THE DAILY BRIEFING

ending ■ Treatt’s SWEET March revenues NEWS 31 for Sweetener have the risen six months 11pc firm compared ■ BONUSES to the SHELVED same time South last African year. Poundland, retailer Steinhoff, has shelved which plans owns for directors’ with an accounting bonuses as scandal it tries that to deal has wiped around 90pc off its shares. ■ PROFITS firm Electrocomponents SPARK Industrial distribution says it ahead expects of market profit estimates for the year of £171m. to be ■ WEALTH DEMAND Londonbased wealth manager Devere Group has opened an office in Munich to take advantage of growing demand in Germany. ■ BROKER APPOINTED Law firm Knights has hired Numis to advise it on a potential stock market float. ■ BUSINESS BOUGHT British small business financier LDF has been snapped up by US investor White Oak Global Advisors as it plots to ramp up its UK presence. ■ PREMIUMS UP Insurance customers will see their premiums rise in the next two years, according to eight out of ten industry chiefs in Europe and the US. ■ STAKE BOUGHT Japanese investor Softbank is buying a 10pc stake in insurer Swiss Re for an estimated £2.4bn. ■ HOUSING FLOAT A social housing trust managed by property firm Fundamentum is going public next month in a £150m float.

■ EXEC LEAVES Music retailer HMV’s chief executive Ian Topping is set to leave after five years at the helm. He will be replaced by retail director Neil Taylor during a sixmonth transition period. ■ OFFICE EXPANDS Discounter Aldi has ploughed £70m into expanding its Warwickshire head office. ■ GRAND DESIGNS Interior design firm Walker Greenbank saw sales jump by 20pc last year to £108.8m. ■ ROBOT DOCTORS A British startup that uses artificial intelligence to diagnose health problems, Babylon, has signed a deal to work with Chinese giant Tencent. ■ PASSENGERS SOAR British Airways owner IAG has reported a 9.5pc jump in passenger numbers for the month of March to over 8.6m, up from 7.9m a year earlier.