THE DAILY BRIEFING

DRONE TRIAL

telecoms giant Vodafone is trialling a technology to help protect aircraft from collisions with drones. the trials would be done in partnership with the European Aviation safety Agency.

FIRST DELIVERY

Plane-maker Airbus delivered its first A350-1000 wide-body airliner to launch customer Qatar Airways. It is the first Airbus fitted with double beds in business class.

NEW INTERESTS

the finance director of AIM-listed healthcare firm Futura Medical, Derek Martin, has resigned from the board to pursue other interests.

OIL SUPPORT

Engineering services company Wood Group has been hired by Japanese oil and gas company Inpex to help support its Ichthys facilities off the coast of Western Australia.

RUSSIA PLOT

Postcards will be sent to buyers of Us election-related advertisements on Facebook to verify they are not Russian agents. the cards will have a code that needs to be entered online to verify the buyer is in the Us.

FAMILY VALUE

Carol Harrison, 66, wife of MJ Gleeson boss Jolyon Harrison, 69, has bought 1,500 shares in the regeneration specialist for £10,860, which takes the family holding up to nearly 1.9m shares, worth £13.7m.

BOARD MOVE

Anita Balchandani has stepped down from the boards of ted Baker and Majestic Wine as she joins consulting firm McKinsey & Co as partner.

BOOZE BOOST

george Clooney’s Casamigos tequila brand, which was bought by drinks giant Diageo for more than £618m last year, has expanded the range with the launch of its first mezcal.

MEATY REVENUES

sales at Richmond sausages owner Kerry Group grew by 4.5pc last year to £5.65m. Profits at the Irish company increased from £470.8m to £519.7m.

BUYER QUITS

Posh store Harvey Nichols’s group fashion buying director Anita Barr has left the firm.

CARD BOOST

Online bank Tandem has launched its first UK credit card promising a market-leading exchange rate.

BANK JOB

Former Yorkshire Building society boss Chris Pilling, 52, has joined the board of Barclays’ UK retail bank as a non-executive.