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Logistics group DX has confirmed this morning it is the subject of a corporate espionage claim in the High Court from a rival.
The Aim-listed group said in a short statement to the London Stock Exchange it had received a claim from Tuffnells Parcels Express in relation to confidential competitor information being obtained by DX in the past.
The statement follows a story in The Sunday Times that Tuffnells alleged three DX Group employees conspired to obtain daily customer service reports.
DX said this morning the matters referenced in the claim were subject to a corporate governance inquiry and investigation by the group last year.
The internal investigation found employees of a group subsidiary may have breached the 2010 Bribery Act after offering a one-off payment in return for the information.
At the time, DX added it had fallen short of expectations for good corporate governance and that insufficient action had been taken against the employees at the time of the allegations.
In this morning’s statement to the LSE, DX said it intended to “defend its position robustly” and would respond to the claim in due course.
“As matters are now subject to legal proceedings, the company will not provide further comment until the appropriate time.”
Shares in DX plunged 8.2% to 27.3p as markets opened this morning.
Morning update
London-listed e-commerce group Zamaz has acquired Italian premium dairy products firm Dallatte for €1m.
Founded in 2019, Dallatte makes premium dairy products using natural ingredients, including ice cream and pastries, milk, butter and cooking cream, fresh and dry pastries and frozen-filled pasta.
The company started trading in 2022 after a period of extensive product research and development, achieving sales of more than €1.3m in its first year.
Zamaz CEO Daniele Besnati said: “Dallatte is a fast-growing company in a growth sector of the e-commerce premium foods industry. Its name was inspired by Dario Osella, who, with Luca Baravalle, the founder and head of brand development, are together well known in the Italian food sector, in particular in Piemonte, helping it to achieve its ‘Italian Excellence’ status internationally.”
Zamaz completed the deal through its Bella Dispensa subsidiary, which is an Italian-based online retailer of gourmet Italian food products.
The Dallatte deal is the third acquisition since Zamaz listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
Zamaz is a technology driven e-commerce business that originates, acquires or licenses, operates and scales SME brands with category-winning products on global marketplaces.
The FTSE 100 opened another 0.3% higher to 7,902.70pts this morning.
Early risers include THG, up 3.9% to 57.1p, PayPoint, up 1.6% to 502.7p, and Nichols, up 1.5% to 1,035.7p.
Fallers so far include Science in Sport, down 3.7% to 13p, McBride, down 3.5% to 22.2p, and Bakkavor, down 2.1% to 114.2p.
This week in the City
Newsflow slows right down on the markets this week during half-term.
Coke bottler Coca-Cola HBC reports annual results tomorrow morning, while Coca-Cola itself reports fourth-quarter numbers later in the day over in the US.
Heineken’s latest full-year results are due on Wednesday morning, with Kraft-Heinz also reporting later in the day.
There is a trading update due out from Upper Crust owner SSP Group on Thursday, while Nestlé follows rival Unilever with its annual results, with quarterley figures also out from Pernod Ricard.
The Office for National Statistics issues the latest UK inflation figures on Wednesday, following figures in the US on Tuesday.
The latest retail sales figures from the ONS will be out on Friday morning.
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