THE boss of Ocado has threatened to take partner Marks & Spencer to court in a row over an outstanding payment.
M&S food became available online for the first time when it bought half of Ocado Retail in 2019, ending Ocado’s relationship with Waitrose.
5
5
Under the agreement, £562million was paid up-front and a further £190million was due this year if the venture met certain performance targets.
The tie-up got an initial big boost from the online shopping boom during lockdowns but has since faltered, with M&S bosses publicly complaining they were not happy with the availability of M&S stock on Ocado’s site.
As a result, Ocado has missed the targets and M&S has indicated it will not pay the rest.
But litigious Ocado chief Tim Steiner yesterday said: “We believe that we have a very solid case to get full payment.”
read more on business
He added that while it would “be best to come to a settlement . . . we will not walk away from that sum of money”.
Ocado’s accounts yesterday included the admission no agreement may be reached “so formal legal proceedings may well result”.
Ocado shares rose while M&S’s dipped on the news.
M&S, led by Stuart Machin, said: “On the specific issue of the contractual contingency payment, our advice is that the financial performance of Ocado Retail means the criteria for the performance payment was not met.”
Most read in Business
Mr Steiner has previously been successful in the courts, including against one of Ocado’s founders he accused of stealing secrets.
He also recently won £200million from Norwegian rival AutoStore after it claimed Ocado copied patents, prompting a countersuit from the UK firm.
Joe Rogan wades back into Bud Light controversy and blasts influencer Dylan Mulvaney
BUD’S LIGHTER SALES
BREWING giant Anheuser Busch was yesterday counting the cost of Bud Light’s brief partnership with a transgender influencer.
Bud Light lost its 20-year position as the best-selling US beer — as well as £1.1billion in sales — after sending a personalised can to Dylan Mulvaney.
5
5
AB InBev, which also owns Stella Artois and Corona, saw a 17.3 per cent slump in its US sales, and blamed it on a drop in Bud Light.
Shares in the company have also slumped ever since the partnership last April sparked an anti-trans boycott from American conservatives, while LGBTQ+ advocates slammed the brewer for not doing enough to support Mulvaney.
The branding blunder taught companies a lesson that marketing should not divide customers, especially over a beer that is designed to have mass appeal.
Donald Trump had been among its critics, calling it “the worst ad in history” — but earlier this month said AB Inbev was “not a woke company”.
He said the firm deserved a “second chance” as it was such a big US employer.
2,000 JOBS AXED
AROUND 2,000 retail jobs will be lost at Sainsbury’s and The Body Shop.
Supermarket Sainsbury’s said it will move from making pastries and bread on site to instead shipping baked goods to finish in store ovens.
It is also shutting a call centre in Widnes, Cheshire, and changing its supply chains — losing 1,500 jobs overall.
Meanwhile, 489 jobs will be lost after The Body Shop confirmed it will be shutting 75 stores.
The cosmetics firm was pushed into administration last month.
HOME LOANS UP
MORTGAGE approvals hit the highest level in 15 months as home loans became more affordable at the start of 2024.
Bank of England figures show new mortgage approvals rose from 51,500 in December to 55,200 in January.
The Bank said that home owners were paying 5.19 per cent interest — down from 5.28 per cent.
The figures signal an end to rocketing mortgage rates, which threatened to choke off the housing market as buyers could not afford the higher monthly interest payments.
On the mend
THE recession will be short-lived, according to forecasts from the British Chambers of Commerce.
It predicts the UK economy will grow by 0.5 per cent this year and 0.7 per cent next year, with inflation falling to 2.3 per cent by the end of 2024.
BIDDING DUEL FOR HAULIER
A BIDDING war between two foreign buyers has erupted for Wincanton, one of Britain’s last independent hauliers.
US firm GXO Logistics which hoovered up Clipper Logistics two years ago, gatecrashed a takeover proposal with a knockout 605p-a-share cash offer.
5
The bid values the firm, founded in 1925, at £764million, prompting its shares to leap by a fifth to 606.6p.
Wincanton had agreed a deal with French shipping firm CMA CGM, which had raised its offer to 480p-a-share this week.
But Wincanton announced on Monday it had received an approach from a “potential competing bidder”.
The secrecy was blown out of the water by GXO revealing its bid yesterday, which is 125 per cent above what Wincanton’s share price was before takeover talks went public.
GXO said that it had support from 34 per cent of Wincanton’s investors already.
LSE BOSS: HIKE PAY
The boss of the London Stock Exchange has said British bosses should earn US-style bumper pay packages or the City risks losing talent and more companies.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
David Schwimmer, who could take home as much as £11million this year, said it was an issue facing “companies competing on a global basis from a base in London”.
The City has endured a listings drought but he said there was a better “pipeline” this year.
