Buyers circling Wilko face having to invest up to £70m into the ailing discount chain as part of any rescue deal as the family-owned retailer scrambles to avert collapse this weekend. (The Times £)

Wilko could face court action for failing to pay property taxes on its 400 stores, industry sources have warned. (The Times £)

A number of articles look at ‘what went wrong at Wilko’. Retail experts have pointed to over-spaced stores in “dead high streets”, a lack of retail “excitement” and long-held store leases with “miles to run” (The Times £). While the pandemic did hit trade, Covid support from the government also masked its problems through business rates relief, tax holidays and restrictions on landlords’ ability to call in rents (The Guardian). Wilko stepped into the High Street gap left by the collapse of Woolworths in late 2008, but has struggled over the past decade partly due to growing competition from the likes of Poundland and B&M (BBC).

A leading private equity investor is among the suitors circling Nicotinell, the anti-smoking aid which has been earmarked for sale by its FTSE-100 owner. Inflexion, which has backed companies such as Goals Soccer Centres and Mountain Warehouse, is on a list of bidders in talks with Haleon about buying the brand. (Sky News)

The Times looks at “How the cult of Greggs took over Britain”. With more than 2,300 stores across the UK, Greggs has become something of a national treasure — and a brand with cult status among social media influencers on TikTok and Instagram to boot. (The Times £)

More pubs in Britain went bust between April and June than in any quarter for more than a decade as rising costs were exacerbated by the effects of the cost of living crisis on customers. (The Times £)

UK farmers have warned that harvests of wheat, oilseed rape, potatoes and other crops have been hit by the cool, wet summer, raising fears of further food price inflation. (The Guardian)

Summer is traditionally the time of year for barbecuing, eating ice-cream and drinking sundowners but after a rain-soaked July, weary Britons are taking solace in wintry comfort food such as roast dinners, soup, rice pudding and custard. (The Guardian)

Some of Britain’s best-known companies are paying their bosses up to 260 times more than their typical workers, research shows. They include supermarket giants Sainsbury’s and Tesco and cut-price retailer B&M. (Daily Mail)

The boss of Coca-Cola HBC has pocketed more than £500,000 in ‘cost of living’ benefits in the last two years. (Daily Mail)

The challenge of how to Ocado Retail has fallen to Hannah Gibson, who took over last September with a long to-do list. For Gibson, same-day delivery is understood to be an area where she sees clear room for improvement. The focus should not come as a surprise, given Gibson was instrumental in the development of Ocado-owned rapid delivery app Zoom. (Telegraph £)

Bud Light trans controversy comes amid shifting US beer tastes. The popularity of craft brands and Mexican imports were already eroding appeal of country’s former best-selling beer. (Financial Times £)

An Indian ban on exports of white rice and Russia’s withdrawal from a Black Sea grain deal contributed to a global rise in food prices last month, according to data from the United Nations. (The Times £)

The Diddy v Diageo case comes as a warning shot to companies entering into high-profile tie-ups and signals the potential for more litigation should the relationship break down or if there is a mismatch of expectations. (Financial Times £)

One year on, Haleon’s boss can reflect on a bumpy ride as a public company. Brian McNamara has navigated highs and lows at the helm of the healthcare group. (The Times £)

Tequila’s rising popularity has driven the price of the spiky agave plants up tenfold over the past decade. But there are signs that the agave boom may be turning to a bust. (Financial Times £)

The BBC looks at Starbucks cannot crack a coffee-loving nation of Vietnam. (BBC)

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