Britain's beleaguered High Street continues to see the number of vacant shops increase thanks to recent failures including Comet and Jessops.

The shares tumbled 20.5pc to 177.9p as the group, which has almost �2bn of net debt, announced the rights issue alongside its full year results on Monday, which showed that pre-tax profits plunged 87pc to �37.2m last year.

Marks & Spencer has become the latest in a string of UK companies to face criticism from tax campaigners over the way it structures its online sales to Europe - with one describing its sales operation as similar to that of the internet retail giant Amazon.

Some of Britain's most successful and eminent business leaders have accused Eurosceptic MPs of putting �politics before economics� and abandoning the national interest in their calls for Britain to leave the European Union.

Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA), Europe's biggest discount airline, boosted full-year profit 13 percent as it added routes and planes to target short-haul markets in which full-service operators are struggling to stem losses.