The annual results of Costa Coffee owner Whitbread and 300 UK jobs being axed by Nestlé generate plenty of column inches this morning.

A 5.7% rise in pre-tax profits to £515.4m in the 52 weeks to 2 March was below analysts’ consensus of around £560m-£570m and a 6.3% leap in revenues to £3.1bn was below growth of 12% recorded the previous year. The Financial Times writes that stalling sales growth at Costa and Premier Inn led Whitbread to warn of a consumer spending slowdown. The rising popularity of artisan coffee shops and Airbnb took a toll on Whitbread, according to The Mail. The Times notes that Whitbread headed the list of FTSE 100 fallers after tempering a positive start to the new financial year with a warning that it was expecting “a tougher consumer environment than last year”. The Telegraph writes that Costa Coffee plans to look beyond the high street to newer formats such as drive-thru stores and coffee shops in travel hubs as high street trading becomes tougher. The Guardianfocuses on a Brexit angle in its story, writing that the boss of Costa Coffee owner Whitbread welcomed proposals reportedly being discussed by home secretary Amber Rudd to avoid labour shortages in cafes and restaurants, such as the idea of “barista visas”. A business editorial in The Telegraph asks “is Costa Coffee-owner Whitbread losing its froth?”.

The unions outed plans by Nestlé to cut almost 300 jobs and move production of the Blue Riband chocolate biscuit to Poland (The Telegraph). The Swiss confectioner said most of the jobs would be lost in Newcastle and York during 2017/18, but also warned its sites in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and Girvan, Ayrshire, would also be affected. Unions criticised the group’s plan to end 81 years of British production of the chocolate wafer bar (The Guardian).

The BBC, reporting a conference call with incoming CEO James Quincey, writes that Coca-Cola plans to cut about 1,200 jobs due to falling demand for its fizzy drinks.

Banana and pineapple producer Dole Foods revealed plans to go public again after being taken private by 94-year-old billionaire David Murdock a little more than three years ago (The Financial Times). The paper writes that the lossmaking group is saddled with $1.2bn of debt.

The Financial Times picks up the latest trading update from McDonald’s. “More burger sizes, $1 soft drinks and $2 McCafes helped McDonald’s smash market expectations for its sales and earnings growth for the first quarter” the paper says. The world’s biggest burger chain said on Tuesday that global like-for-like sales rose by 4% in the first three months of the year. The Times focuses on the switch of hundreds of thousands of staff from zero-hours contracts. McDonald’s is to offer its 115,000 UK employees on zero-hours contracts the chance to move to permanent contracts. The Guardian says the move is a significant development in the debate about employee rights because McDonald’s is one of the biggest users of zero-hours contracts in the country. McDonald’s is set to trial a delivery service in the UK in a bid to grab a bite of the burgeoning delivery food market, The Telegraph reports.

Tyson Foods, the US meat producer, is buying ready meal maker AdvancePierre Foods for $4.2bn, including debt (The Financial Times).

The Guardian reports hummus shortages after shops removed the dip from sale over ‘taste issues’. The paper says shoppers are unhappy after supermarkets pull stocks from shelves following complaints of metallic taste.

The Financial Times examines the rise of liquid lunches – with pea protein – as meal replacement powders become increasingly popular with young professionals.

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