Monday newspaper round-up: Aldi, Warren Evans, Tesco, Lloyds
Discount grocer Aldi has taken over from upmarket rival Waitrose as Britain’s favourite supermarket according to an influential shopper survey. The fast-growing German discounter has impressed shoppers with the quality of its fresh and own-label food as well as its special offers, according to the annual best and worst supermarket satisfaction survey by Which?. – Guardian
Staff at the ethical bedmaker Warren Evans will be hoping to learn more about their fate this week as administrators continue to seek a buyer for the London-based firm. The company, which employs 287 staff and has 14 showrooms across the capital and the south-east, appointed administrators Duff & Phelps late last week, despite claiming strong pre-Christmas sales. – Guardian
A rumoured plan by Tesco, the supermarket giant, to create a low-cost store to rival Aldi and Lidl could prove as disastrous as Sainsbury’s attempt to revive Netto, the ditched discounter brand, City analysts have warned. An entry into the low-cost supermarket war would be “very late in the day” but Tesco could use the Booker deal to spearhead its attempt to fend off the German discounters, retail expert Nick Bubb said. – Telegraph
The UK’s space industry has called on the Government to set up a national programme under its industrial strategy to boost business. Companies in Britain’s £14bn a year space industry are pushing hard for the programme to form a key plank of the sector deal, which could be announced as soon as next month. – Telegraph
Fears over the economy have been laid bare by research which reveals that consumer spending has hit a five-year low. Household spending fell by 1.2 per cent in January compared with 12 months ago, according to research by Visa, the payments business. It is the first time that there has been a decline at this time of year since 2013. – The Times
Lloyds Banking Group could be set to deliver a heavy blow to Standard Life Aberdeen by announcing the withdrawal of £100 billion of funds. It had agreed to keep the funds, controlled by its Scottish Widows insurance and investment unit, with the asset manager for six months after the merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management was completed in August. That period ends on Wednesday. – The Times