30% reward for the recovered funds,” Bessent told “Fox & Friends.”

Bessent said fraudsters were let loose as a result of former President Joe Biden’s administration reducing fraud controls to expedite hundreds of billions in pandemic-related funds out to Americans who needed it, and now the buck stops with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance as fraud czar.

“We are all hands on deck because this is money that is not going to where it’s supposed to go, but more importantly, it’s being stolen from the American taxpayer,” Bessent said. “We need to be a high-trust society. We need to understand where the money is going.”

SBA FREEZES OVER 100,000 CALIFORNIA BORROWERS IN SWEEPING $9B PANDEMIC FRAUD CRACKDOWN

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is offering up to 30% of “hundreds of billions” potentially recouped from Biden-era emboldened fraudsters. (FOX Business)

“This could be hundreds of billions of dollars in recouped money,” he noted.

Bessent’s Treasury Department is now offering whistleblowers a major financial incentive to help expose fraud, directing would-be tipsters to the Treasury.gov website and saying the administration has already received more than 700 leads. Treasury’s whistleblower page says eligible tipsters can receive between 10% and 30% of monetary sanctions collected in successful actions.

Bessent also blamed weaknesses in anti-fraud enforcement on the Biden administration’s handling of pandemic aid.

TOM EMMER CALLS FOR TIM WALZ, KEITH ELLISON TO ‘SERVE JAIL TIME’ IF FRAUD COVERUP ALLEGATIONS ARE TRUE

Former President Joe Biden’s administration has been rebuked for unwinding fraud and oversight controls of hundreds of billions of COVID relief funds. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“A lot of this is a result of during COVID,” Bessent said. “Many of the agencies under the Biden administration gutted their fraud departments, their fraud detection, or took down the fraud detection to get the money out quickly for COVID relief. But they never brought back the guardians of our money. So, we have to have integrity in these programs.”

He argued stronger oversight and public visibility are needed to restore integrity to government programs, claiming that blue states like California and New York are covering for fraudsters against government oversight and investigations.

DEPUTY AG TODD BLANCHE SHEDS LIGHT ON NEW DOJ FRAUD DIVISION TO ADDRESS ‘INSANE’ PROBLEM

While Minnesota fraud among the state’s Somali community has made headlines thus far thanks to independent journalist Nick Shirley’s reporting, Bessent actually praised that state for having some level of transparency that is not permitted in California or New York.

“That’s why that young man, Nick Shirley, was able to go to see the scams, because it was: This is the name of the facility; this is the address; this is how much money they got,” Bessent said. “Oh look, it’s an empty storefront. There’s no one here. New York, California are hiding it.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

States must be more transparent, blue and red, Bessent concluded.

“We’re all in favor of states’ rights and states doing more, but the money goes into a lot of these blue states, and some of the red states could be more transparent,” he said.

Station on mid-Cheshire line would have services to Manchester Piccadilly via Stockport

People in Cheadle are demanding that progress be made on plans to build a new train station in the village.

The scheme has been in the pipeline for years after nearly £14m was offered to Cheadle by the government’s Towns Fund in 2021, funding a series of local projects including a new train station.

Planning permission from Stockport council was granted in 2023, with the idea that the station would join the mid-Cheshire line with services to Manchester Piccadilly via Stockport.

The mid-Cheshire line is a Northern service which runs from Chester, stopping off at several stations along the way to Stockport, including Plumley and Ashley.

The proposed single platform in Cheadle would be located 100 metres north of High Street and accessed from Manchester Road.

But since then the scheme has stalled, with concerns raised about how the station could impact timetables elsewhere on the network.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked people in Cheadle about the plans for a new train station.

“We want it here, we wanted it yesterday,” said 49-year-old James Lumsden while tucking into his lunch.

“The closest transport routes here are Parrs Wood with the tram at East Didsbury, but it’s a long walk that’s not great at night or early morning.”

One of the issues that residents raised was the sheer amount of traffic on Cheadle High Street.

