Prosecutors will decide within weeks whether to pursue a plea arrangement with Tesco and bring further charges against former bosses over the profits scandal which plunged Britain’s biggest retailer into crisis in 2014. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has informed interested parties in recent days that it expects to reach charging decisions by the end of November. (Sky News)
It was already a bleak year for UK retailers, writes the FT, but last week’s flurry of shop closures — with Marks and Spencer, American Apparel and Sky announcing they would shutter a combined 100 stores — intensified the woes on the high street. The store culling threatens hundreds of jobs, but also floods the retail property market with excess space, creating problems for landlords that are already grappling with empty premises. (The Financial Times £)
Marks & Spencer’s boss faces a rebellion by small suppliers after promising to protect food shoppers from the impact of sterling’s plunge since the Brexit vote. Steve Rowe said last week that M&S’s grocery prices were more likely to fall than rise — despite the pound’s slump against the dollar and planned to mitigate the pain through “optimisation of our supply base” and by selling in greater volumes.
His pledge drew anger from suppliers of own-label products, some of which said their businesses had already been tipped into the red by sterling’s weakness. Several said M&S had taken a stance of refusing to renegotiate prices based on currency swings, and they would have to bear the brunt of the impact. (The Times £)
Analysis commissioned by The Sunday Times suggests that Birds Eye’s desired price rises may still be excessive. According to estimates modelled by a leading retailer, core ingredients account for about 37% of the cost of making a fish finger. Packaging accounts for 11% and transport 10%, but marketing and profit margin account for 42%. The retailer said the real rate of inflation on fish fingers was 5% — well below Birds Eye’s demand. (The Times £)
Pub companies have warned the government that the price of a pint could rise by up to 30p if they are not protected from a “triple whammy” of pressures in the new year. A “perfect storm” of Brexit- related inflation, soaring business rates and the introduction of the national living wage will add an estimated 4% to overheads, industry sources said. (The Times £)
Dominic Chappell, the former bankrupt who led the acquisition of BHS from Sir Philip Green for £1 last year, has been arrested by HM Revenue & Customs over unpaid tax. Chappell was arrested in a dawn raid this month for failing to pay more than £500,000 in tax on profits made from the department store chain (The BBC, The Financial Times £, The Times £, The Guardian). The News comes on the eve of a High Court deadline for him to provide evidence about why £6m is missing from BHS’s balance sheet. (The Telegraph)
Tesco Bank ignored warning signs that its vulnerable software was being targeted by cyber criminals for months before thousands of its customers had money stolen a week ago, according to internet security experts. The cyber attack on Tesco Bank forced the company to repay £2.5m of losses to 9,000 customers in a heist described as unprecedented by regulators. It is being investigated by several authorities, including the National Crime Agency. (The Financial Times £)
The criminals behind the Tesco Bank cyber-heist went on a spending spree in shops in the US and Brazil to launder their ill-gotten gains. The thieves used data stolen from the British lender to set up contactless payment accounts on smartphones, sources said. (The Times £)
M&S should sell clothes just like it sells food, according to The Observer. CEO Steve Rowe should follow the success of the food business and make M&S clothing more aspirational. “In contrast to M&S’s clothing, its food business has a clear upmarket position. With Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose dramatically cutting back investment, M&S has a glorious opportunity to expand.” (The Guardian)
Shares in Sainsbury’s tanked last week when the retailer warned that profits in the second half of the year were likely to be lower than expected. But analysts at The Share Centre think the shares could still be worth its ‘Buy’ rating. (The Daily Mail)
Autumn is a critical time of year for wine makers. Not only do they need to pray for dry weather, they also need to hold their nerve – harvest too early and the grapes may not be succulent enough; wait a little longer and the harvest may be ruined by rain. This year, English weather conditions were perfect so Chapel Down Group, the UK’s leading wine maker, is expecting excellent results from the 2016 vintage. (The Daily Mail)
The chief executive of beer giant SAB Miller is today revealed as the best-value boss on the FTSE 100. Alan Clark, the South African who was in charge of the brewer when it was bought for £80bn by rival Anheuser-Busch InBev earlier this year, ranked top in the annual list by remuneration consultant Pearl Meyer. (The Times £)
The Telegraph suggests AB InBev’s next acquisition target could be Coca-Cola. “Given that sales will be $55bn after it has digested the $107bn takeover of nearest rival SABMiller, this target is unlikely to be met through the normal course of organic growth”, it writes. (The Telegraph)
Healthy food chain Abokado has secured funding to grow its presence in central London in a bid to boost its turnover from £14m to £17m by the end of next year. (The Telegraph)
Real wages are likely to fall next year and employment growth to slow as companies grapple with rising inflation, research shows. Employers are predicting median rises in basic pay of only 1.1 per cent for the 12 months ahead, according to the latest quarterly survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the recruitment agency Adecco. (The Times £)
Bargain hunters may love “Black Friday” but most UK retailers now believe that the American-style shopping bonanza is unprofitable and unsustainable. Research shows that almost two thirds of leading retailers feel that the event — which takes place on the 25th of this month — puts increasing strain on their business with little profitable return. This is up from only one third who thought it was unprofitable in 2015. (The Times £)
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