Asian_Trader_Magazine_1326_October_2017

NEWS

6 ASIAN TRADER 13 OCTOBER 2017 http://www.asiantrader.biz

Follow us on: http://www.twitter.com/AsianTrader Like us on: http://www.facebook.com/AsianTrader

A co-founder of

convenience store

chain McColl’s is set

to lead a deal to

rescue wholesaler

Palmer & Harvey

(P&H).

Sky News has

learnt that James

Lancaster, who co-founded

McColl’s in 1973 and

remains on its board, has

been invited by the buyout

fi rm Carlyle to join P&H as

its non-executive chair-

man.

Carlyle and P&H were

said to be about to sign an

exclusivity agreement.

The purchase of P&H by

Carlyle is still likely to take

several weeks to conclude,

according to insiders, but is

expected to involve the

private equity group paying

a nominal sum to take a

controlling stake.

It is also likely to involve

Tesco, which has a contract

for P&H to supply all of its

British stores with tobacco

products, agreeing to an

extension of existing deal

for up to fi ve years.

P&H is the biggest

tobacco distributor in

Britain, supplying

around 90,000 stores

across the UK with

cigarettes, confec-

tionery and grocer-

ies.

As part of the

prospective deal with

Carlyle, cigarette

manufacturers Imperial

Brands and Japan Tobacco

International (JTI) are

expected to roll over

roughly £60m of outstand-

ing loans to P&H.

Some of the UK’s largest

retailers and tobacco

groups are concerned about

P&H’s fi nances because of

the crucial role the deliv-

ered wholesaler plays in

their supply chains.

McColl’s founder set to lead

Palmer & Harvey rescue bid

Nearly three quarters of UK

smokers avoid paying tobac-

co duties, new research re-

veals.

The Tobacco Manufac-

turers’ Association (TMA)

has published the results of

the largest annual survey of

12,000 UK smokers.

Around seven million

smokers (72.5%) buy tobac-

co from sources where UK

taxes won’t be paid including il-

licit tobacco and from abroad.

Taxes on tobacco have in-

creased by 65% since 2010 and by

5.9% at the 2017 spring Budget.

Analysis by Oxford Econom-

ics says that banning small tobac-

co packs will cost HM Treasury

£2.1 billion in its fi rst year.

The link between high tobac-

co taxes and the illicit market is

acknowledged by many leading

independent institutions in-

cluding the Royal United Servic-

es Institute.

This survey of over 12,

smokers supports these conclu-

sions with the vast majority say-

ing that tobacco prices are too

high; government taxes account

for up to 90% of the price of a pack

of cigarettes.

According to the TMA, the

regulatory changes to the UK

tobacco market this year – the

ban on small packs and the in-

troduction of plain packaging –

may make the problem worse,

with 45% of smokers saying they

are more likely to purchase illicit

tobacco because of the changes.

There is also growing

evidence found by a re-

cent Trading Standards

report to suggest that

children are increasing-

ly accessing illicit tobac-

co given its widespread

availability and afford-

ability.

Responding to this

year’s findings, TMA Di-

rector General Giles Roca

commented: “These results re-

veal the true extent of how the

Government’s high tax policy, in

creating some of the highest to-

bacco prices in Europe, has con-

tinued to push smokers to buy

from non UK duty paid and ille-

gal sources. High taxes have cost

the Treasury billions of pounds

in lost revenues whilst giving a

boost to the criminals who are be-

hind the illegal trade. There is also

worrying evidence that children

are increasingly accessing tobac-

co from these illicit sources.”

Three quarters of smokers

are avoiding tobacco duties

TMA research fi nds seven million smokers buy non-duty paid tobacco

New Today’s MD

Darren Goldney has been appointed

Managing Director of the Today’s

Group, joining the business from

November 13.

Goldney will join the team at

Today’s Group central office which

has been led for the past two years

by interim MD John Schofield.

Schofield will now return to the

position of Finance Director.

Goldney brings experience from

both large and smaller organisations

such as Coca Cola European Partners

and Whitworths Ltd, and more latterly

from a major national wholesale

organisation, Palmer and Harvey.

C-stores welcome

recycling report

Convenience retailers have

welcomed a new report from

recycling and waste management

company Viridor which highlights

the need for a more consistent

approach to recycling from local

councils.

According to the 2017 UK

Recycling Index report, 78% of

consumers reported that they

believe their local council should be

responsible for recycling.

Additionally, 71% of consumers

think that if there was a consistent

recycling collection system around

the UK, it would increase recycling

rates, with two-thirds (66%) of UK

consumers now frustrated that

different councils collect waste in

different ways (this is an increase of

3% from 2016).

Cork beats screwcap

The sound of a cork popping can

actually make us think our wine

tastes better, according to new

research.

Designed by Professor Charles

Spence of Oxford University’s

Crossmodal Research laboratory, the

study looked to test whether the

sound and sight of a cork-stopped

and screwcapped wine being opened

would influence the perception of the

wine inside the bottle.

Overall, participants rated the

same wine as 15% better quality

when served under a cork than a

screwcap. The wine under a cork was

also rated as more appropriate for a

celebration (+20%) and more

inciting of a celebratory mood

(+16%).

James Lancaster