Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has delayed plans to raise £6.6bn in debt to finance its buyout of supermarket chain Morrisons. The US private equity group had planned to tap markets late last month, but the refinancing plan has now been put back to 2022 as bond market investors grow increasingly nervous about the potential impact of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. (The Financial Times £) 

The co-founder and chief executive of Deliveroo has sold £47m of shares in the food delivery company to meet his tax liabilities (The Times £). Deliveroo slumps after founder Will Shu sells £47m of shares at well below listing price to pay tax bill (The Daily Mail). 

Once described as the “hottest property in retail”, Vittorio Radice is staging an audacious comeback on the British high street. After a 16-year absence from the UK, Radice has been working with Central Group — a Thai conglomerate that spans supermarkets to department stores — on a takeover of Selfridges from the Weston family (The Times £). The sale of Selfridges to Thai businessmen will see the return of Vittorio Radice to the retailer he ran two decades ago (The Daily Mail). 

The sale process attracted interest from the Qatar Investment Authority, which owns London’s Harrods, as well as Hong Kong-based upscale retailer Lane Crawford. Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds are also understood to have weighed in with a bid but have been excluded. (The Telegraph) 

The death of retail tycoon W Galen Weston earlier this year has paved the way for one of the world’s most illustrious shopping destinations - the Selfridges department store on Oxford Street in central London - to change hands for the first time in nearly two decades (The Telegraph) 

Alcoholic drinks companies have issued fresh warnings that the Christmas supply of wine, spirits and beer could be disrupted, after the government refused to provide an update on efforts to resolve the shortage of HGV drivers. (The Guardian) 

Hammerson provided investors with an unexpected boost yesterday with an upgrade to its profit forecasts on the back of improving property trends. (The Times £) 

Farmers will be paid to look after soil on their land under a new incentive scheme to replace EU subsidies - but environmental charities have said it fails to protect nature and wildlife. (Sky News) 

The emergence of the new Covid-19 variant may already have put the brakes on the recovery in the hospitality sector. The number of people dining out fell by 6 per cent in the week to Monday to its lowest level since the middle of May, real-time data from the Office for National Statistics showed (The Times £). The number of people dining out across the UK has fallen to the lowest level since the reopening of indoor hospitality, according to restaurant industry figures covering the first few days since news broke about the Omicron coronavirus variant (The Guardian). 

Retailers are continuing to put up fuel prices when they should reduce them in line with savings in wholesale oil prices, the RAC motoring services organisation has claimed. (The BBC) 

This week’s action by Canadian farmers to ensure their national product keeps flowing provides seasonal good cheer. Millions of pounds of “liquid gold” — half of Quebec’s strategic maple syrup reserve — are on their way to mitigate a poor harvest last spring. (The Financial Times £) 

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