THE DAILY BRIEFING

RETAIL FEARS Electrical retailer Maplin has moved to reassure suppliers ahead of the festive season after credit insurers raised concerns about the business.

QBE, which insures suppliers’ debts from retailers so they still get paid if a firm goes bust, has pulled its Maplin coverage, while insurers Euler Hermes and Atradius have scaled back support.

PET BOOST Animal retailer Pets At Home is expected to report a sales boost this week thanks to booming demand. Analysts expect it to reveal a 4.6pc rise in sales to £462m for the six months to mid-October.

CARE RESCUE Tycoon Guy Hands is launching a last effort to prevent the failure of his struggling care home chain Four Seasons Health Care, it is claimed. Hands’ business Terra Firma Capital Partners, which owns Four Seasons, has offered a deal to its biggest creditor, H/2 Capital.

SHARE BUYBACK Insurer Aviva is reportedly preparing to buy back £1bn of its own shares to return spare cash to investors. Analysis by Barclays suggests the firm has a £1.5bn war chest.

SERVICE GLOOM Leisure firms are increasingly gloomy about the future, according to a survey by the Confederation of British

Industry. Firms in the consumer services sector are more pessimistic than at any point since 2011, the business lobby group said.

WINE GAMBLE Former BBC Dragons’ Den entrepreneur James Caan is investing in sugar-free wine. Hamilton Bradshaw Capital Partners, which was co-founded by the millionaire, is backing Slimline Wine.