Wednesday newspaper round-up: PwC, house prices, JLR

(Sharecast News) - More than 1,000 partners at the UK division of the "big four" accounting firm PwC will be paid £906,000 this year, a slight fall on last year's record payout as profits fell despite rising revenues. Unaudited accounts released by the company showed that PwC's UK profit fell from £1.5bn to £1.3bn in 2022, although last year's figure was boosted by a £139m gain from the sale of its global mobility business. - Guardian PwC has been a significant beneficiary of Saudi Arabia's global spending spree as the Gulf state looks to grow its economy beyond oil and gas. Strong demand for its advice from Middle Eastern clients helped drive a 30pc jump in the "Big Four" company's consulting revenues last year, new accounts show. - Telegraph

High interest rates are putting indebted businesses under the most pressure since 2009, the Bank of England has warned. Half of all businesses with borrowings will be struggling to meet debt payments by the end of this year, the Bank said, up from 45pc last year. - Telegraph

Falling house prices and record wage growth has meant houses have become more affordable on paper, but the rising cost of borrowing has cancelled out any benefit. The cost of a typical UK home is 6.7 times average earnings, down from a peak of 7.3 last summer, according to analysis from the country's biggest mortgage lender, Halifax. - Sky News

The UK's largest carmaker has announced plans to use old car batteries to store energy the national grid can't use and return it to the network at peak times. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is turning its used car batteries into what it says will be one of the largest energy storage systems in the UK. - Sky News