Gousto has cut its valuation after raising tens of millions of pounds in additional funding to steer it through a volatile economic period, according to Sky News. The meal-kit delivery service tapped existing investors in recent weeks for £50m in the form of a share sale.
The apprenticeship levy funding system is too complex and must be reformed, an employers group has urged. The Association of Employment and Learning Providers is the latest body to lobby for changes to the system, which has faced fierce criticism from employers for being too rigid (The Times £).
British consumers sharply cut their spending in January as the cost of living crisis damaged household finances, retailers have warned, amid growing concern over the impact of high inflation on the economy (The Guardian).
The Scottish retailer M&Co is to close all 170 of its stores after falling into administration before Christmas, with the loss of up to 1,900 jobs (The Guardian).
The 189-year-old clothing retailer – which used to be known as Mackays and its one of the most prominent fashion chains in Scotland – crashed into administration in December (The Mail).
AK Retail Holdings, which owns Yours Clothing, the plus-size retailer, and Long Tall Sally, a women’s label, bought the brand and intellectual property of the collapsed Scottish company last week for an undisclosed sum. The purchase did not include M&Co’s stores (The Times £).
EU and UK negotiators have made a breakthrough in reducing checks on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as part of efforts to resolve the long-running dispute over the Northern Irish protocol (The Guardian).
The Bank of England’s next decision is likely to be an interest rate rise rather than a pause, according to a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, defying market expectations of an end to monetary tightening (The Times £).
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