Friday newspaper round-up: Energy ambitions, Royal Mail, Unilever

Sweden’s state energy company has abandoned work on a multibillion-pound wind farm off the coast of Norfolk because of soaring costs in a blow to Britain’s clean energy ambitions. Vattenfall said it was stopping development of the 1.4 gigawatt Norfolk Boreas wind farm, which could have powered about 1.5 million homes, after supply chain problems and inflation increased its costs by up to 40 per cent. - The Times

Big brand-owners such as Heinz and Unilever are to be investigated by the competition regulator amid concerns shoppers are being overcharged for groceries. The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigation into rising grocery prices will look at the role of international food conglomerates, which is also likely to include companies such as Cadbury-owner Mondelez and Coca-Cola. - Daily Telegraph

CVC, the private equity group, has defied the sceptics by successfully raising a record €26 billion ($27.9 billion) from investors for a new fund to do buyout deals. The biggest ever private equity fundraising, for the CVC Capital Partners IX fund, eclipses the $26.2 billion raised by Blackstone for its Capital Partners VIII in 2019 and comes at a difficult time for the asset class. - The Times

The parent of Royal Mail has appointed insider Martin Seidenberg its group chief executive as it embarks on a dramatic overhaul. Seidenberg has been promoted to the head of International Distributions Services (IDS) and will take up the role next month. - Daily Mail

The Labour party has won its biggest ever byelection victory by overturning a 20,000-vote Conservative majority in Selby and Ainsty, sending a 25-year-old to parliament. But Keir Starmer’s party failed to win Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Boris Johnson’s old constituency. The Conservatives held on to the outer London seat with a majority of 495, the only bit of good news in an otherwise miserable night for Rishi Sunak. - Guardian