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Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond has signed a £100,000 deal to appear in a new TV advert for Morrisons. The tongue-in-cheek advert will spoof Hammond's near-death car crash and will feature him taking a smash in a supermarket trolley, The Sun reported.

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Tim Mason, chief executive of Fresh & Easy, has signalled that Tesco is preparing to expand beyond the US's West Coast in an exclusive interview with the FT. Mason told the paper that Fresh & Easy was thriving, in spite of suggestions of poor early results, and hinted that Chicago and the Midwest were next on the radar. Tesco is investing up to £250m a year in the next four years on the West Coast, said the FT.

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A record amount of British food was exported last year, thanks to the growing appetite of Polish consumers for Kentish beer and Twinings tea, according to the Telegraph. Britain exported £11.5bn of grown or processed food in 2007 - a rise of 9.1% on 2006, it said.

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Up to 20% of Marks & Spencer's shareholders are expected to vote against chief executive Sir Stuart Rose at the retailer's agm on 9 July in protest at his appointment to chairman. The promotion - kept from shareholders until just hours before the appointment was announced to the stockmarket - contravenes the City code on boardroom standards, The Guardian said. There could also be a substantial vote against proposals to change boardroom incentive plans that will make it easier for directors to achieve big payouts, it added.

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The minimum age for buying alcohol in shops or off-licences in Scotland is set to be raised from 18 to 21. The change is expected to be rolled out across Scotland as part of an alcohol action plan, which could also include minimum prices for alcohol and a crackdown on discount offers, the Mail reported.

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