Lidl is to create 5,000 jobs in London and invest £70m in a new UK headquarters in the capital as the German super­market reaffirms its commitment to Britain following Brexit, writes The Telegraph.

The budget retailer said the jobs are part of plans to open nearly 250 new stores in London as it pushes ahead with a three-year £1.5bn UK investment plan. Lidl has also received planning permission for a new 240,000 square feet head office in Tolworth, Kingston, where it will move 450 staff from Wimbledon. (The Telegraph)

Tesco has kicked off radical plans to build hundreds of homes on some of its largest supermarket sites. Britain’s biggest retailer is understood to be holding a beauty parade of property developers who are vying to be involved in the scheme, which could help relieve the country’s housing shortage. (The Telegraph)

A former Tesco director has been told he will not face charges from the Serious Fraud Office over his role in the £326m accounting scandal that cost him his job. Kevin Grace, former commercial boss at the retailer, has now been told he will not face fraud charges. (The Daily Mail)

British American Tobacco is preparing to add a cash sweetener in an attempt to secure its $47bn bid for a US rival. Reynolds American, owner of the Camel brand, has demanded that the FTSE 100 tobacco giant change the mixture of cash and shares it has offered, according to City and Wall Street sources. (The Times £)

The humble Brussels sprout has become the weapon of choice for Asda as it seeks to win back festive shoppers who have been deserting the supermarket in droves for Aldi and Lidl. The Walmart-owned grocer is slashing the price of Christmas vegetables including sprouts, carrots, parsnips and broccoli to 20p – a 57pc reduction on the cost of last year’s vegetables. (The Telegraph)

It is being dubbed “frenzied Friday” and is set to be the busiest food shopping day of the year in the UK, with an estimated 10 million people expected to hit supermarket aisles on 23 December. (The Guardian)

Move over prawn cocktails and vol-au-vents. Sales of upmarket readymade Christmas canapes are booming as hosts stock up with delights such as miniature prawn doughnuts and salmon carpaccio. With tills ringing as Christmas food shopping gets under way, this week will be the busiest in the UK for sales of party food and snacks over the festive season, according to supermarkets. (The Guardian)

The Brexit blow to the pound coupled with commodity price hikes is squeezing Britons’ Christmas spending power this year. A typical household spends an extra £500 in December but the pound’s dramatic tumble since the 23 June referendum means the festive fund is being stretched as the price of everything from Christmas puddings to selection boxes and the latest tech comes under pressure. (The Guardian)

A harmful paint thinner chemical has been found in gravy granules sold by Lidl. The discount supermarket chain is recalling two batches of its Kania Gravy Granules after they were discovered to have been contaminated with xylene. (Sky News)

Patisserie Valerie’s Luke Johnson writes about being targeted – incorrectly he claims – by animal rights group The Humane League over its use of eggs from caged hens. “In my opinion, this sort of systematic intimidation is very close to blackmail,” he writes. “As it happens, I keep some hens and agree that free-range eggs are better. But these types of coercive tactics are unacceptable — especially coming from an organisation that must surely have public good at its heart.” (The Times £)

Poundland’s advertising once trumpeted “Yes! Everything’s £1!” but that pledge could be ditched as the bargain chain’s new owners move into clothing sales. Andy Bond said he wanted to introduce the Steinhoff group’s Pep & Co branded clothing to every store – and it would not all be priced at £1. (The Guardian)

Deliveroo is secretly gearing up for a massive roll-out of its “dark kitchens” to meet soaring demand for takeaway orders from upmarket local restaurants. The British food delivery firm is negotiating with property agents to launch 150 bricks and mortar sites across the country by the end of next year. (The Telegraph)

England’s most popular beer could be axed from thousands of pubs if Heineken wins a £400m bid battle for Punch Taverns. Carling is likely to be taken out of nearly 2,000 bars if the Dutch brewer snaps up Britain’s second-biggest pubs company, according to industry sources. (The Times £)

Sipsmith, the UK craft gin maker, has been swallowed up by Beam Suntory, the world’s third-largest distiller by sales, which is hoping to capitalise on the boom in sales of premium gin (The Financial Times £). The Japanese owner of Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Teacher’s and Courvoisier is thought to have paid as much as £50m to buy out Sipsmith’s shareholders (The Guardian). Sipsmith’s founders Sam Galsworthy and Fairfax Hall will continue to hand-craft their small-batch gin at the Chiswick-based distillery, but its products will now be sold through Suntory’s global supply routes (The Telegraph).

Reckitt Benckiser, the British consumer goods group, has been fined a record $A6m by an Australian court for misleading consumers over the painkilling effects of Nurofen, one of its flagship products. (The Financial Times £)

The tremors beneath the surface at Marks & Spencer briefly broke into the open this week with the decision of Robert Swannell to step down as chairman, writes Alex Brummer in The Mail. ”In spite of M&S’s struggles with fashion competitors and the internet, the store group retains its totemic status among British consumers and has high brand recognition overseas,” he writes. “Even modest eruptions attract great attention.” (The Daily Mail)

The Pensions Regulator has fired a warning shot at Sir Philip Green by agreeing its biggest ever settlement with a private company in a case with similarities to BHS. Coats Group, one of the biggest manufacturers of sewing threads in the world, has agreed to pay more than £255m into its pension scheme after the regulator started legal proceedings against it. (The Guardian)

High-end wine buyers — both Chinese and from around the world — are looking to Burgundy as “The days of mania for Bordeaux have passed”. “Individuals who purchased cases for under £1,000 just seven or eight years ago are now seeing these same cases valued at up to £10,000,” says Gary Boom, chief executive of fine wine merchants Bordeaux Index. (The Financial Times £)

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