THE DAILY BRIEFING

CO-OP GROWTH Membership of co- operatives has increased by 700,000 over the past year, bringing the total to 13.6m, figures show. There are more than 6,800 independent co-operatives, with the membership surge driven by the Co- op

Group as well as community-owned businesses and credit unions.

FOOD FLOAT Online food delivery firm Delivery Hero hopes to raise £814.3m in its initial public offering. The firm is selling up to 39m shares priced between 1930p to 2230p per share.

STOCK SOLD Indian industrial giant Tata Steel rose by more than 3pc after selling more than 8m shares in sister firm Tata Motors. It will sell the shares to fellow Tata Group member Tata Sons.

COSMETIC DEAL Beauty firm Sinclair Pharma has bought the global distribution rights to the Refine Support System, a new type of breast-lifting technology used in breast cosmetic and reconstructive procedures, for £8.8m.

SHARE PLACING Gas and electricity minor Flowgroup has raised more than £25m in a share placing. It will use it to pay off debt and invest in new business with the goal of becoming a mid-tier energy supplier.

CASH REJECTED Card payments have more than doubled in the past ten years as the public moves away from cash, a study by The UK Cards

Association shows. It said 16.4bn purchases were made by cards last year – a jump from 6.7bn in 2006.

SAVERS SERVICE Bank Investec has launched an online service for savers with at least £10,000. The Click & Invest system will allow customers to sign up for financial advice and put their cash into a portfolio within around 15 minutes.

DEBT FEAR More than 25pc of adults are worried they could struggle to keep up debt repayments, a survey by tech firm TDX Group says. SALES BOSS Asset manager Legg Mason has appointed Alexander Barry from JP Morgan as head of UK sales. BANK STAKE Small bank Aldermore has bought a 48pc stake in privately- owned commercial finance broker AFS Group Holdings.

CARE DEAL British social care provider CareTech Holdings has snapped up Selborne, a service for adults with learning disabilities, for £17m.