Shareholders have staged a revolt against Unilever’s pay for bosses over concerns about potentially excessive rewards (The Times £). Unilever shareholders have delivered an emphatic rejection of the consumer goods group’s executive pay plan in a setback for its incoming boss Hein Schumacher before he starts in July (The Financial Times £). Unilever suffered a bloody nose as shareholders revolted over fat cat pay in the boardroom (The Daily Mail).
The price of a cheese salad sandwich has risen by more than a third in a year, according to an analysis by the Financial Times of detailed official UK data released for the first time, highlighting how the cost of many staple foods have far outstripped headline inflation (The Financial Times £). The cost of making spaghetti bolognese for a family of four has risen to £10, up 15.6% in the last year alone, according to the most detailed government data yet published on rising prices (The Guardian).
The prospect of a “slow and methodical” reduction in Pfizer’s stake in Haleon was welcomed by the world’s biggest standalone consumer health business on Wednesday as it revealed a rise in revenue but disappointing profits in the first three months of this year (The Times £). Shares in Haleon slid yesterday as the consumer health group’s top shareholder plans to trim its stake (The Daily Mail).
Haleon profits fell just short of analyst expectations in the first quarter as the consumer healthcare giant’s margins were squeezed by higher costs. (The Daily Mail)
Diesel drivers are being “ripped-off” at the pumps to the tune of around 16p per litre, according to a motoring group (Sky News). One of the UK’s leading motoring organisations has accused retailers of inflating the price of diesel at the pump, despite wholesale prices of the fuel having fallen below the cost of petrol (The Financial Times £). Service stations are overcharging diesel drivers 16p a litre in a “rip-off” that is costing them an extra £9 every time they fill up, according to the RAC (The Times £).
A coalition of investors that oversee $10tn in assets has called on companies including Amazon, PepsiCo and McDonald’s to drastically reduce their reliance on plastics, saying a failure to do so exposes them to financial risks. (The Financial Times £)
British sausage maker Heck has axed almost its entire range of vegan products after admitting that the market was over-hyped. (The Telegraph)
Bidders for one of Yorkshire’s most famous breweries have been given until the end of this week to save it from collapse. Advisers to The Black Sheep Brewery have asked a number of interested parties to table offers on Friday, days after it filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators. (Sky News)
Smoking should be banned and the sugar tax extended to include fruit juice and milkshakes, George Osborne has said. Osborne believes Rishi Sunak’s government should go a step further and tax biscuits and cakes, and raise the legal age for tobacco to help reduce levels of obesity and cancer. (The Guardian)
Bottling group Coca-Cola HBC AG expects its full-year profit growth to reach the top end of its guidance, aided by strong demand for its soft drinks and price increases. (The Daily Mail)
Kenvue, the consumer arm of healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson, was valued at $41bn in an upsized initial public offering that marked the biggest US listing in almost 18 months. (The Financial Times £)
Energy costs create headwinds for vertical farms. Despite this influx of cash, the viability of the farms remain a concern to many in the industry. Most have yet to grow more than leafy greens and herbs and — as the salad shortage arguably demonstrated — they also have yet to make a significant dent in global food supply. (The Financial Times £)
Two 10-year-old children have been working unpaid shifts in a McDonald’s restaurant in Kentucky until 2am, an investigation has found. (Sky News, The Guardian)
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