The boss of Sainsbury’s has called for people working on farms and in factories to be added to the official shortage occupation list, warning that a lack of workers in its supply chain could lead to higher food prices. (Financial Times £)
The new chief executive of British American Tobacco has rejected calls from a top shareholder to move its primary listing from London to New York saying relocating was “not a top priority” and a “very simplistic view” (The Times £). The new boss of British American Tobacco has rejected calls to abandon the London stock market (Daily Mail).
Unilever has appointed British businessman Ian Meakins as its chair, marking the start of a new chapter for the maker of Dove soap and Hellman’s mayonnaise, which also changed its chief executive recently (Financial Times £). Ian Meakins, at present the chairman of Compass Group, has been named as the next chairman of Unilever (The Times £).
The largest standalone consumer healthcare firm in the world, Haleon, has hired a phalanx of consultancies to lead a restructuring effort to cut hundreds of jobs across the world, a year after it listed on the stock market. (The Times £)
Pubs and restaurants have been hit by sharper food price rises than supermarket shoppers amid signs their suppliers are waiting longer to pass on falling ingredients costs. (Telegraph £)
Bobby Arora, the billionaire co-owner of the B&M homewares discount chain, will be granted millions in bonuses to keep him at the company. (The Times £)
Perhaps the Square Mile shouldn’t have been surprised when Matt Moulding’s THG bought freesheet newspaper City AM last week. THG already runs a couple of publications through subsidiaries. And Moulding has been unimpressed, to put it mildly, by the negative news coverage that he and THG have endured since his company floated in 2020 – and some of that came from City AM. (Daily Mail)
Moulding took to social media to insist he would not be meddling in the editorial line, other than laying down a command that it doesn’t “get dragged over to the dark side”. This is, presumably, a dig at the wider media, which Moulding believes has given his company a rough ride since its float in 2020. (The Times £)
BrewDog rides the premium beer trend. The record shipments capped a strong second quarter as UK beer sales grew by 11% year-on-year, despite the cost of living crisis. (The Times £)
The traditional British aversion to spicy food seems to have finally been allayed as sales for hot sauces increased significantly in the last year. (The Guardian)
Dairy farmers quit in fury amid UK price squeeze and rising costs. A 14p-a-litre drop in the price he was getting for his milk, within a few months, despite facing continued high bills for electricity, animal feed and fertiliser. (The Guardian)
Fans of full-bodied red wines and boutique gins will have to shell out more from next week as post-Brexit alcohol duty rules come into force in the UK, while those who prefer beer risk ending up paying the same for a weaker lager in a sign of “drinkflation”. (Financial Times £)
In these topsy-turvy times the humble toilet roll is being treated with more reverence than you would expect for something used to wipe your bottom with. In the toilets of trendy restaurants or friends, proud pyramids of loo roll stand in bright, graphic wrapping. On Instagram, influencers now allow it to stay in the backdrop of bathroom selfies rather than hiding it. (The Guardian)
Unlike many other crops grown in the UK, as much as 90% of the pea harvesting workforce is British – many of them the offspring of the farm owners, or students – as the relatively short harvest and skilled jobs attract local interest. (The Guardian)
India’s food price inflation raises risks for Narendra Modi’s government. The cost of rice and tomatoes has soared due to erratic monsoon ahead of crucial elections next year. (Financial Times £)
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