The Times reports that former Diageo boss Paul Walsh is potential brewing up a return to the drinks industry after teaming up with a private equity player to take a look at the Peroni and Grolsch lager brands. The paper writes that Walsh and TPG Capital could table a £2bn-plus bid for the two brands being sold by AB InBev and SABMiller. If successful, Walsh would become chairman of the business. “Sources familiar with the situation confirmed the putative interest of TPG in working with Mr Walsh on a bid for the European brands, although they said that it was early in the process and that an information memorandum had yet to be issued,” The Times added.
Elsewhere, it is a quiet morning in the papers for the grocery industry. The Telegraph carries a report claiming the new living wage would cost British companies more than £1bn. The Regulatory Policy Committee, an independent public body which studies Government proposals, found that Chancellor George Osborne’s plan to raise hourly wages would hit firms to the tune of £1.1bn. The Government has been urged by the IoD to cut red tape to help with the burden.
The FTSE 100 slumped below lows hit on Black Monday to close at its lowest in three years yesterday as tumbling oil and falling commodity prices hit European equity markets (The Times).
In wider retail news, the criticism of Sports Direct continues. MPs attacked the company in parliament yesterday over claims it pays workers less than the minimum wage. Chuka Umunna, the former shadow business secretary, branded the retailer a “bad advert for British business and one with a culture of fear in the workplace”. And Labour MP Dennis Skinner, whose Bolsover constituency is home to the Sports Direct warehouse, described owner Mike Ashley as “a monster of a man that doesn’t even reply to MPs’ letters”. The furore follows an investigation by The Guardian which alleged that employees at its Shirebrook campus were treated badly and paid less than the minimum wage.
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