THE DAILY BRIEFING
MERGER APPROVED Shareholders in Tesco and wholesaler Booker have given the green light for the two firms to merge in a £3.7bn deal.
The plan was waved through with a majority on both sides, despite previous calls for Booker investors to oppose it. Some 85pc of Tesco shareholders and 83pc of Booker investors backed the takeover by Tesco. The deal is expected to complete in March.
COMPETITION PROBE A move by SSE and the owner of Npower to merge and create a new UK energy supplier is to be investigated by Britain’s competition watchdog.
SAVERS BOOST Profits at Leeds Building Society climbed 3.7pc to a record £120.9m last year as total members climbed to an all-time high of 796,000. It lent another £1.8bn to house buyers and added another £1.9bn of savings balances.
SHOPPING AROUND Customers used Gocompare 32.2m times to shop around for insurance and other products last year – generating £4.67 for the business on every occasion. Profits rose 42pc to £30.7m and it will pay an annual dividend of 1.4p per share.
BROKERS SACKED Hundreds of staff are to be laid off at broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson as it seeks to cut £40m of annual costs. It has 11,000 workers in 42 countries.
SALARY SCARE British households are still concerned about the future as the wage squeeze continues, according to consumer research by GfK. Its index of consumer confidence slipped one point to a negative reading of ten this month.
£80m INVESTMENT A new firm which invests in start-ups, Kindred Capital, has netted £80m in one of the largest European fundraisings of its kind.
CRACKDOWN CALL Firms must be more transparent on when bosses’ bonuses can be clawed back for bad behaviour, the Institute of
Directors has said. It urged the Financial Reporting Council watchdog to strengthen pay rules.
GENDER PAY Big Four supermarket Asda has revealed a gender pay gap of 12.5pc, compared to the national average of 17.4pc. It said it would do more to address female representation in senior roles.
ROLLS ROLE Nick Luff, 50, is joining engine maker Rolls-Royce’s board as non-executive director.