Tuesday newspaper round-up: Prepayment meters, The Telegraph, Vertical Aerospace

(Sharecast News) - London is capturing an ever-bigger share of the UK's record service sector exports and government action is needed to ensure other big cities keep pace with the capital, a report says. The Resolution Foundation said London accounted for almost half of the UK's service sector exports, with its share of the total rising from 38% to 46% between 2016 and 2021. - Guardian More than 2 million people across the UK will be cut off from their gas and electricity this winter because they cannot afford to top up their prepayment meters, according to Citizens Advice. The charity said it had made the estimate for what is expected to be its busiest winter ever for helping people who cannot afford to top up, after last year 1.7 million people were disconnected at least once a month. About 800,000 people went more than 24 hours without gas and electricity, unable to make a hot meal or take a warm shower, because they could not afford to top up. - Guardian

The leader of the Abu Dhabi-backed bid for The Telegraph has attended a Conservative networking lunch alongside the Prime Minister and the Culture Secretary, as they prepare to decide whether the takeover can go ahead. Jeff Zucker, the head of RedBird IMI and former CNN chief, was among guests at the Conservative Friends of Israel's annual business lunch at the InterContinental Park Lane in London. - Telegraph

Vertical Aerospace, the electric flying taxi business, has been handed $50 million by its founder to keep it airborne. Stephen Fitzpatrick, the Northern Irish entrepreneur who is behind the household supplier Ovo Energy, will inject $25 million of equity capital in the first instance at $10 a share, with a further $25 million by the end of July at an undetermined price. This will be reduced if the company secures equity funding from alternative sources. - The Times

A start-up that can clone people's voices has been valued at more than $1 billion in its latest funding round, with investment from Silicon Valley stalwarts including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. ElevenLabs uses artificial intelligence to convert written words into speech that sounds as if it is being read by real voices and "renders human intonation and inflections with unrivalled fidelity", according to the business. - The Times