The finance boss of Boots, Britain’s biggest high street pharmacy chain, has quit a year after its US parent abandoned plans to sell the business. (Sky News)

The new chief executive of British American Tobacco has committed to sticking with the company’s strategy, but has noted weaknesses in its key American combustibles market and in the performance of glo, its tobacco heating product (The Times £). British American Tobacco gained 900,000 more users of non-combustible products, such as vapes, in the first quarter amid a continued shift away from smoking (The Daily Mail).

Associated British Foods has boosted its agri-food operation with the acquisition of a dairy technology business in a deal worth £48m (The Times £, The Daily Mail).

Sainsbury’s boss was paid nearly £5m in cash and shares last year despite a drop in profits at the supermarket. Simon Roberts’ annual pay package is 229 times more than the average worker at the retail chain. (The BBC)

The female co-chief executive of Marks & Spencer was paid £2.22m for a four-day week in her first year in the role, effectively earning £250,000 more than her counterpart Stuart Machin. (The Times £)

Marks & Spencer has become the latest big retail name to remove use-by dates from its fresh milk in an attempt to prevent millions of pints that are still safe to consume being poured away. (The Guardian)

Aldi has come out as the cheapest supermarket for the twelfth month in a row, with its total £18.31 less than Waitrose, which was the most expensive. Which? says items cost on average 17.1% more in April 2023 than a year previously. (Sky News)

The Pubs Code Adjudicator said its annual survey had found that half of the “tied” tenants of the private equity-owned Stonegate, the largest pubs company in the UK, were not satisfied with how their landlord was treating them. (The Times £)

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