THE DAILY BRIEFING

■ SALES SOAR West End Lebanese kebab chain Maroush Group has posted a 3pc rise in sales to £22.1m in the year to March 2017. The restaurant group cut its losses from £1.4m to £1.3m during the period.

■ GIN UP Jameson Whiskey owner Pernod Ricard is targeting younger customers with the launch of a pink gin by its brand Beefeater.

■ PROFITS FIZZ Revenues at Pepsi owner Pepsico rose by 5pc, and reached $19.5bn in the three months to December 30, surpassing Wall Street expectations.

■ SOWN UP Men’s tailor Berwin & Berwin has been rescued from administration by the Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group.

■ TECH TIE-UP Podcast-host Audioboom plans to tap investors for £155m as it eyes a reverse takeover of tech rival Triton Digital Canada.

■ FULL SPEED Car hire giant Lease Plan is gearing up for a stock market flotation after clocking a double-digit rise in profits.

■ GERMANY BATTLE German lender Deutsche Bank is shelling out £3.2m to settle US claims it did nothing to stop bond traders lying to their customers.

■ STOCK LISTING Fund services firm JTC Group is mulling a £320m float on the London Stock Exchange.

■ BUILDING STAKE Fund manager Neil Woodford has doubled his stake in housebuilder Crest Nicholson to 10.3pc, making him its biggest shareholder with a stake worth £127.7m.

■ AUDITOR BLOW Tainted accountant KPMG has been shunned by the public sector after a string of scandals securing just £12m of state contracts last year, down from £55m in 2015 according to research firm Tussell.

■ OIL BOOST Norway-focused oil and gas firm Faroe Petroleum produced 14,300 barrels of oil per day last year and predicts 2018 production of up to 15,000 daily.

■ AIM FLOAT Irish industrial investor Core Industrial Reit plans to float on the junior AIM market valued at around £222m.

■ NORTH STARS Engineer BAE Systems is a major partner for this year’s Great Exhibition of the North, a government-backed event promoting design and industry held between June and September in Newcastle and Gateshead.