Friday newspaper round-up: Coast, Irish cheddar, StockX, Blackstone, Patisserie Holdings
The fashion chain Coast has become the latest casualty of the high-street crisis, with 300 jobs and 24 stores set to go. The brand’s high-street stores are closing, but its 145 department-store concessions will carry on trading as part of the sale to sister brand Karen Millen as part of an 11th-hour rescue deal. – Guardian
The Irish dairy company behind well-known brands such as Kerrygold has started stockpiling cheddar in the UK to guard against the risk of a major price hike for Britain’s favourite cheese in the event of a no-deal Brexit. World Trade Organization tariffs on cheddar are as high as 42%, but Irish cheese manufacturers fear sales would plummet in British supermarkets if it passed on the full extra cost to the consumer. – Guardian
StockX, one of Detroit’s fastest-growing startups, has announced it will launch in London with the help of a $44m (£33.4m) investment. The online company, which describes itself as a “stock market of things”, sells high-demand consumer goods and received funding from Google’s investment arm GV and Battery Ventures to expand into the European market. – Telegraph
The multinational private equity company Blackstone is poised to acquire the live event and exhibition operator NEC Group in a deal worth more than £800m. “The takeover has been agreed and just needs to be formally signed,” said one source. “An official announcement is likely to made soon.” – Telegraph
Ministers are facing calls to draw a line under a “lost decade” for the economy by offering tax incentives to companies that help to boost productivity with investments in technology. Philip Hammond, the chancellor, has been urged to create a new allowance for small businesses that invest in data analytics and cloud computing technology as he prepares to deliver the budget on October 29. – The Times
A series of winding-up petitions had been issued against Patisserie Holdings long before the company revealed its financial crisis this week, The Times has learnt. The subsidiaries Patisserie Valerie Holdings and Stonebeach have faced three other winding-up petitions in the High Court, as well as the one filed by HM Revenue & Customs last month, according to court filings. They include a petition from HMRC, filed in November 2010, that remains “open”, the filings show. – The Times