The billionaire owners of Asda are in talks to sell their forecourt empire EG Group to a Canadian convenience store giant in a deal that could value it at around £13bn. The Issa brothers are in discussions with Quebec-headquartered Couche-Tard, according to the Wall Street Journal, and may still fall apart (The Telegraph). Mohsin and Zuber Issa have held discussions with Canadian convenience store giant Couche-Tard over a deal that would value EG Group at £12.7bn including debt (The Daily Mail).

The sale of the EG Group petrol forecourts empire by the billionaire brothers who own Asda could unlock billions of pounds towards a potential takeover tilt at Boots, the high street chemist. (The Times £)

Reckitt Benckiser pushed up prices in the first quarter by more than 5% to pass on higher ingredients costs, helping it to compensate for the reduction in disinfectant demand as Covid-19 restrictions ease (The Financial Times £). The maker of Dettol and Durex has become the latest company to pass on rising costs to consumers, helping to cushion it from falling sales of cleaning products (The Times £). Dettol and Durex maker Reckitt Benckiser has become the latest consumer giant to pass an increase in raw material costs onto customers (The Daily Mail).

Reckitt boss Laxman Narasimhan is making progress in unwinding the fall-out from Reckitt’s biggest-ever takeover. In one of corporate Britain’s most disastrous deals, his predecessor, Rakesh Kapoor, blew $16.6bn (£13.2bn) in 2017 buying Mead Johnson. After three years spent dismantling Kapoor’s strategy, Narasimhan is feeling bullish. (The Times £)

Ocado could face opposition from investors to its plan to extend a lucrative share award scheme that could hand its chief executive £100m. Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, two advisory groups, have recommended that investors reject a proposal to lengthen its “valuation creation plan” at its AGM on Wednesday (The Times £). The boss of Ocado faces a shareholder rebellion over an ‘outrageous’ pay plan that could reward him with up to £100m – just as the rest of the country faces a brutal cost of living crunch (The Daily Mail).

Lord Rose, the Asda chairman, said politicians should intervene over high food prices, warning that they could remain elevated for “quite some time”, while accusing The Bank of England and ministers of being too slow to react to the impending wave of inflation (The Telegraph). Food prices will keep rising, and stay higher “for quite some time” due to the high cost of raw materials, Asda chairman Lord Rose has said. Many families struggling with the cost of living crisis are “going to suffer”, the Conservative peer warned - although retailers will try to keep costs down (The BBC).

A string of Footsie bosses have sounded the alarm over rising prices amid fears inflation could hit double figures this year. Executives at Sainsbury’s, Unilever, Barclays and Whitbread warned of the impact soaring prices is having. (The Daily Mail)

The embattled boss of one of Britain’s biggest technology firms has drawn up an audacious plan to grow capacity so it can handle a mammoth £14bn of orders a year. Founder and CEO Matt Moulding has told City investors he is pumping another £200m this year into the strategy, which includes a huge new warehouse in Manchester. (The Daily Mail)

The family owners behind Home Bargains paid themselves a £25m dividend last year despite refusing to repay millions in taxpayer support during the Covid crisis. (The Times £)

Tesco has said it will no longer send out paper Clubcard statements or vouchers to customers, unless they actively tell the supermarket they want to keep receiving them in that format. (The Guardian)

Chicken’s relative affordability has helped make it the country’s meat of choice but one of the UK’s biggest food retailers has warned it could soon be as pricey as beef as production costs soar. (The Guardian)

British growers have accused big supermarkets of heaping pressure on struggling farmers with their moves to match prices with the discounters. (The Times £)

Around four in 10 people bought less food during the past two weeks due to the rising cost of living. The Office for National Statistics found that 39% of adults said they cut back their grocery shops. (Sky News)

People can once again buy free-range eggs after measures to control a bird flu outbreak were relaxed. From Monday hens are allowed back outside, after the government lifted restrictions imposed last November requiring them to stay indoors. (The BBC)

An £11 white wine from the sustainable wine brand When in Rome goes on sale at Ocado this week, and is the first wine in a paper bottle to be sold in a mainstream UK supermarket. (The Guardian)

With sales expected to hit £20m this year, Deliciously Ella founders Ella and Matthew Mills recall how a blog turned into a book, app and lifestyle brand and explain why they bought out existing shareholders last year as they prepared for global expansion. (The Times £)

Frothy latte prices still add up to small beans for growers, writes The FT. The measly share of the spoils given to small producers contrasts with the muscle accorded to big buyers. (The Financial Times £)

The boss of one of Britain’s biggest pub companies has warned the government that the hospitality sector is “not out of the woods” as he called for action on business rates and alcohol duty. (The Times £)

Hilton Food’s shares have rebounded after a tough first few months of the year, and are up by around a fifth since the end of January. The company’s latest results, which included confirmation of its largest full-year dividend to date, contained detail of several new acquisitions as the company aims to become “the protein partner of choice”. (The Financial Times £)

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