Thursday newspaper round-up: Car productions, rents, Tesla, Sensyne Health

(Sharecast News) - The lowest number of cars rolled out of British factories last year since 1956, as the industry warned that rising energy costs and further shortages of computer chips will plague its recovery. Car production slumped across the UK and the world in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the globe, but many in the industry had expected a rapid improvement. Instead, the disruption triggered a global shortage of semiconductor chips, leading to an even worse 2021. - Guardian Private rents in Britain are rising at their fastest rate on record, piling more pressure on households feeling the strain of the cost of living crisis. The average advertised rent outside London is 9.9% higher than a year ago as tenants making plans for a post-pandemic life jostle for properties, according to the website Rightmove. Meanwhile, London rents have hit a new record and are higher now than before the start of the pandemic after a bounceback in demand fuelled by the gradual return to the workplace and more overseas students looking for a place to live. - Guardian

Tesla has announced a record annual profit following a surge in demand for electric cars that has made its chief executive Elon Musk the world's richest man. Full-year profits were over seven times higher at $5.5bn (£4.1bn) and sales soared 71pc to $54bn, both shattering Tesla's previous records and making 2021 a "breakthrough year". - Telegraph

A private equity-style fee structure that has paid out an unprecedented £60 million to two stockpickers at Jupiter Fund Management is to be reviewed by the investment trust footing the bill. Chrysalis Investments revealed yesterday that it was paying Jupiter performance and management fees of more than £117 million after the value of its portfolio of largely unlisted investments soared. - The Times

The distressed healthcare technology company founded by Lord Drayson, the former science and business minister, has secured an emergency financing of up to £11.4 million in its attempt to find a rescue buyer and stave off collapse. Sensyne Health's financing involves loan notes and warrants, described by one source as "very expensive", without which the company warned it potentially faces administration. - The Times