Waitrose will shut three stores and offload a further four to rivals such as Lidl, putting 667 jobs at risk (The Telegraph). Waitrose is closing seven supermarkets as it undergoes its second round of store reductions this year, in a move that puts nearly 700 jobs at risk (The Guardian). The favourite grocer of the middle classes, Waitrose, is shutting seven more shops with the discounter Lidl swooping on three in renewed signs of the rapidly changing retail market (The Times £).

Britons carrying out home improvements and bagging charity shop deals helped support the UK retail sector in June, with sales confounding gloomy expectations to provide a boost to gross domestic product growth in the second quarter (The Financial Times £). Official figures give a far rosier picture for retail sales than industry data and company results to date would suggest (Sky News). Retail sales bounced back last month as strong employment and rising wages helped shoppers keep spending, supporting the economy amid political turmoil (The Telegraph). Retail sales in the UK were unexpectedly strong in June, boosted by sales of secondhand goods at charity shops and antique dealers, although department stores continued to struggle (The Guardian). High Street sales bounced back in June amid demand for second-hand clothes and antiques (The Daily Mail).

Philip Morris International, the company behind Marlboro, is to spend another $100m this year developing its alternative to traditional cigarettes as a global marketing drive intensifies to convert smokers to a new generation of products (The Financial Times £).

It’s not yet clear whether heating, rather than burning, tobacco is any better for the body, but it certainly puffed up the Footsie index yesterday after Philip Morris delivered strong results for the second quarter after Philip Morris delivered strong results for the second quarter. (The Times £)

A no-deal Brexit will send Britain into a recession and leave a £30bn hole in the public finances, the UK’s budget watchdog has warned. In its first assessment of the economic impact of crashing out without a deal this Autumn, the Office for Budget Responsibility said the pound would nosedive by 10% and the stock market by 5%, pushing up inflation. (The Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Financial Times £, The BBC, Sky News)

Stonegate, the company behind Slug and Lettuce, Walkabout and Yates pub chains has agreed to buy the UK’s biggest pub owner for £1.3bn. EI Group, formerly known as Enterprise Inns, plans to turn over its 4,000 pubs and properties across the country to Stonegate, whose private equity backers TDR Capital are looking to expand despite tough conditions for the sector. (Sky News, The Daily Mail, The Times £, The Financial Times £, The Guardian)

Almost a quarter of Britons are consuming plant-based milk alternatives as the popularity of vegan and vegetarian diets continues to grow. (The Guardian)

AB InBev’s deal machine is on hold after Asia IPO flop. CEO Carlos Brito now faces task of increasing revenue, while juggling debt load. (The Financial Times £)

Nearly 10,000 cases of heart disease and stroke and 1,500 cases of cancer could have been avoided in England if the coalition government had not switched to a voluntary deal with the food industry to cut salt in food, say researchers. (The Guardian)

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