On a Tuesday afternoon there was rarely a moment without cars and buses whizzing along the road, with all the noise and congestion that brings.

James Lumsden added: “In the morning at half eight to nine quite often the traffic can back up through the village all the way to Parrs Wood, it makes it feel not as nice a place to be.

“Another thing is, if there was something else that got people into the city centre it would make it safer for the children going to school around here, because there would be less cars on the road.”

Steve McGann, 68, joined the calls for a new station to help reduce the stress on Cheadle’s roads.

He said: “It’s constantly busy here with the traffic, and having a station may help the restaurants because people don’t want to drink and drive, there are a lot of little places here for the evening trade.

“I’m sure it would benefit the area.”

Someone who has been campaigning for progress on Cheadle station is MP Tom Morrison.

Mr Morrison raised the issue in Parliament earlier this month on March 18.

He said: “Cheadle is suffering from chronic congestion. Everyone in the area will know what I mean when I talk about the Manchester Road crawl.

“Between 8am and 9am, and then between 3pm and 6pm, the roads between Cheadle and Manchester stand at a halt as hundreds upon hundreds of cars, buses, lorries and other vehicles try to use the route between the two areas.

“This happens every day of the week and has become a source of real angst for my constituents.”

The MP added: “People are rightly encouraged to take the bus for public transport, but it takes an hour to get from Cheadle to Manchester Piccadilly, and from Cheadle to Stockport town centre, whereas it would take just 18 minutes and seven minutes respectively by train.

“It is clear that Cheadle train station is the antidote. The benefits of restoring Cheadle’s rail connection would be boundless, breathing extra life into the high street, connecting residents with work and family, reducing congestion and supporting clean growth, while opening up the region for my constituents.”

Keir Mather MP, parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department for Transport, put delays at the station down to ‘several concerns’ around timetable feasibility and the potential effects on performance.

The MP explained in the debate: “The Rail North partnership board is the decision-making board for service considerations for Northern Trains Ltd and TransPennine trains, and is one part of the process that needs to be take place to enable the service change.

“It is now evident that service change, including reducing the frequency of services that stop at Ashley and Plumley, is the only way that an hourly stop at a new station at Cheadle could be accommodated. Officials are developing a paper for consideration by the Rail North partnership board at its next meeting on 15 April.”

He added: “After years of poor performance, it is more important than ever that passengers regain confidence in the rail services they rely on and that the risk to punctuality is fully understood and mitigated as far as possible.

“However, any timetable changes must be carefully considered to balance local benefits against wider network impacts.”

Lib Dem Councillor Grace Baynham is the cabinet member for highways and transport at Stockport council.

She said some of Cheadle’s roads are ‘constantly busy’ and that the station could help more people get around on public transport.

“Unfortunately, it means people have got limited options for public transport, but by having the station there it would give them a realistic option to use the train.

“The train can get them to Manchester Piccadilly to onward travel as well, so it opens up a whole new raft of options for residents here.

“It’s really frustrating, as soon as we get the go-ahead we’re going to get going as soon as possible, the money is there, the will is there, we have cross-party support, we just need the government now to give it the go-ahead and once we get that we’ll start work.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is leading this project, and it is for them to bring forward proposals that meet the necessary requirements.

“We are committed to improving rail in the north and the rail minister recently met with the council to support this work.”

A Transport for Greater Manchester spokesperson said: “Cheadle’s new station will bring major benefits, improving connectivity, easing congestion on local roads, and supporting wider growth ambitions across the area.

“People understandably want to see the station delivered as soon as possible.

“The next step is for the rail industry to agree a timetable so construction can begin.

“We are working closely with Stockport council, who are responsible for delivering the scheme, as well as Northern and Network Rail and remain fully committed to the new station.”

A spokesperson for Northern said: “We continue to work with all relevant stakeholders, including Stockport council, Transport for Greater Manchester and Network Rail on proposals for the new station at Cheadle, including a review of the wider timetable implications along the line.”

To find all the planning applications, traffic diversions, road layout changes, alcohol licence applications and more in your community, visit the Public Notices Portal.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.