Patisserie Valerie is preparing to tap investors for tens of millions of pounds as it bakes a takeover bid for the company that owns Gail’s, the chain of artisan cafes.

Patisserie Holdings, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, is drawing up plans for a placing of new shares to raise about £35m towards the cost of a deal (Sky News). Patisserie Holdings, the owner of Patisserie Valerie, is preparing to tap shareholders in a move to buy the company behind the Gail’s Bakery chain (The Times £).

Tributes have been paid to Compass Group CEO Richard Cousins and the four other members of his family killed on a seaplane that crashed north of Sydney on New Year’s Eve (The BBC, The Guardian, Sky News, The Telegraph, The Times (£)). An obituary in the FT talks of the “tough, unshowy Yorshireman was rated by investors as one of the UK’s ablest executives” (The Financial Times £).

Australian authorities have begun investigating the cause of a seaplane crash that killed the chief executive of FTSE 100 caterer Compass Group and four of his family members on New Year’s Eve. (The Financial Times £)

The Co-op is pushing on with its aggressive convenience store expansion programme, announcing plans to open an additional 100 food shops this year, creating 1,600 jobs (The Times £). The Co-op is intensifying its battle to win more shoppers with a £160m investment on 100 new food stores during 2018 (The Guardian). Co-op to open 100 new stores in 2018 as it continues expansion drive (The Telegraph, Sky News).

Directors of the failed wholesaler Palmer & Harvey altered the terms of an interest-free loan for the company’s former boss so it would not have to be repaid if P&H went bust. Christopher Etherington received a £3.4m loan from P&H to help fund a management buyout in 2008, but the terms were later changed to state that the debt was only repayable in the event of a sale of his shares in the business — now all but impossible with P&H in administration (The Times £). Directors at failed wholesaler Palmer & Harvey changed the terms of a £3.4million loan that meant it would not have to be repaid if the firm went bust, it has emerged (The Daily Mail)

The chairman of the House of Commons’ work and pensions committee plans to raise concerns with the administrator of Palmer & Harvey over details of a £3.4 million company loan paid to its former boss (The Times £).

Poundland, Bensons for Beds, Harveys and Pep & Co are all on the rack after their South African owner Steinhoff was gripped by a major crisis triggered by a probe into accounting irregularities. (The Daily Mail)

Edwin Booth, executive chairman of the Booths supermarket chain which has been in his family five generations, has let rip at the ridiculous policies of his own firm, and promised change. Booth wrote to a customer: “I cannot for the life of me understand why we should be offering whole melons at the same price as a half-melon. This is patently ridiculous and I will investigate why this is the case immediately”. (The Daily Mail)

Sluggish footfall and fierce discounting are likely to weigh on Next this week when it becomes the first retailer to report on Christmas trading. (The Times £)

Spending on going to the cinema, theatre, pubs and restaurants boomed in the last year as British consumers opted to splash out on experiences while reining in other “nice-to-have” purchases amid rising prices. (The Telegraph)

Retailers are expected to be lumbered with £2.5bn worth of unwanted presents over the Christmas period. A boom in online shopping means companies are having to deal with ­increasingly challenging levels of ­returns, according to logistics consultancy LCP. (The Telegraph)

The FT looks at US retail’s “turbulent relationship with private equity”. The paper’s research shows many of the largest leveraged buyouts in the sector over the past decade have either defaulted, gone bankrupt or are in distress. (The Financial Times £)

Charles Wilson, Booker’s “man with three brains”, has been named as Sunday Times Business Person of the Year. The paper writes: “As chief executive of Booker, he has transformed the cash-and-carry wholesaler from a company on the verge of collapse into an operation for which Tesco is now paying nearly £4bn.” (The Times £)

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