THE DAILY BRIEFING

BREXIT BOOST

A survey of 200 businesses by The 5% Club – whose members commit to ensuring 5pc of their workforce are apprentices – found that 89pc won’t change their hiring policy after Brexit.

DRUG APPROVAL

Drugs firm Amryt Pharma has won approval to continue trials on a treatment for Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare genetic disorder that leads to fragile skin.

SWEET DREAMS

Bed-maker Dreams celebrated the end of a three-year turnaround plan with sales soaring 14.1pc to £280m in the year to December 24, and profit up 136pc to £32m.

HOTEL HOPES

Europe’s largest hotel group, AccorHotels, is expanding into the luxury market through a deal with Turkish group Rixos Hotels.

BROADBAND DEAL

Rural broadband firm Satellite Solutions Worldwide spent £1.8m on buying smaller rivals from Australia and Norway. Shares rose 1.4pc, or 0.12p, to 9p.

HOMES SOLD

Barratt Developments has sold 172 homes in London to two of its investors for £ 140.5m. Shares in the housebuilder went up 1.1pc or 6p to 528p.

NEEP END

Paul Neep is retiring as senior independent director at food casing maker Devro. Paul Withers replaces him. Shares rose 2.3pc, or 4.25p, to 189.75p.

TOP GRADES

Vast Resources revealed that it found much higher than expected grades of silver, copper, lead and zinc at the Faneata Tailings Dam in Romania. Shares fell 4.1pc, or 0.02p, to 0.58p.

OIL TIE-UP

Africa-focused group Bowleven is to work with Victoria Oil and Gas on producing gas in Cameroon.

CHIEF QUITS

Miner Lonmin’s chief operating officer has quit. Ben Moolman is leaving ‘for personal reasons’, the company said. Shares fell 8.3pc, or 9.25p, to 101.5p.