THE DAILY BRIEFING
SOFA DEAL Sofa chain DFS has snapped up rival Sofology in a £25m deal, just weeks after it warned over profits and an uncertain economic environment. The acquisition will see DFS take over Sofology’s chain of 37 UK stores and the group said it has already identified £4m in annual cost savings as part of the tie-up. Last year, Sofology reported revenue of £143m but booked a statutory loss before tax of £8.9m.
BREXIT BOON Swiss bank Julius Baer has bucked the trend of financial firms shifting staff to the EU in the wake of Brexit by launching a large- scale expansion in Britain. The private bank will open new offices in Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow, while also establishing a team in Belfast as it looks to tap private wealth held outside the capital.
RISING REVENUES Mobile operator Three has cheered rising revenues despite earnings slipping back in response to customer and investment costs. The telecoms firm, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate CK Hutchison, said half-year earnings dropped 2pc to £341m, down from £348m in 2016.
TECH JOBS Telecoms firm Vodafone has set up a website to show off its research in a bid to attract talented software engineers. Vodafone Labs describes work the company is doing on an artificial intelligence, including a ‘chatbot’ called Tobi, as well as speech recognition software.
PAY DRAMA Cinema workers involved in a long-running pay dispute are to stage a fresh wave of strikes this weekend. Members of the Bectu union at five London Pic
turehouse venues will walk out from 4pm on Friday until 5am on Sunday.
FORMER RIVAL Waste management firm Renewi has appointed the ex-boss of a rival company to its board. Luc Sterckx, the former chief executive of waste company Indaver, will serve as non-executive director from September.
SHIRT DISPENSER Fashion retailer Uniqlo has launched a vending machine that dispenses shirts and jackets. The machine, located in Oakland Airport in California, will dispense clothing items at the touch of a button.
BAR BOOST Premium bar and restaurant chain The Alchemist has snapped up three new UK sites for £4.5m. The new venues in Bristol, Cardiff and Nottingham, add to its existing 12 sites across the country.