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April 9

British American Tobacco picks new finance chief

British American Tobacco (BATS) has chosen the chief executive of Asahi鈥檚 (TYO:2502) European division as its new chief financial officer.

Dragos Constantinescu will re-join the tobacco major on 1 September after seven years at the Japanese brewer. He previously spent 16 years with BAT in a number of finance roles.

Javed Iqbal has served as BAT鈥檚 interim finance boss since the surprise resignation of Soraya Benchikh in August. Iqbal will resume his role as director of digital and information once Constantinescu joins.

鈥淒ragos joins the management board at an important stage in BAT鈥檚 transformation,鈥� said chief executive Tadeu Marroco, adding that Constantinescu鈥檚 international experience and knowledge of BAT were 鈥渒ey assets鈥� for hitting its mid-term growth targets.

The group is aiming for 3 to 5 per cent organic sales growth in 2026.

April 9

产测听Valeria Martinez

ME Group inks laundry deal with Asda

ME Group International (MEGP) has signed a partnership deal with Asda to roll out its Wash.ME laundry machines in the supermarket chain鈥檚 sites.

Under the agreement, the self-service equipment company will install and operate up to 700 laundry machines at Asda鈥檚 Supercentre, Superstore, supermarket and petrol forecourt sites across the UK. It currently operates more than 7,600 laundry machines across 12 countries.

The group said the deal backs its ambition to install more than 1,300 machines this year, with a long-term target of operating more than 20,000 machines globally. The shares rose 3.7 per cent to 147p, but remain down 14 per cent over the past year.

ME Group is currently a tale of two businesses. Their traditional photo booths have been struggling, with revenue there falling about 4 per cent to 拢166mn last year due to regulatory changes and technical issues.

Revenue in the laundry division, meanwhile, jumped more than 17 per cent to 拢112mn and now accounts for nearly half of the company鈥檚 total earnings.

April 9

产测听Hugh Moorhead

Survey points to stagnating housing market

Conflict in the Middle East has weighed on demand for UK housing, according to the March RICS survey of surveyors and estate agents.

The net balance of respondents seeing an increase in buyer enquiries fell to -39 per cent, its lowest level since August 2023, with declines across most regions in the UK, while fewer respondents are experiencing growth in sales volumes than in February.

Looking ahead, the number of respondents expecting falls in both house prices and agreed sales in the next three months fell sharply.

In the rental market, respondents are experiencing fewer new instructions from landlords. Due to this limited supply and a small increase in tenant demand, a comfortable majority expect rental prices to rise in the coming months

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