Aldi has started selling bread and other essentials through Deliveroo, upping the competition with online grocery retailers. Before the latest move, Aldi sold only wine and non-food items online. The discounter is offering rapid home delivery from one store in Nottingham but could extend this to other sites later in 2020 if the trial proves successful (The Telegraph). Aldi will initially offer a range of 150 products, including bread, milk and fresh produce, which can be ordered via the Deliveroo app for delivery in as little as 30 minutes (The Guardian).
Global stock markets surged last night, boosted by hopes of a vaccine - in development by US company Moderna - and easing of some lockdown measures across European countries (The Guardian). Despite major economies entering a recession, investors were hopeful for a recovery later this year as some European countries further eased lockdown restrictions. In London, the FTSE 100 rose by 4.3% above 6,000pts for only the second time since the outbreak sent equities into meltdown at the start of March (Sky News).
Oil prices also rose amid expectations that demand for fuel will return as the world economy reopens. Brent crude, the international benchmark, and West Texas Intermediate, the American gauge, recorded their best closing levels since March 11 (The Times).
Casual Dining Group, the owner of Bella Italia, Las Iguanas and Café Rouge, is preparing to potentially call in administrators with around 6,000 jobs on the line (The Times). CDG has hired the advisory firm Alix Partners to consider all options, with a more likely solution being the closure of some outlets and administration for some of the group’s weaker chains. Meanwhile, Ranjit Singh Boparan - the owner of the Giraffe restaurant business and the founder of 2 Sisters Food Group - is said to be near to buy half of the Carluccio’s Italian dining chain out of administration, saving around 900 jobs (The Guardian, BBC).
Sky News has reported that Boparan is to conclude a takeover of the Carluccio’s brand, head office and approximately 30 restaurants in the coming days (Sky News). The news comes as Bella Italia owner CDG, one of the biggest high street dining groups, entered talks with creditors about a radical restructuring that will involve an injection of substantial new funds by its shareholders. The proposals are expected to involve company voluntary arrangements for two of its three brands - Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas - with the other being placed into administration (Sky News).
Stilton cheese makers are feeling the pain of the pandemic as sales crumbled up to 30% due to the impact of the lockdown on the hospitality and events industry, farmers’ markets and export markets (The Times).
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