SSP Group was a major faller yesterday as an investment bank warned the industry could be hit by surging inflation. Shares in the Upper Crust and Ritazza owner slumped 6.3% after analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock as it said surging inflation may hit demand for travel and therefore SSP’s business in airports and other transport hubs while pushing up the cost of food and wages. (The Daily Mail)

A cyberattack has forced Funky Pigeon, the online greetings card retailer, to stop accepting new orders on its website (The Times £, The Guardian, The Daily Mail). It marks the second attack on a retail name this month following a similar incident at arts, crafts and hobbies retailer The Works (Sky News).

The Guardian and Daily Mail follow up on yesterday’s FT story yesterday that Asda’s private equity owner has claimed the value of its investment in the supermarket chain has soared by nearly 20 times as it gears up for a potential bid for the pharmacy chain Boots (The Guardian, The Daily Mail).

The Telegraph’s Questor shares column tips Britvic. “Growth and income prospects remain sound even after an extremely challenging period during the pandemic, which caused a decline in “on-trade” consumption. The diminishing prospect of further Covid restrictions should improve the on-trade outlook.” (The Telegraph)

UK retailer Boots has vowed to stop selling all wet wipes that contain plastic fibres by the end of the year. (Sky News)

Russian aggression may cause global starvation, writes the FT. “Democratic governments must plan on the basis that food, energy and fertiliser supply problems will persist. Ukraine’s fight may take a long time. The ability to hold the line with sanctions against Russia and Belarus is mission critical — and a food price crisis will erode popular support for it.” (The Financial Times £)

Welsh hospitality businesses are struggling to recruit staff, according to The BBC. A recruitment crisis, rising costs, less revenue and increased tax was a “quadruple whammy” for the sector, said David Chapman, of UK Hospitality Cymru. (The BBC)

Amazon’s physical stores are the messy lab that may yield disruption. “Amid crowing from industry critics, the tech titan announced the closure of 68 Amazon Books and 4-Star outlets… That represents a blip rather than a retreat from bricks and mortar. The company has sailed through bigger failures.” (The Financial Times £)

Topics