Greggs (GRG) is stockpiling pork to avoid running out of sausage rolls if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal. Chief executive Roger Whiteside said he was stashing away key ingredients ahead of the October 31 deadline, including pork, even though a lot of it already comes from the UK. “We’d like to have a bit more of it,” he added. The bakery chain now sources the majority of its cheese and sugar at home as a precaution. Greggs, which has been luring people to its stores with its vegan sausage roll, posted a slowdown in sales as the demand for the meat-free snack was not as high as when it was first unveiled in January.
Ryanair Holdings (RYA) boss Michael O’Leary has enraged the travel industry by claiming the package holiday is “screwed” following the failure of Thomas Cook. And in a blistering attack on the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Mr O’Leary also said the UK airlines regulator was partly to blame for the spectacular collapse of the 178-year-old travel company. He said that airlines facing financial difficulty should be forced to set aside cash that could be used to fund any repatriation effort further down the line. “How can you [the CAA] license Thomas Cook in April as fit to fly for another 12 months and then it goes bust in September?” Mr O’Leary said. The package holiday is “screwed, it’s over”, he said.
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) shares took a beating during London trading on Tuesday, after negative commentary from two sets of analysts. Shares fell after negative commentary from Credit Suisse and Panmure Gordon. Hargreaves’ high prices drew negative commentary, as did its operating margins, with Credit Suisse initiating coverage of its shares with a “sell” rating, writing: “We find HL’s premium valuation difficult to support in the face of near-term revenue and earnings growth headwinds.” They said that further damage from the continued fallout around fallen star trader Neil Woodford could hurt Hargreaves’.
ASOS (ASC) is poised to reveal a boardroom shake-up tomorrow as it battles to rebuild confidence with investors. The online fashion house, which has issued a string of profit warnings in the past year, is set to appoint Ocado executive Luke Jensen as a non-executive director, according to Sky News. Adam Crozier, who took over as company chairman in April, has drafted in a raft of new board members to revive what has been a tough period of trading. In July, the company blamed operational issues arising from its overhaul of warehouses in the US and Europe for its third profit warning in eight months.
The boss of JD Sports Fashion (JD.) has slammed competition regulators for holding up his firm’s £90m takeover of smaller rival Footasylum (FOOT). Peter Cowgill hit out after the competition watchdog announced an in-depth probe of the deal, which has previously been criticised due to family ties between the two firms. The investigation could take months and might mean the tie-up is blocked altogether. Mr Cowgill, executive chairman of JD Sports, said: “I strongly disagree with this. This transaction will not result in any price increases or a reduction in product ranges or service quality.”
Top contender for the chief executive job at Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) has quit to join advertising giant WPP (WPP). John Rogers, who had long been tipped as Mike Coupe’s successor to run the grocer, will leave at the end of the month. Mr Rogers has been running Sainsbury’s-owned Argos since the supermarket chain gobbled it up for £1.4bn three years ago, having joined as a finance director at the grocer in 2005. Some industry observers have said that Mr Rogers’ sudden departure could suggest Mr Coupe is staying put for a while despite the knock from the botched £7.3bn takeover of smaller rival Asda earlier this year.
Questor: our original ‘tip of the year SafeCharge International Group Limited (DI) (SCH)’ made 90% in six months. Here is its replacement, Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings (DI) (RQIH). Questor share tip: the fund manager who prompted us to tip SafeCharge has equally high hopes for this niche insurance firm
