Cineworld secures lifeline to avoid administration

📍Top line: Cineworld has secured its place on the UK high street after four of its UK subsidiaries received court approval for a restructuring plan, preventing the cinema chain from entering administration.

This approval allows £16 million of new funding to be released to address immediate financial needs, with up to £35 million more available in the future. Part of the restructuring involves renegotiating leases for some of Cineworld’s over 100 UK sites, with five cinemas set to close due to being "commercially unviable." The court heard that Cineworld had been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and recent strikes by actors and writers, leading to financial instability.

Cineworld expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stating that the restructuring plan would allow them to stabilise the business and ensure a sustainable future for its UK operations.

Frasers Group seeks to add Mulberry to its retail empire

📍Top line: Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has made a takeover bid for luxury handbag maker Mulberry, expressing deep concern about the company's financial stability.

Frasers, which already owns 37% of Mulberry, values the proposed deal at £83 million. This move comes after Mulberry announced plans to raise £11 million to strengthen its finances, following a significant downturn in the luxury sector that has severely impacted its sales.

Frasers Group is particularly alarmed by a warning from Mulberry's auditors, highlighting "material uncertainty related to going concern" in its latest annual report. The retail giant is keen to prevent Mulberry from suffering the same fate as Debenhams, which went into administration in 2019 after struggling for years. 

Elsewhere in business:

💷 Deloitte's UK partners earned an average of £1.01 million each for the fourth consecutive year, despite a notable slowdown in revenue growth due to decreased demand for advisory services. Revenue rose by just 2.4% to £5.7 billion, a significant drop from the 14% growth seen the previous year.

👟 Investors are anticipating Nike to lower its annual revenue forecasts as the company releases its first earnings report since the appointment of Elliott Hill as CEO. Hill, a 32-year veteran of Nike, has returned to lead the company amidst growing competition from emerging brands like Hoka and On, which have been steadily eroding Nike's market share. Analysts predict a 10% drop in revenue, down to $11.65 billion.

UK growth slower than anticipated

📍Top line: The UK economy grew more slowly than initially estimated in the second quarter, with GDP increasing by 0.5% instead of the previously reported 0.6%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This slowdown comes as the household savings rate climbed to 10%, its highest level since 2021, reflecting increased caution among consumers.

This deceleration underscores the economic challenges facing Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government, which has pledged to target long-term growth of 2.5% while addressing a £22 billion deficit in public finances. The slowdown also follows the Bank of England's recent decision to hold interest rates at 5%, with potential cuts on the horizon.

With Chancellor Rachel Reeves set to deliver her first budget on October 30, economists are watching closely for measures that may influence consumer confidence and economic growth in the coming months.

Elsewhere in the economy:

🏠 UK house prices saw a significant rise of 3.2% in September, the fastest growth in almost two years, according to data from Nationwide. This increase was largely driven by the surge in prices for terraced houses, pushing the average price for a house in Britain to £266,094.

🛍️ UK retailers slashed prices in September as unseasonably wet weather kept shoppers at home. Shop prices fell by 0.6% year-on-year — the biggest drop in three years — according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Non-food items, like furniture and clothing, saw the steepest price cuts.

Chanel has opened applications for its Global Corporate HR internship based in London. Successful candidates will assist the luxury goods brand’s HR team in the day-to-day operations of the company as well as taking on talent acquisition responsibilities. The year-long scheme is open to all applicants who have a passion for HR. Apply here.

Fortnite developer intensifies battle with Google and Samsung

📍Top line: Epic Games has filed a lawsuit against Google and Samsung, accusing the tech giants of colluding to protect Google's Play Store from competition, thereby limiting consumer choice. The legal action focuses on Samsung's "Auto Blocker" feature, which Epic claims discourages users from downloading apps outside official app stores like Google Play.

Epic's lawsuit highlights a 21-step process users must follow to download apps like Fortnite from outside the Play Store, a barrier that Epic says deters 50% of potential users. The gaming company argues that this is an intentional effort to stifle competition and maintain Google's app marketplace dominance.

Samsung has responded to the lawsuit, promising to "vigorously contest" what it describes as baseless claims. The company maintains that its policies, including the Auto Blocker feature, are designed to prioritise user security and privacy.

Elsewhere in tech

🍿 Apple is rethinking its movie strategy after a series of big-budget films, including Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon, underperformed at the box office. The company is scaling back its plans for wide theatrical releases and shifting focus to its streaming platform, Apple TV+. While Apple will still occasionally invest in blockbuster films for theatrical release—such as the upcoming Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt—the tech giant now plans to produce about a dozen films per year, most with budgets under $100 million.

🤖 Cerebras Systems, an AI chipmaker, filed for an IPO on Monday, aiming to compete with giants like Nvidia, Microsoft and Google. Valued at $4 billion in 2021, Cerebras is focused on building larger silicon chips to meet AI's growing demands. Concerns of a bubble around AI-linked stocks prompted some investors to exit the technology sector earlier in the year, and experts believe the Cerebras IPO will serve as a litmus test for the market's AI appetite.

🎤 Oasis has announced 2025 tour dates for five stadium gigs in North America! Announcing the concerts, the band said: "America. Oasis is coming. You have one last chance to prove that you loved us all along.” Notably, the tickets will not be sold using the highly controversial dynamic pricing mechanism used in UK sales.

📺 Amazon Prime is releasing its own ‘Dragon’s Den’ inspired show called Buy It Now. Entrepreneurs will be given the opportunity to pitch their product ideas to a panel of investors and an audience of “potential customers.” If chosen, products will be sold in Amazon’s new Buy It Now Store. Contestants will also vie for a $20,000 prize each episode.

🧪 Researchers at University College London have successfully miniaturised a groundbreaking scanner that could revolutionise the treatment of diseases like cancer, diabetes and arthritis. The innovative device uses laser light instead of harmful X-rays for detailed medical imaging and excels at visualising blood vessels, offering a new tool for disease diagnosis.