US investor has snapped up a major stake in Domino’s Pizza Group (DOM), piling more pressure on the takeaway business as it grapples with angry franchisees and seeks out a new boss. Los Angeles-based hedge fund Browning West has become the UK-listed pizza company’s fifth biggest shareholder with a stake of 5.33% worth £70m. The move could herald demands for a major change of direction at Domino’s and will be another major blow for boss David Wild, who is already locked in battle with restaurant operators demanding a higher share of the business’s profits.
Mike Ashley’s has drafted in mid-table accountant RSM to oversee its books, ending weeks of uncertainty for the FTSE 250 company. Sports Direct has struggled to find an accountancy firm to vet it since August when Grant Thornton resigned following a chaotic market update. The retailer is RSM’s first client in the mid-cap space and with a market value of £1.7bn is significantly bigger than its normal customers. RSM scrutinises the books of 59 companies listed on London’s junior stock market AIM, and was also appointed to oversee Patisserie Valerie after the cake chain collapsed earlier this year.
Tesco (TSCO) is set to launch high end pop-ups in major cities in the run up to Christmas, it has emerged. The supermarket chain will sell some of its “Finest” products, which are also its most expensive, alongside wine. It is eyeing small sites in London as well as other cities and plans to run the temporary shops-cum-wine-bars for four to six weeks in November and December. The retailer wants to showcase a selection of the items “in a premium, exciting and unexpected way”, The Grocer first reported. Outgoing chief executive Dave Lewis has previously said that Finest “as a brand is one of the largest food brands in the country”.
The hostile suitor trying to buy Just Eat (JE.) must pay an extra £1bn to take it over, major shareholder Aberdeen Standard has said. Prosus’s shock £5bn offer for delivery company Just Eat is not high enough, according to the investor, amid rising hopes of a bidding war. The European arm of Naspers, one of the world’s biggest tech companies, Prosus launched its bid for Just Eat on Tuesday – offering a 20% premium to its share price and gatecrashing a planned merger with Dutch peer Takeaway.com. Just Eat rejected Prosus’ approach, sparking expectations that a battle would soon erupt which could lead to even higher offers.
Metro Bank (MTRO) founder Vernon Hill has bowed out earlier than expected, promising investors the “best is yet to come” just hours before it emerged that his bank had plunged to a quarterly loss. The troubled lender, which is fighting to rebuild confidence following a major accounting gaffe earlier this year that left investors nursing huge losses, swung £2.2m into the red for the three months to September 30 compared to a £15.1m profit a year earlier. Metro’s chief executive Craig Donaldson also hinted at a wider overhaul by telling investors the bank is now evaluating its future plans to strike a balance between growth and costs.
