Media Bites

Majestic Wine has set a deadline of next month to uncork a buyer for Lay & Wheeler, the fine wine merchant it has owned for the last decade. Majestic has asked investment bankers at Cavendish Corporate Finance to seek final offers for the business by late August as it refocuses on its Naked Wines operations. (Sky News)

Government plans to buy up hundreds of thousands of tonnes of unsold lamb in the event of a no-deal Brexit could be unworkable because there is nowhere to store it. The reported plan suggested excess meat would be bought at the point of slaughter. But figures from the industry body which represents businesses that store frozen and chilled food show they are at capacity and “full to bursting”. (The BBC)

Almost £1bn was wiped off the value of Britain’s biggest retail landlords yesterday after a shopping centre owner warned that it may need to raise equity in the face of fast-declining rental income and property values (The Times £). Intu’s shares plunged almost a third to a new record low after the shopping centre owner told investors it could be forced to raise cash to tidy up its balance sheet (The Telegraph). Shares in Intu Properties, the shopping centre company that owns the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Birmingham’s Merry Hill, have crashed to a record low after it said it might need to raise fresh cash to reduce a £4.7bn debt mountain (The Guardian).

Just Eat has underlined the scale of its battle with Deliveroo and Uber Eats after seeing its profits all but evaporate in the first half of the year (The Times £). Just Eat and Takeaway.com, the two online food ordering businesses who are in talks to merge, both reported a hit to their profits on Wednesday as they pour cash into new delivery operations to rival Deliveroo and Uber Eats (The Financial Times £).

Glanbia has been caught in the crossfire of global trade tensions, with shares in the Irish food-supplement maker falling by the most in two decades after saying new tariffs and increasing consumer caution had forced it to cut earnings guidance. (The Financial Times £)

Shoppers’ use of plastic carrier bags in England has continued to fall following the introduction of the 5p charge, according to new figures. Sales of single-use bags by all large retailers in 2018/2019 slumped by 37% to 1.11bn compared with the previous year. (The Guardian)

Molson Coors said its chief executive Mark Hunter will retire this year, as the brewer posted disappointing quarterly revenues blaming weak demand and poor weather. (The Financial Times £)

The soaring stock price of Beyond Meat has lifted up results at grain and oilseed company Bunge, which has a stake in the plant-based burger maker. (The Financial Times £)

The future of Britain’s high street is looking bleak after it was revealed that a third of primary schoolchildren had never been to a butcher’s or greengrocer’s shop, a survey found. (The Telegraph)

French cosmetics group L’Oréal recorded weaker-than-expected sales growth in the second quarter, as slowing sales in its North America division dragged on performance, sending shares lower on Wednesday morning. (The Financial Times £)

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