The founder of Iceland has reasserted his intention to retain control of the frozen foods retailer after rebuffing takeover interest from several suitors since the onset of the pandemic (The Times £). The founder of Iceland Foods has vowed to retain control as hedge funds circle the supermarket by snapping up its debt at a steep discount (The Telegraph).

Allwyn, the Czech-based company that is set to take over the UK National Lottery, has agreed to buy the incumbent operator Camelot in a deal which will ease the handover of the lottery licence and end legal wrangling over the procurement process (The Financial Times £). The next National Lottery operator has snapped up rival Camelot UK – in a move expected to bring a bitter legal wrangle to a close (The Daily Mail).

British retail sales grew more than expected in October, rebounding after an extra bank holiday in September kept stores shut, but were below pre-pandemic levels, reflecting the impact of surging prices (The Financial Times £).Retail sales rose more than expected last month, after a sharp fall in September due to the Queen’s funeral, but higher prices pushed food sales lower (The Times £). Retail sales returned to growth in October, according to official figures released a day after crucial forecasts warned of the biggest fall on record ahead for disposable household income (Sky News).

Retail sales in Great Britain slumped in the three months to October as the pressure of inflation hitting a 41-year high and soaring energy prices forced households to cut budgets and rein in spending (The Guardian). Retailers have suffered the biggest fall in quarterly sales since the lockdown at the start of last year as shoppers rein in spending (The Daily Mail).

Struggling discount chain Wilko is in talks to secure an emergency loan as crippling cost pressures bear down on high street retailers in the run-up to Christmas. (The Times £)

Bricks-and-mortar retailers such as Selfridges’ flagship store in London will pay significantly lower business rates, while operators of large warehouse and logistics facilities will see their bills jump, following a revaluation of commercial properties announced alongside the chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement on Thursday (The Financial Times £). Harrods and Selfridges are among the biggest winners in the Government’s shake up of business rates (The Daily Mail).

Parsley Box, the Edinburgh-based supplier of ready-made meals to baby boomers, is proposing to delist from the stock market less than two years after its debut after its share price fell sharply. (The Times £)

UK restaurants are going bust at a faster rate than during the Covid crisis owing to a “toxic mix” of surging energy costs, staff shortages and falling bookings. (The Guardian)

Retail footfall is expected to be up 12.8% on 25 November this year, also known as Black Friday, according to experts (Sky News). Black Friday may lose its sparkle as football and inflation hit online sales – the discounting has for years taken place mainly online but the days of crazed clicking could be over (The Guardian).

The Wendy’s burger chain is hoping that it will be second time lucky as it prepares to go nationwide in the UK with its famous square patties, two decades after scrapping its first assault on the British market. (The Times £)

Passions around pasties look set to flare up once again in Cornwall, after Greggs announced it would open a bakery in the home of the delicacy within weeks. (The Telegraph)

US retailers are facing their first real-terms fall in revenues since the global financial crisis this holiday season, even as resilient consumer spending poses challenges to officials seeking to bring inflation under control. (The Financial Times £)

Tate & Lyle might be an old sweetie, but its new strategy is modern and makes it a must-own. The Telegraph’s Questor shares colums says its focus on new products and a productivity drive suggest that profitability is about to improve. (The Telegraph)

Times are grim for both the chicken and the egg – the avian flu outbreak is not the only thing to blame for the current egg shortage. “The industry has been struggling with rocketing energy and feed costs for months, and rising input costs including labour and packaging.” (The Financial Times £)

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