Brexit backers Tate & Lyle are set to gain £73m from end of EU trade tariffs (The Observer). Greenpeace investigators say the firm, which also donated to the Conservatives, will be sole beneficiary of rule changes on importing raw cane sugar.
WH Smith is demanding rent cuts from landlords as it struggles to contain costs (The Sunday Times £). The retailer has drafted in its property adviser, Gerald Eve, to thrash out deals with property owners.
Hard hit businesses paid only a fraction of rents in July, with private equity-owned tenants paying less than listed peers, according to one US property group (The Financial Times £).
Landlords, shops and restaurants have joined forces to ask the government to step in and pay commercial rents to help them survive the coronavirus pandemic (The Telegraph).
Part three of The Times (£) series examining the Ocado joint venture with M&S looks at the Waitrose fight back after being jilted in aisles.
The Guardian looks at the reaction of Tesco’s cleaning staff after being cut loose by the supermarket. “Staff don’t seem to share Tesco’s view that employees will relish cleaning Metro and Express outlets themselves,” the paper writes.
Whitehall remains in the dark over whether President Trump will impose steep tariffs on British gin and whisky after the trade secretary’s meetings in Washington ended without agreement (The Times £).
Pret a Manger has asked thousands of staff to work about 20% fewer hours as the office-workers’ lunchtime favourite tries to survive the pandemic (The Sunday Times £).
Use-by dates on red meat in the UK should be extended, say industry experts who are lobbying the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to endorse scrapping the current 10-day cap and extending it to 21 days or more (The Guardian).
Subsidies for healthy food, plain packaging for unhealthy food, and more research into meat alternatives could help the UK’s obesity crisis, according to a new report (Sky News).
Monday to Wednesday is the new weekend according to the restaurant trade after sales went “berserk” during the first week of the government’s discount dining scheme (The Guardian).
Restaurateurs hailed a surge in bookings and doubling of sales on the first day of the government’s Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme, but warned that the industry was “still in crisis” despite the boost (The Financial Times £).
Winter has arrived early for hospitality players as Londoners stay at home and parts of the capital and the City remain a ghost town (The Sunday Telegraph). Pub chains, restaurants and theatres are all feeling the chill of remote working boom.
Rishi Sunak has not ruled out extending the furlough scheme in the event of a second wave of coronavirus (The Telegraph).
The economy will officially enter recession this week after tumbling by a record 20% in the second quarter (The Sunday Times £).
Britain’s economy will be officially declared in recession this week for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, as the coronavirus outbreak plunges the country into the deepest slump on record (The Guardian).
The UK will suffer the heaviest Covid-19 impact of any major country this week as signs of faltering spending raise fears that the recovery is already running out of steam (The Sunday Telegraph). City forecasters predict official figures will show a 21.3% collapse in output between April and June, when the economy languished in lockdown.
A lifting of lockdown restrictions helped business output rise for the third consecutive month in July but the pace of recovery is slowing as the economy prepares to enter recession (The Times £).
One in three companies is preparing to cut jobs by the end of September, undermining hopes of a V-shaped recovery as Britain heads for an official recession (The Times £).
Levy UK, part of catering giant Compass, is to lay off casual staff after raising doubts over whether crowds will be able to fully return to sporting events such as Premier League football this year (The Guardian).
Russian discount grocery chain Magnit says a coronavirus boost to revenues has accelerated its turnround and helped it resume its challenge to market leader X5 (The Financial Times £).
The Financial Times (£) analyses how 7-Eleven owner strengthened it US grip with Speedway deal (“$21bn petrol station gamble”).
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