THE DAILY BRIEFING

STOP-OFF SALE A group of ex-JP Morgan bankers are said to be in secret talks to buy 45pc of motorway services chain Welcome Break.

Their firm, Arjun Infrastructure Partners, would take the stake from investors including Dutch lender ING.

DIVIDEND RISK Oil giant Petrofac could suspend its dividend due to a corruption probe, analysts have warned. The Serious Fraud Office is investigating its consultant Unaoil over deals in Kazakhstan from 2002 to 2009.

DRONE MARKET Hire company Ashtead could start renting out drones to meet rising demand. Bosses said there had been a surge in interest for aerial photography.

PILOT TRAINING Two European countries are in talks with

Babcock over £1bn of fighter pilot training contracts. The defence firm refused to name the nations, but said that Germany was not one of them.

LENDER BOOSTED Internet lender Ratesetter has been valued at £200m in a fresh fundraising drive. The business, which allows savers to lend their cash directly to small companies, secured an extra £13m from backers Artemis and star fund manager Neil Woodford.

GOLD SHUTDOWN A gold mine run by Acacia could be shut after a row with the Tanzanian government. Officials claim it is producing up to ten times more gold than reported – potentially depriving the country of millions in royalties – and have limited its exports.