Online supermarket Ocado has been forced to cancel orders and warned of a “hit to sales” after the huge blaze ripped through its robotic warehouse (The Telegraph). Ocado shares have dropped 6% and the retailer has warned of a hit to sales following a huge fire which swept through its warehouse in Hampshire (The BBC). Ocado, which has an annual turnover in excess of £1.4bn, warned the markets this morning that sales growth would slow as they tried to find alternative solutions to provide the 10% of retail order fulfilment capacity Andover had been providing (The Daily Mail)

As smoke continued to billow from the site in Andover on Wednesday evening, more than 36 hours after the incident began, the fire spread to a new part of the building and firefighters evacuated properties up to a mile away (The Guardian). An exclusion zone was in place in the area surrounding the Hampshire warehouse, which went up in flames on Tuesday morning (Evening Standard). Firefighters have evacuated people from properties near the Ocado warehouse blaze amid fears of a toxic gas leak or an explosion (Sky News).

Ashley Armstrong writing in The Telegraph argues that the timing of the the leak about Ocado’s talks with M&S “certainly looks tactical”. She writes: “Ocado has previously had to do the wooing ahead of its renegotiations with Waitrose. Now Ocado might have an alternative it can at the very least drive a better deal with the upmarket chain”. (The Telegraph)

A decline in volumes in Britain was shrugged off by Carlsberg yesterday as the Danish brewer reported strong full-year results and announced a share buyback (The Times £). Demand for craft beer and alcohol-free drinks boosted Danish brewer Carlsberg, sending sales up for the first time in three years (The Daily Mail).

Ministers are set to delay passing up to five Brexit-related laws until after the UK has left the EU, as Theresa May’s government runs out of time before the scheduled departure date of March 29. The legislative jam at Westminster means that it is highly likely the government will need to postpone Britain’s exit from the EU, whether or not a withdrawal agreement has been agreed. (The Financial Times £)

Jamie Oliver has appointed advisers to find potential partners to help to fund the next stage of the turnaround of his struggling restaurant empire. (The Times £)

It’s more “spur of the moment” than “special moment” but it’s all bling without the sting: a chain store is offering an engagement ring for sale that costs just £1. (The Guardian)

The fallout from the collapse of Patisserie Holdings continued yesterday when Lee Ginsberg, the former chairman of its audit committee, abruptly resigned as a non-executive director of On the Beach. (The Times £)

Delivery Hero, one of the world’s largest online food delivery groups, on Wednesday reported its 2018 revenues had beaten expectations as it pushes ahead with plans to increase its exposure to emerging markets. (The Financial Times £)

A Japanese snack company is offering chips that require only a single hand to consume – and you don’t have to touch the chips at all. The Tokyo company Koike-ya is behind One Hand Chips, which come pre-smashed so that you can essentially drink them. (The Guardian)

Chipotle Mexican Grill handily beat expectations for quarterly sales and earnings amid a surge in digital orders, heating up shares late Wednesday. (The Financial Times £).

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