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UK prosecutors have charged Kenneth Alexander, the former chief executive of Labrokes-Coral owner GVC, and ten other individuals for seven offences relating to bribery, conspiracy to defraud, fraudulent trading, cheating the public revenue, evasion of income tax, acting as a director of a company when undischarged bankrupt and perverting the course of justice.”The offences relate to the provision of gambling services in Turkey between 2011 and 2018,” said Hannah von Dadelszen, chief crown prosecutor.
Alexander ran GVC, which was renamed Entain, between 2007 and 2020. He has been charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe between 2011 and 2018.
Pernod toasts tariffs deals
Pernod ricard shares rose as much as 8 per cent after the French spirits maker said the hit from trade tariffs would be half that was previously forecast.
Results for the year ended June 30 where better than forecast, with revenue of €11 billion, and it expects sales to improve in the “transition year” of 2026.
Alexandre Ricard, chief executive, now expects an €80 million impact from tariffs imposed by the United States and China, against €200 million previously.
Pernod Ricard and rivals have suffered amid falling sales and tariff uncertainty in the key markets of China and the United States. Tariff deals were reached in July.
“Whilst
£3bn of small goods imports from China
About £3 billion worth of small parcels were shipped from the UK to China last year under the tax exemption for low-value imports, according to new figures.
The Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein and Temu are among online retailers which regularly send products to the UK in small packages worth £135 or less that face no customs duty.
A freedom of information request from the BBC found that low-value imports from China to the UK more than doubled in 2024-25 from £1.3 million in the previous year.
The government has said it will review the exemption after complaints that it enables Chinese e-commerce firms to undercut UK high street businesses.
President Trump scrapped the exemption this year. The EU also intends to introduce a charge.
Poundland to bring back £1 pricing
Barclays has agreed to sell its stake in its joint venture Entercard Group to its partner Swedbank for an estimated 2.6 billion Swedish krona (£200 million) as part of the bank’s efforts to dispose of non-core operations.
Barclays said the sale of its stake in Entercard, which provides consumer credit in the Nordics, should release £900 million of risk-weighted assets, increasing its common equity Tier 1 ratio by around 4 basis points.
The deal is expected to complete by the end of the year.
In April, Barclays sold most of its UK payments business to Brookfield Asset Management.
The FTSE 250 IT equipment and software reseller Softcat has raised its annual profit growth forecast for the third time in six months, driven by big deals. The shares rose 4.86 per cent, or 76p, to £16.41.
Softcat has been helped by rising corporate investment in artificial intelligence and automation. it now estimates mid-teens percentage growth in operating profit for the year ended July 2025, compared with its earlier forecast of a low-teens percentage increase.
On average, the market expects operating profit of £174.2 million in 2025, up from £154.1 million last year.
Drax shares have fallen 9 per cent, or 65p, to 639p this morning after announcing that the financial regulator is investigating certain past statements regarding its biomass sourcing and compliance of its 2021, 2022, and 2023 annual reports with the listing rules.London’s leading stock market index has edged higher this morning after retreating for a second day yesterday.
The FTSE 100 added 7 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 9,262.43 with little corporate news, bar a focus on the result overnight of the artificial intelligence bellwether nvidia.
Among the risers were Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Guinness stout, the miners Anglo American and Glencore, and the pest control company Rentokil Initial.
The technology investor Scottish mortgage Investment Trust slid after Nvidia beat Wall Street sales estimates for the second quarter but said growth in demand for AI chips will slow in the third quarter.
Next15 to shut troubled American business
The Aim-listed marketing company is to cease operations permanently at its US advisory business Mach49, which has been under scrutiny for “potential
Ex-WH Smith director defers appointment to Greggs board
Robert Moorhead, the former finance director of WH Smith, has requested to defer his appointment to the board of Greggs, the FTSE 250 high street baker, the company said in a stock exchange proclamation.
He was joining as an self-reliant non-executive director and was set to become chairman of the audit committee, and also a member of the nominations and remuneration committees.Last week WH Smith warned shareholders that it had overstated trading profit in its American business and that full-year profits would be £30 million lower than forecast, sending shares in the retailer 40 per cent lower. Deloitte has been appointed to conduct an independent and comprehensive review of the accounts of the North American business.
[Image of two pastries on a bag that says Greggs on it. ALAMY]