Liverpool scaffolder secures £62m payday

📍 Top line: A Liverpool scaffolder has secured a £62 million payday after floating his sports supplement company on the London Stock Exchange. Thomas Ryder, the founder of Applied Nutrition, sold 19% of his shares in the company, which was valued at £350 million during Thursday's listing.

Key details:

• Company valuation: Applied Nutrition was valued at £350 million upon listing, with shares rising over 7% in early trading.

• Ryder's background: Raised on a Liverpool council estate by his grandparents, Ryder founded Applied Nutrition in 2014 after years of working as a scaffolder and running his supplement store.

• Key investors: Retail giant JD Sports is a significant shareholder, with North West billionaires such as Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa and Home Bargains founder Tom Morris also investing.

• Growth ambitions: Ryder is targeting the US market, noting its vast potential in the £189 billion supplement industry. He also plans to cater to users of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy with tailored products.

• London Stock Exchange: Ryder said listing on the LSE was the best option for the business, providing credibility and recognition in a challenging market.

Downing Street blocks outdoor smoking ban

📍Top line: Downing Street is blocking efforts to include an outdoor smoking ban in the upcoming Tobacco and Vapes bill due to opposition from the hospitality industry.

Key points:

• Officials within No 10 have privately dismissed the proposal to ban smoking in outdoor areas arguing that there is insufficient evidence to show significant harm to non-smokers.

• Hospitality industry leaders, including UKHospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association, have strongly warned that an outdoor smoking ban would lead to serious economic consequences.

• They argue that pubs, nightclubs, hotels, cafes, and restaurants could suffer financially if smoking is prohibited in outdoor areas like beer gardens.

Elsewhere in business:

🛍️ Shoplifting offences in England and Wales have surged to a 20-year high, with 469,788 cases reported by police in the year to June 2024, marking a 29% increase from the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Retailers have raised alarms over the rise in retail crime and the violence faced by shop workers, particularly in the context of price inflation.

👖 Frasers Group, which owns 27% of Boohoo, is pushing to appoint retail tycoon Mike Ashley as Boohoo's CEO, claiming the current board has “lost its ability to manage.” Frasers called for an emergency shareholder meeting after CEO John Lyttle announced his departure.

Gap widens between private and state students

📍 Top line: Private school pupils in England are nearly twice as likely as their state school peers to attend more selective universities, according to new government data.

Key points:

• 67.8% of private school pupils progressed to selective universities, compared to 34.2% of state school pupils.

• The gap between poorer and affluent students attending university is the highest on record.

• Only 6.1% of free school meals (FSM) pupils reached high-tariff universities in 2022/23.

• The progression rate for FSM pupils decreased for the first time since 2005/6.

Elsewhere in the economy:

💷 UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed plans to revise the country's fiscal rules in next week's Budget, aiming to fund an extra £20 billion annually for public sector investment through increased borrowing. Reeves announced a new "investment rule" which aims to maintain public sector investment levels, countering a Conservative plan to reduce investment from 2.4% of GDP to 1.7% by 2028-29.

🍺 The UK’s largest pub company, Stonegate Group, has warned that pubs across the country face widespread closures unless the Chancellor extends business rates relief in next week’s Budget. David McDowall, CEO of Stonegate, which operates brands like Slug & Lettuce and Yates's, said pub landlords currently make just 12p profit per pint and could see their business rates bills quadruple from April when the relief is set to expire.

Lloyds Banking Group has opened applications for its 2025 Risk Industrial placement based in Bristol, Edinburgh and Leeds. Successful applicants will be placed in one of the firm’s Risk Science Teams honing modelling and analytics skills while assisting in various functions across the bank, including client facing business areas. The position is open to undergraduates students due to embark on an industrial placement year in 2025. Apply now here.

Elon Musk’s wealth soars

📍Top line: Elon Musk added a staggering $33.5 billion to his net worth on Thursday as Tesla shares surged 22%, marking the company's largest gain in more than a decade.

Key details:

• Tesla's stock boost: The 22% increase in Tesla's share price, the biggest one-day gain in over 10 years, pushed the stock into positive territory for the year.

• Cybertruck milestone: Musk announced that Tesla's Cybertruck generated its first quarterly profit, marking a significant achievement for the new model.

• Musk’s wealth: Musk’s net worth climbed to $270.3 billion, making him $61 billion wealthier than the second-richest person, Jeff Bezos. About 75% of Musk’s fortune is tied to Tesla shares and options, with the rest in SpaceX, social media platform X, and artificial intelligence firm xAI.

• Political involvement: Musk’s net worth spike comes amid his vocal support for Donald Trump. He has campaigned with Trump and contributed $75 million to a Republican super PAC for voter outreach and digital ads.

• Future government role: Trump has hinted he would ask Musk to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency if re-elected. Musk, meanwhile, said he would advocate for federal approval of autonomous vehicles in such a role, with Tesla's future growth hinging on advancements in that area.

• Robotaxi ambitions: Musk revealed plans to begin rolling out Cybercab robotaxis by 2026, with hopes to produce 2 to 4 million units annually. He predicted Tesla will eventually become the world’s most valuable company.

Elsewhere in tech:

📱 NHS doctors and nurses are increasingly using WhatsApp to share confidential patient information, including test results and medical documents, raising concerns about data privacy and security. Frontline health workers have turned to the messaging platform as a crucial tool to navigate inefficient and outdated official IT systems.

🇺🇸The White House has called for the rapid adoption of AI for military and intelligence purposes, emphasising the need to stay ahead while managing risks. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced the strategy, highlighting AI’s potential to impact areas like nuclear physics and stealth technology. The new national security memo calls for agencies to deploy advanced AI systems swiftly and safely.

🚨 The Los Angeles County district attorney has recommended that Erik and Lyle Menendez, the brothers convicted of murdering their parents in 1989, should be resentenced and potentially granted parole. The DA stated yesterday that new evidence warrants a re-evaluation of the Menendez brothers' life sentences, which currently exclude the possibility of parole. Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, have been in prison for over 30 years.

🧑‍🍳 Jamie Oliver is launching a cookery school and café inside John Lewis’s Oxford Street store as part of the retailer’s multimillion-pound makeover. Opening in March 2025, the 4,600 sq ft space will feature two classrooms and a 50-seat café, offering over 40 cooking lessons. This is part of John Lewis’s £800 million revamp to enhance customer experiences.

🖼️ Banksy’s former agent, Steve Lazarides, is auctioning off over 170 items from his personal archive of the anonymous artist’s early work. The collection includes proof prints, handwritten notes, "burner phones," and even Banksy-worn Puma trainers. Set to be auctioned by Julien's Auction House in California, the sale is expected to fetch $2 million as Lazarides says goodbye to his historic collection.