Landslide Win

Hey ZipLawyer! Here's how this week's news impact law firms.

💸 British Gas hunts small businesses
🇮🇹 Why millionaires are moving to Italy
🚗 EV Tariff War heats up
🏝️ Climate Change boosts insurance costs

The Headlines

🇬🇧 Landslide: The Labour party won the general election with a huge parliamentary majority. We will soon launch a new ZipLaw+ series unpacking how Labour's win could impact Law Firms.

🌍 Boeing's Big Buy: Boeing is set to acquire Spirit AeroSystems for $8.3bn, reintegrating its former jet fuselage maker. This move aims to streamline production after numerous quality complaints. Parts for Airbus will be sold off to the European company.

💶 Eurozone Inflation Eases: Eurozone inflation slightly decreased to 2.5% in June. However, service prices still rose by 4.1%. The ECB is expected to maintain interest rates on July 18th after a recent cut.

🌱 Google's Emissions Rise: Google's annual environmental report shows a 13% increase in carbon emissions, now 48% above its 2019 baseline, due to expanding data centers and AI use. Despite this, Google aims for net zero by 2030.

🛡️ Meta's Ad Model Scrutiny: The European Commission is challenging Meta’s “pay or consent” advertising model under the Digital Markets Act. Meta asserts its compliance with European rulings and seeks constructive dialogue with regulators.

✈️ Lufthansa’s Italian Expansion: EU regulators approved Lufthansa’s acquisition of a 41% stake in ITA, Italy's national airline. Rome’s Fiumicino airport will become Lufthansa's sixth hub, enhancing access to Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.

Pay or Fail

What’s going on?

British Gas is ramping up pressure on small businesses by filing a record number of winding-up petitions.

What does this mean?
British Gas filed 171 winding-up orders against companies over the past two years, compared to just 51 in 2021 and 2022. Skyrocketing energy bills, spurred by the Ukraine conflict, have left small businesses—like restaurants and care homes—struggling to keep up. The lifting of pandemic protections has further exposed these companies to financial vulnerability. Despite soaring energy costs, British Gas saw a tenfold profit increase in 2023, driven by higher bills for residential and business customers alike. With small businesses facing potential bankruptcy, there's growing demand for the energy ombudsman to step in and offer more robust protections. Meanwhile, Centrica, British Gas’s parent company, faces scrutiny for its handling of customer debt and the significant pay rise for its CEO amid the ongoing crisis.

How does this impact Law Firms?