The arrival of warm weather and a gold-tinged Olympics feelgood factor has boosted British supermarket sales over the past three months, writes The Guardian.

Hot weather and Olympic glory give supermarkets something to cheer about, writes The Times (£), while The Financial Times (£) writes that supermarket enjoyed a summer sales boost but “beneath such fluctuations, market share data released by Kantar Worldpanel on Tuesday also showed the change wrought on the grocery sector by the continued advance of German discounters Aldi and Lidl”.

Lidl becomes UK’s fastest growing supermarket as feared post-Brexit price hikes fail to materialise, writes The Daily Mail, while The Telegraph notes: “While still ahead of its major rivals, Aldi’s sales growth is the lowest for five years… The last time its sales growth was at this level was in February 2011, when it stood at 10.1pc, according to Kantar.”

SABMiller shareholders could scupper £79bn takeover after crunch vote wins High Court backing, writes The Daily Mail. The Telegraph writes: “While analysts are confident that enough SAB shareholders will back the deal, the ruling nevertheless ratchets up the pressure on the both brewers as the vote approaches.”

The SABMiller share price, up 2p at £43.81 last night, was indicating that the offer would go through, writes The Times (£), while The Financial Times (£) quotes an analyst saying “There is huge downside for the SAB stock if this deal does not go through”.

“SABMiller exit leaves City’s springbok herd endangered”, writes the FT’s Lombard column. It writes: “A High Court ruling has brought SABMiller a step closer to quitting the London stock market, where it features as the largest group with South African roots. Other big South African companies quoted on the London market may also disappear in their current form, but because they have done poorly rather than well.” (The Financial Times £)

Export orders hit a two-year high this month, dampening fears of a downturn in the UK’s manufacturing sector. The August CBI industrial trends survey found that the order books of 505 of the UK’s largest exporters had risen to their highest level since 2014. (The Times £)

Asda is selling its loss-making photo business to Photo-Me International for about £5.4m in cash as the supermarket chain reduces the number of services it offers directly in its stores. (The Guardian)

Shoprite likes to make a virtue out of its difficult operating environment. The South African supermarket chain, Africa’s biggest, boasts that “the tougher Africa gets, the bigger our advantage grows”. The bravado is not justified by its shares, which have lagged behind the South African market over three years. (The Financial Times £)

A judge has thrown cold water on lawsuit over Starbucks’ ice-to-coffee ratio. A California judge says even children know ice takes up space and highlights the fact that cold drinks are provided in transparent cups. (The Guardian)

Cofco, the state-backed Chinese food group, on Tuesday took a significant step towards becoming one of the world’s leading agricultural traders by outlining an agreement to secure full ownership of Nidera, the Dutch grain dealer. (The Financial Times £)

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