CMA begins full review of Kingsmill owner’s planned takeover of bread rival Hovis
The UK competition watchdog has ramped up its investigation into a £75m takeover deal that will result in the owner of Kingsmill snapping up its sliced bread rival Hovis,Associated British Foods (ABF), which also owns the Primark clothing chain, confirmed plans to buy Hovis from its private equity owners Endless in August, combining the UK’s second and third largest bread brands,The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has now launched an in-depth investigation into whether the deal could harm consumers, potentially leading to reduced choice and higher prices on grocery shelves,It follows a request by the two companies to fast-track the review of the merger,ABF said in a statement: “Our priority is to achieve regulatory clearance as efficiently as possible and we are pleased to have agreed with the CMA that we will fast-track to the in-depth and detailed final phase of their merger review.
We will continue to work constructively with the CMA to demonstrate the benefits of the transaction.”The news came as ABF issued a profit warning, saying it expected adjusted operating profit for the wider group to be below last year.This sent the group’s shares down by as much as 11% on Thursday morning.The CMA, which initially raised concerns in December, said on Thursday it was launching its “phase 2” investigation to assess whether the takeover would result in a “substantial lessening of competition” for mass-produced baked goods.The regulator will ultimately have to decide whether the brands face sufficient rivalry on price and quality from supermarkets’ own labels and other options, as well as the UK’s market leader, Warburtons, which accounts for more than a quarter of packaged sliced bread salesAugust’s takeover announcement came amid a drop in popularity of mass-produced sliced bread and baked goods, as customers spurn ultra-processed foods and turn to more artisanal loafs.
The CMA’s investigation is due to run until at least the end of June, slowing the pace of the bread merger,Hovis directors said in accounts published this summer that they thought any deal was “unlikely to be concluded” before September 2026, and that reviews were likely continue until at least then,ABF noted in a trading update on Thursday that weak consumer confidence in the UK and Europe had weighed on sales, particularly at Primark, which were lower than expected over the past four months,While Primark gained market share, ABF said it expected sales growth at the clothing brand to be in the low single digits in the first half of the year,Its chief executive, George Weston, said: “In a challenging consumer environment, our focus is on factors within our control, including initiatives now under way in Europe aimed at improving performance … While we expect the tough trading conditions to continue in the short term, we remain confident in the overall prospects for the group.
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Food inflation forecast to fall this year after dairy, meat and vegetable oil costs drop – business live
The boss of supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has predicted that food inflation will continue to fall in 2026.Following this morning’s Christmas trading update, Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts told reporters:“We’ve seen food inflation come down and when you think about the outlook for the year ahead we’d expect that to continue,”Roberts said that commodity prices were likely to be more stable in 2026 – speaking shortly before the UN reported that global food prices had dropped again in December (see previous post).European nations have backed the biggest ever free trade agreement with a group of South American countries, ending 25 years of negotiations but risking further tensions with farmers around the bloc.France, Poland, Austria, Ireland and Hungary opposed the deal in the face of protests from the agricultural sector, but Italy dropped its opposition allowing the landmark deal to be adopted under the majority voting system.The deal with Brazil, Argentina, Paraquay and Uruquary, must still get the approval of the European Parliament but bar any major U-turns by member states, it could be signed off as early as next week by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen
Sainsbury’s blames ‘significant headwinds’ for drop in Argos sales at Christmas
Sainsbury’s has blamed “significant headwinds” from weak consumer confidence, heavy online competition and widespread discounting for a fall in sales at its Argos chain over the all-important Christmas quarter.The UK’s second-largest grocer said its supermarkets increased sales by 3.4% at established stores in the three months to 3 January but Argos sales fell 1% in the period.Argos, which has more than 600 stores and 400 collection points, most of which are within Sainsbury’s outlets, performed particularly badly in the crucial final six weeks, with total sales down 2.2% compared with the Sainsbury’s chain’s 4
UK ministers considering leaving X amid concern over AI tool images
UK ministers are considering leaving X as a result of the controversy over the platform’s AI tool, which has been allowing users to generate digitally altered pictures of people – including children – with their clothes removed.Anna Turley, the chair of the Labour party and a minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office, said on Friday that conversations were happening within the government and Labour about their continued use of the social media platform, which is controlled by Elon Musk.The government has come under mounting pressure to leave X after the site was flooded with images including sexualised and unclothed pictures of children generated by its AI tool, Grok.Turley told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “X, first and foremost, has to get its act together and prevent this. It has the powers to do this, and we need to make sure there are firm consequences for that
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery
Grok, Elon Musk’s AI tool, has switched off its image creation function for the vast majority of users after a widespread outcry about its use to create sexually explicit and violent imagery.The move comes after Musk was threatened with fines, regulatory action and reports of a possible ban on X in the UK.The tool had been used to manipulate images of women to remove their clothes and put them in sexualised positions. The function to do so has been switched off except for paying subscribers.Posting on X, Musk’s social media network, Grok said: “Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers
NFL playoff predictions: who will seize a wide-open Super Bowl race?
The postseason kicks off on Saturday. Our writers pick the dark horses, players to watch and make their tips for the NFL’s championship gameMelissa is right about the Lions (see below), but how about the Dallas Cowboys? Their defense was nauseating, and nobody wants a playoff weekend spoiled watching that. But their offense was electric. They finished fifth in the league in EPA/play in the regular season. And with Dak Prescott, a solid o-line and George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, they had the potential to drop 30 points on any playoff group
Chess: Hastings Masters guards tradition and produces an English co-winner
Hastings is the grandfather of international chess tournaments, first staged in 1895 and then every year since 1920, with breaks for war and pandemics. Its vintage years were the 1930s, 50s and 70s, when world champions and challengers lined up to compete, while the badminton legend Sir George Thomas and the Bletchley Park codebreaker Hugh Alexander both shared first after defeating renowned opponents.Nowadays, Hastings has publicity problems, sandwiched as it is between the London Classic and Tata Steel Wijk and Zee, and running simultaneously with the Magnus Carlsen show in the World Rapid/Blitz.Its traditional support from Hastings borough council has completely vanished, so that this year’s event lacked any player from the world’s top 200 grandmasters. Hastings had a £10,000 prize fund, compared with £50,000 for the London Classic and €1m for the World Rapid/Blitz in Qatar
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