Backers of consumer goods company Unilever demand further sell-offs. Mike Fox, head of sustainable investments at Royal London Asset Management, said that while the group had done some heavy lifting in selling its tea and spreads businesses, there could be room for more disposals. (The Times £)

Sainsbury’s is set to become the latest supermarket to report a fall in profits. Britain’s second-biggest grocer is under pressure from discounters Aldi and Lidl, which are gaining market share as the cost-of-living crunch deepens. (Daily Mail)

Justin King, who turned around Sainsbury’s when he led it for a decade until 2014, has been named the new non-executive chairman of Julian Metcalfe’s Itsu supermarket business. Together they have a bold ambition of doubling the noodle, dumpling and rice cake firm’s turnover to £100 million by 2025 (The Times £). Read The Grocer’s story on the appointment.

Kelso Group, the London-based activist investor, has raised its stake in THG and called on the struggling health and beauty platform to considering separating off its Myprotein nutrition business. (The Times £)

The senior independent director of Britain’s biggest tobacco company is to take the same role at THG, the online retailer behind Cult Beauty, as it holds talks about a bid to take it private. (Sky News)

Matt Moulding eyes an end to THG’s miserable life on the markets. Moulding cut jobs at his beauty and nutrition business THG as the share price fell, but has he done enough to entice bidders to take it off his hands? (The Times £)

A former chief executive of Asda has sealed a rescue deal for an online butcher which counts Fortnum & Mason and Harrods among its customers (Sky News). Read The Grocer’s version of the rescue and the collapse of Farmison.

Retail sales volumes fell by more than expected last month after poor weather kept shoppers at home, official figures show (The Times £). Retail sales in Great Britain fell more than expected in March as poor weather kept shoppers at home, ending two months of increased spending by consumers (The Guardian). A dip in retail sales last month could be mainly explained by a hit of poor weather, according to experts (Sky News).

One of England’s top producers of sparkling wine, Rathfinny Wine Estate, has appointed advisers to find a new investor to further its ambition to create a global brand to rival the champagne houses. (The Times £)

Fruit becomes a main course in Tesco meal deal as price of bread spirals. The supermarket’s move comes amid soaring food prices and follows criticism over unhealthy lunch offerings. (Telegraph £)

Takeaway couriers across the UK have been thrown off the Just Eat app for alleged overpayments as small as £1.35, which many contest, according to a new report by campaign group Worker Info Exchange. (The Guardian)

Britain’s biggest pub and restaurant groups achieved a sixth successive month of like-for-like sales growth in March, with takings 1.4% up on the same month last year, according to the latest Coffer CGA Business Tracker. (The Times £)

The soaring prices across almost all food categories are both changing household behaviour and worrying policymakers. Food categories dominate the list of items in the ONS consumer inflation measure where prices are rising rapidly. (Financial Times £)

A British company believes sewage could provide the solution to the UK’s salad supply shortages as a huge rise in wholesale gas prices has impacted growers. (Sky News)

The FT asks whatever happened to Beyond Meat? “A simple explanation for what went wrong is that people didn’t buy enough stuff. At flotation, the consensus was for Beyond Meat to turn free-cashflow positive by 2022 on compound annual sales growth of approximately 40%. Instead, the company reported a 10 per cent drop in sales last year.” (Financial Times £)

AB InBev’s Michel Doukeris tells The FT “We will do things that will last”. The chief executive of the world’s largest brewer is focused on playing the long game and his passion to build, not buy. (Financial Times £)

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