Takeaway.com within reach of Just Eat victory, writes The Times, after both suitors fired their last shots in the increasingly acrimonious struggle. Reducing its acceptance level to 50%, it revealed last night that it had received acceptances and commitments from investors speaking for 41.1% of Just Eat shareholders, putting victory tantalisingly close (The Times £). Just Eat is poised to fall into the hands of Takeaway.com after the Dutch delivery firm landed a knockout blow in its tussle with tech titan Prosus (The Telegraph).

Naspers and Takeaway.com both tabled new and final offers for Just Eat on Thursday as the takeover battle for the online food ordering pioneer entered its endgame (The Financial Times £). The battle for control of Just Eat has intensified after fresh rival bids for the UK food delivery business (The Guardian). Just Eat battle ramped up as bidders increase offers for the food delivery giant ahead of deadline (The Daily Mail).

The High Street has endured its longest losing streak since records began in 1996, figures have shown (The Daily Mail, Sky News). Shoppers held back on spending in November as the election loomed in a fresh blow to the high street, with retail sales stalling for the fourth consecutive month (The Telegraph). Retail sales are suffering their worst run for more than 20 years after falling 0.6 per cent in November (The Times £). High street sales slumped in November in the weakest period for consumer spending for more than a year, as shoppers reined in their spending in the run-up to Christmas (The Guardian). Shoppers kept a tight grip on spending amid uncertainty about Brexit and ahead of December’s election (The BBC).

An activist shareholder has turned up the pressure for a shake-up at Stock Spirits Group, calling for fellow investors in the Polish vodka-maker to force the board to pay a special dividend (The Times £). A Portuguese lollipop tycoon has rekindled a fight with the board of vodka and gin maker Stock Spirits by demanding it pays out more than £20m to shareholders (The Telegraph)

Long-term activist Western Gate has been agitating for change at the UK-listed tiddler since 2015, when shares traded as low as £1 — half their current value. Now that the company’s market valuation has improved, fund boss Luis Amaral wants a sizeable capital return for shareholders to make up for lacklustre profits. (The Financial Times £)

Households grew more confident about their personal finances in the run-up to the general election and believe that the outlook for the economy has brightened (The Times £).

Reckitt’s new chief tackles consumer sector’s ‘toughest job’, writes The FT. Laxman Narasimhan grapples to close performance gap between UK group’s two halves. (The Financial Times £)

Residents of Shanghai are being encouraged to opt for a drop of Irish stout after Diageo yesterday launched a Guinness Gatehouse “brand experience” in the city to introduce locals and visitors to the black stuff. (The Times £)

The Daily Mail talks to ‘the man who made Britain fall in love with dark chocolate’, writing about how natural food pioneers Craig Sams and Jo Fairley founded Green & Black’s. Sams is now seeking to repeat the success of G&B with Gusto, which started out as a Dutch energy drink in the 1990s - ‘It’s the healthy, sane alternative to Red Bull,’ he said. (The Daily Mail)

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