SPORTS Direct investor and hedge fund manager Crispin Odey has voiced concern that Mike Ashley's group has not appointed a permanent finance director 14 months after the previous incumbent stepped down.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that Mr Odey, who has a five per cent stake in the sports retailer, said there is too much power in Mr Ashley's hands and no-one there to question his decisions.

Energy secretary Ed Davey has intervened to stop a fund controlled by Russian investors from buying North Sea fields, according to the Sunday Times.

Letter One Energy, set up by oligarchs German Khan and Mikhail Fridman and chaired by former BP boss Lord Browne, had previously agreed to pay £3.7bn to buy 12 fields from RWE along with assets in Egypt, Germany and other locations.

But Mr Davey has indicated he will force it to sell the North Sea sites if the deal goes ahead.

Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund is reported to be preparing a £1.6 billion bid for The Maybourne Hotel Group, which owns London institutions such as Claridge's, The Berkeley and The Connaught.

The Sunday Times said the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority already owns the Lanesborough in Knightsbridge along with a portfolio of Marriot hotels it bought from Royal Bank of Scotland two years ago.

HSBC is believed to be considering breaking with tradition and appointing an outsider as chairman.

Investors are said to be keen to have a more independent voice at the head of the boardroom. However the Sunday Times says there is no suggestion that Scottish born chairman Douglas Flint is under any immediate pressure to go.

Blackstone boss Stephen Schwarzman was paid £447m last year. The Sunday Times said the pay packet for the co-founder of the private equity giant was one of the biggest in Wall Street history.

The maker of the popular Morphsuit costumes has fallen to a loss in its most recent financial year, according to Scotland on Sunday.

AFG Media, based in Edinburgh, said sales dipped from £11.05m to £10.1m with a loss of £162,943 compared to a £1.08m profit in the prior year.

The business said the loss was a result of investing in infrastructure and products for the long-term.

Independent children's shoe shop Maddie & Marks is in talks over franchising its business model with a number of interested parties and eyeing a move to Glasgow.

The Sunday Herald said the Edinburgh company, which runs three outlets in the Scottish capital and has sales of more than £1m, is discussing options with three potential partners.