“Tesco faces fresh lawsuit over past accounting irregularities”, writes The Financial Times after discovering the supermarket this month filed defence against separate legal case over the 2014 scandal.

Tesco is facing new legal action over historical accounting irregularities, even as the British supermarket prepares to defend a separate lawsuit filed by investors who say they lost £100m in the scandal. Manning & Napier, the US investment house with $31.7bn in assets under management, filed a claim against Tesco last month in London over its 2014 accounting scandal, according to court documents.

Tesco lodged a forceful defence against the first case, which claims damages of between £100m and £150m. Allianz Global Investors, Russell Investments and 110 other investors took legal action against the retailer in October. (The Financial Times £)

Fevertree Drinks, which makes upmarket mixers, made it seven upgrades in a row today as it predicted that its 2016 results would be “materially ahead of its expectations” after a strong Christmas (The Times £). Shares in Fever-Tree have continued to fizz higher after the upmarket tonic water maker said that there were no signs of people losing their thirst for its product, despite “nervousness” around whether it can continue its stellar growth (The Telegraph). Fever-Tree said the “global opportunity” for the group “remains in the early stages” as its sales continue to accelerate across all regions (The Financial Times £).

The spectre of inflation is looming over the British pint, as two major brewers raised the price of beer and the brewing business warned of far larger Brexit-related rises to come. Heineken and Carlsberg have become the latest beer makers to raise prices, following MolsonCoors – maker of the UK’s most popular beer, Carling – and ABInBev, whose stable of brands includes Budweiser. (The Guardian)

A poor summer dampened Britons’ appetite for self-tan lotion, according to PZ Cussons, which has blamed a slump in sales on lower demand for its St Tropez range (The Telegraph, The Daily Mail). Traders were washing their hands of PZ Cussons yesterday after the consumer group behind Imperial Leather soap reported a 38 per cent fall in profits (The Times £)

The pound slipped back after the UK’s highest court ruled on a legal challenge over the Brexit vote. Sterling was initially a little higher at more than $1.25 as the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that the Government needs the approval of Parliament to trigger Article 50. But it then dropped half a cent lower as the judges said there would be no need to consult with devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. (Sky News)

The Kuwaiti owners of Little Chef are preparing to choose a new owner for the iconic motorway dining chain after receiving competing bids from hungry investors. Kout Food Group confirmed the growing appetite for the road-side diners in a statement which pointed to more than one company with an interest in buying the chain. (The Telegraph)

Following the opening of its physical retail store Amazon Go, The Guardian asks four industry experts to share their views on what lies ahead for bricks-and-mortar retail. (The Guardian)

Chinese retail giant Alibaba blew through analysts’ earnings estimates, lifting revenues 54 per cent to Rmb53.25bn (US$7.7bn) in its quarter to the end of December and prompting the Chinese ecommerce group to lift its full-year growth guidance to 53%. (The Financial Times £)

The Times (£) interviews John McKenzie, founder of what is purported to be the world’s first community-owned whisky distillery GlenWyvis.

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