THE DAILY BRIEFING
BEER CHEER
Britain’s oldest pub company Shepherd Neame unveiled a profit boost after ending a contract with Japanese beer Asahi. Profits jumped 5.4pc to £11.8m in the year to June 30 as revenues came in flat at £156.6m.
MERGER TALK
Ailing German lender Deutsche Bank has reportedly mulled a merger with Swiss rival UBS, and a deal with domestic competitor Commerzbank.
RETAIL SETBACK
Fashion chain River Island has suffered a downturn in sales and profits as shoppers shun high streets for online spending. Sales at the retailer declined 2.3pc to £901.9m last year. Profits slumped almost a third to £74.6m.
HEAVY LOSSES
Supermarket Whole Foods lost £8.6m in the UK last year after Silicon Valley giant Amazon bought it for more than £10bn. heavy losses at the UK division from September 26 to December 31 were in contrast to a £1.2m profit a year earlier. British sales shot up 26.6pc to £148.5m.
ROGUE WAITS
Rogue trader Kweku Adoboli must remain in custody, awaiting the outcome of a bid to block deportation to Ghana. The former UBS banker, 38, was jailed for seven years after losing £1.8bn on illicit trades. he was last week granted a judicial review of the decision to deport him to the country he left at the age of four.
FUEL FUTURE
Renewable fuels business Velocys, developing plans to turn waste into jet fuel for British Airways, said it has made excellent progress with plans including developing refineries in the US to produce fuels from biomass.
HURRICANE DAMAGE
Chemicals business Elementis has had to stop production at a plant in North Carolina, US, due to flooding caused by hurricane Florence.
SALES BOOM
Travel food retailer SSP Group, which runs food and drink outlets in airports and train stations, said sales are likely to grow between 2pc and 3pc this year.
AIR ROLE
ITV Studios’ international boss Maria Kyriacou has been appointed to the Wizz Air board.
TURNOVER BOOST
Argentina focused oil and gas business President Energy says half-year turnover almost quadrupled to £16m.
LONDON CALLING
Stockbroker TP Icap is opening a new hQ in Bishopsgate in the City of London.