The High Court will decide today whether the brewing giant SAB Miller can hold two shareholder votes on its £79bn takeover — in an unusual move that would increase the odds of the deal collapsing.
Peroni maker SAB last month accepted an improved offer from Brussels-listed brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, on condition that the vote would be split. If, as expected, the court approves the structure, it will mean public investors vote separately from SAB’s two largest shareholders, cigarette maker Altria and the Santo Domingo family of Colombia. Between them, they hold nearly 40% of shares. (The Times £)
“Return of inflation won’t spare Tesco from price war”, writes The Times (£). The resurgence of inflation should, in theory, be a boon for the nation’s supermarkets, which have been squeezed dry by the rise of discounters such as Aldi and Lidl. But the likes of Morrisons and Tesco will have limited scope to raise prices even if, as some predict, inflation returns with a vengeance.
Marks & Spencer’s performance is expected to hit the doldrums this year and may not recover until 2020 at the earliest, according to worrying new forecasts. Figures which have been collected from a host of banks and stockbrokers, say profits could fall 12 per cent to just over £600million in the financial year to March 2017. (The Daily Mail)
The Telegraph has an interview with Argos chief exec John Walden, who admits “When I first joined, people didn’t think Argos had a future at all”. “The 56-year-old’s “digital transformation” strategy to drag Argos into the 21st century – including replacing in-store ring-bindered catalogues with iPads and introducing same-day deliveries – might have been too effective. In two weeks’ time Walden will bow out of the business having sold Argos to Sainsbury’s for £1.4bn.”
The Times (£) has written its first article in a five-day series takes the “pulse of the nation’s heartland” looking at the state of the UK high street. “More stores lie vacant as we shop online and shift our spending to leisure,” it writes.
The family home of Dominic Chappell, the former owner of BHS, was on the brink of being repossessed before cash from the department store chain was used to pay off the mortgage. (The Guardian)
Sports Direct is paying some of its takings from website customers outside the UK to a little-known delivery broker owned by the older brother of its billionaire founder Mike Ashley, the Financial Times has found (The Financial Times £). Meanwhile, Sports Direct faces a City revolt with some of its biggest shareholders prepared to join forces with unions to vote for an independent review of its working practices. (The Times £)
It captured the hearts of the French some time ago, but now English sparkling wine is preparing for its next major breakthrough – America. This week the first full container of English wine will be shipped to the US – 5,000 bottles from four different producers, including some of the best-known names in English wine. (The Guardian)
Jay Rayner in The Guardian looks at what the future holds for the UK’s pig farmers. “The UK breeding herd has halved in 30 years, with a volatile global market squeezing pig farmers. Can they survive in the face of European upheaval and China’s bid to expand pork production?” (The Guardian)
The Financial Times (£) looks at the relationship between the grocers and suppliers, concluding that the “Groceries Code Adjudicator says grocers are improving but some problems persist”.
Leading health experts have accused Theresa May of failing the first test of her premiership over the government’s response to the obesity crisis. The delayed obesity strategy had already attracted strong criticism over its failure to restrict junk-food marketing and advertising and its reliance on voluntary action by the food and drink industry. (The Guardian)
Executives at the scandal-hit Co-operative Bank are set for a pay rise – despite another six months of losses and fears of more to come. Sources said the bank was likely to give senior staff an increase as it struggled to retain talent following its recent history. (The Daily Mail)
One of Britain’s largest shopping centre developers is set to list on the Johannesburg stock exchange next month, having won approval from the South African authorities. (The Times £)
Private equity veteran Fraser Duncan, an ex-Terra Firma managing director who sits on Odeon Cinema’s board, has launched a takeaway chicken start-up to tap into the £9bn takeaway market. (The Telegraph)
The Times (£) looks at the measures being taken by tobacco firms to fight the growing problem of illicit tobacco. It writes: “Tobacco smuggling is rife — and getting worse. Just under 6.7bn counterfeit or contraband cigarettes were smoked in Britain last year, a 6% rise on the previous 12 months… The cost to the taxpayer is enormous: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) estimates that cigarette smuggling cost it £2.1bn in lost revenue last year.” (The Times £)
Department store holiday spending by visitors to Japan fell sharply in July under the weight of the persistent post-Brexit strength of the yen, which is also feeding speculation the authorities may intervene to weaken the currency. (The Financial Times £)
Taxi-hailing app Uber is preparing to launch its food delivery service in Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds in an effort to topple rival Deliveroo. (The Times £)
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