Arla Foods, the UK’s largest dairy co-operative, has warned of further price rises unless the government “urgently” addresses farming labour shortages (The Times £).
The lack of workers is fuelling food price inflation, Arla said, warning that without action this could also lead to a crisis in milk production (The Guardian).
Matt Moulding, the founder and chief executive of THG, has finally responded to concerns about the business’s governance and given up the “golden share” rights that granted him the power to veto hostile takeover approaches (The Times £).
THG – formerly known as The Hut Group and the owner of retail sites LookFantastic, Glossybox, Zavvi and Coggles – first pledged to cancel Moulding’s controlling share in October 2021, after a disastrous investor presentation triggered a 35% one-day crash in its share price (The Guardian).
Moulding’s decision to give up his ‘golden share’ will help ease investor concerns over governance at the company (The Mail). The share will be cancelled by the group.
The Mail adds in a separate story that Moulding took another pop at the City after THG’s annual meeting. In a 511-word LinkedIn post, the entrepreneur called out ‘the blatant bad actors’ in the Square Mile.
The market report in The Times (£) picks up on bid interest “from more than one American suitor” circulating around Ocado.
The market report in The Mail takes another angle to report that Ocado shares fell as analysts sounded the alarm over a cocktail of economic woes. In a setback for the FTSE 100 online supermarket, investment banks JP Morgan and HSBC cut their target prices on the stock to 400p and 370p respectively.
Britons are turning to crime as the cost of living crisis drags on, with theft of meat, alcohol and confectionery from shops last year at a decade-high, according to new data (The Financial Times £).
The UK convenience sector is crying out for a ‘most wanted’ list in a bid to help ward off prolific shoplifters reoffending in their stores, according to The Grocer in its story on the Association of Convenience Stores stats.
The Guardian examines why UK inflation is worse than other major economies after yesterday’s latest figures showed the headline rate remained stubbornly high.
The Bank of England will be under pressure to increase the pace of interest rate hikes today after official figures showed Britain still lagging behind the rest of the G7 in the battle against inflation (The Mail).
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