Assaulting a shopworker is to be made a separate criminal offence after a government U-turn following pressure from campaigners (Sky News). Assaulting a shop worker will be made a separate criminal offence in England and Wales as part of a government response to a wave of retail crime (The BBC).
More serial or abusive shoplifters face going to prison as the UK government seeks to slash soaring levels of theft and violence against retail workers. (The Financial Times £)
The government is investing more than £55m in expanding facial recognition systems – including vans that will scan crowded high streets – as part of a renewed crackdown on shoplifting (The Guardian). Repeat shoplifters are to be tagged so they can be tracked and banned from high street stores under a package of measures to crack down on an epidemic of thefts (The Telegraph £).
The billionaire family behind the discount chain Home Bargains paid themselves a £36mn dividend last year after the retailer notched up a rise in profits and sales amid the cost of living crisis. (The Financial Times £). Read the story on The Grocer.
Marks & Spencer is investing £1m in tackling cows’ carbon footprint by changing the diet of the herds that provide its milk. (The Guardian)
Golden Virginia and Gauloises owner Imperial Brands is on track to achieve annual guidance, with first-half profits set to come in higher than expected. (The Daily Mail)
The UK’s biggest pubs and bars group has warned that there is no guarantee that it can continue as a going concern, as it struggles to refinance a £2.2bn debt mountain (The Guardian). The owner of Slug & Lettuce has raised concerns over its future as it races to refinance more than £2bn in debts (The Telegraph £). Stonegate, which runs the Slug & Lettuce and Be At One chains, warned of a ‘material uncertainty’ over the debts in its annual report (The Daily Mail).
M&S has accidentally used a bottle of wine from Aldi in a photograph advertising its garden furniture. (The Telegraph £)
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