Crypto News: The London Rush: Carlsberg juices up

Hi, I'm Louise from Bloomberg UK's breaking news team, catching you up on this morning's business stories.

Danish brewer Carlsberg has managed to agree a deal for Britvic — the maker of childhood classics fruit shoot, J20 and Robinsons — for £3.3 billion.

Following two previously rejected attempts, the offer comes at a 36% premium to Britvic's share price before news of the takeover interest was revealed.

At the same time Marston's is selling its remaining brewing assets to a subsidiary of Carlsberg for £206 million, leaving it as purely a pub chain.

For the brewing giant, the Britvic deal marks a hedge against consumers cutting down on their alcohol, plus an expansion in the UK..

For the new resident of Number 11 Downing Street, the buyout of a nearly 100-year-old British brand brings to the forefront one of the most pressing issues on the London market.

What's your take? Ping me on X, LinkedIn or drop me an email at lmoon13@bloomberg.net.

UK companies have slowed permanent hiring, driving up competition and boosting pay offers for new jobs at the fastest pace since October. It indicates lingering inflationary pressures that may concern the BOE.

On that note, don't miss Rachel Reeves making her first major speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer later today. She's set to lay out more detailed plans around how Labour will spur private investment.

Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

France looks set for political instability after a surprise left-wing win.
Boeing will plead guilty to fraud after violating a deal with the US Justice Department.
More influential Democrats want Biden out of the presidential race.

Here's your daily snap analysis from Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog:

Away from the new government, another story that dominated the UK this weekend was England's progress to the semi finals of the Euros.

Without trying to jump on the bandwagon too much, the penalty shoot out triumph could have implications for markets too.

It's worth watching ITV at the open, given the broadcaster has the rights for the match and is likely to rake in increased advertising revenue as a result. The BBC said the England-Switzerland game had a peak audience of 16.8 million watching live. The average match audience was 13.6 million, translating to a 77% viewership share in total.

Pubs are the other stocks to keep an eye on. A number of chains flagged the importance of the Euros to their summer sales in recent reports, and the 8 p.m. kick off this Wednesday is ideal timing for attracting punters.

Could we be in for a Bellingham bounce?

— David Goodman

Check Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog for updates all day.

We'll get results from homebuilder Vistry and Thames Water tomorrow. Jumping slightly ahead, Thames Water also faces a key ruling from regulator Ofwat on its next business plan on Thursday.

Martin Williams is a former actor and now CEO of Rare Restaurants — the umbrella company behind steakhouse Gaucho, a favourite of London's finance workers for three decades.

On my commute, I… read newspapers, listen to podcasts and occasionally do emails on the Tube. The podcast I love the most is Smartless, they have amazing guests.

Your favourite power lunch spot? Obviously M on Threadneedle Street and Gaucho Broadgate depending on the weather. Depending on whether I want wagyu or whether I want Argentine beef, both are outstanding power lunch places.

The best pub? The Lamb in Leadenhall Market.

My worst trade, or equivalent, was… Doing the M cookbook in 2016. We are about to do the Gaucho cookbook for 30 years and that makes a lot more sense, it's a 30 year old brand and people want to buy that off the shelf, but the M cookbook — we were a relatively unknown brand and it took a lot of time and energy and just about broke even.

At the start of my career, I wish someone had told me… The importance of working capital and headroom, particularly when I was an entrepreneur and started M in 2014. Between then and 2018, cash was always a worry, it kept me awake at night, and it didn't necessarily need to be — if only I'd understood more of the basics of working headroom, working capital.

What are you reading? I love Amor Towles. Gentleman in Moscow was just out on Netflix with Ewan McGregor and was surprisingly good — but the book itself was the best book I can remember reading in a long time. Rules of Civility is great and I'm about to start the new one called Table for Two.

How do you switch off? It's a wonderful mixture of walking my labradoodle, cycling, running and supporting Sunderland football club.

— Julian Harris

In the spirit of Wimbledon — picture round! Who is the tennis player below?

[Clue: the two-time Wimbledon finalist was knocked out of the tournament on Saturday, beaten in straight sets by Elina Svitolina.]

Photographer: Tim Clayton - Corbis/Corbis Sport

[Friday's answer: Count Binface and Lord Buckethead stood in Uxbridge and South Ruislip in the 2019 election, pitting themselves against former PM Boris Johnson.]

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