NEWS
6 ASIAN TRADER 16 MAY 2025
The Department for Business
and Trade has appointed Neil
Brocklehurst as chief
executive of Post Ofce.
Brocklehurst, who has
been serving as acting chief
executive since September,
announced a landmark new
banking deal for postmasters
on his first day in post.
The new five-year
partnership with the UK’s
banks and building societies
underpins access to cash for
millions of individuals and
small businesses until
December 2030.
Known as “The Banking
Framework”’, and first
established in 2017, the new
banking deal secures the vital
role of postmasters up and
down the country in providing
critical face to face banking
services to their communities
until at least the end of 2030.
It enables customers of 30
banks and building societies to
use their local post ofce.
“Neil Brocklehurst has
provided stability and strong
leadership to the Post Ofce
over the last year and I’m
looking forward to working
with him to deliver for Post
Ofce customers up and down
the country,” Post Ofce
minister Gareth Thomas said.
Post Ofce said the
extension to its partnership
with the banks and building
societies is integral to
delivering the “New Deal for
Postmasters” that was
detailed in its November
2024 Transformation Plan,
which strengthens postmas-
ters voice in the day-to-day
running of the business and
increases the remuneration
they receive.
As part of the framework,
Post Ofce is improving the
remuneration postmasters
receive for handling cash
transactions and is also
making a major investment in
the automation of cash
services in-branch to reduce
postmasters’ cost-to-serve to
give customers the experience
that they deserve from
modern retailers.
New boss immediately secures banking deal extension
Neil Brocklehurst
Neil Brocklehurst
appointed Post Ofce CEO
appointed Post Ofce CEO
Supermarket Asda has
been fined more than
£400,000 after two of
its Cornwall stores
were found to be selling
out-of-date food.
An investigation by
Cornwall Council’s
Trading Standards
Team found 58
out-of-date food items
were on the shelves of
Asda’s Penryn store on 30
October 2023.
Asda Stores Ltd pleaded
guilty at Plymouth Magis-
trates’ Court on Wednesday
(April 23) to charges of
having unsafe food on ofer
for sale.
Asda said, “safety of our
customers is always our top
priority” and a “new date
code checking process” has
been introduced.
District Judge Jo Matson
said although there were
systems in place to prevent
the sale of food after the
use-by date, they were
not adhered to.
She said the actions
taken by Asda “were not
sufcient” after
concerns were raised by
customers and Trading
Standards.
Cornwall Council
said many of the items
were “ready to eat
foods” including
children’s yoghurts which
were nearly four weeks past
the use-by date.
Asda Stores Ltd was
ordered to pay a fine of
£410,000, prosecutions costs
of £20,582.70 and a victim
surcharge of £2,000.
Asda fined heavily for
selling out-of-date food
Toblerone Dark
Toblerone Dark
discontinued in
discontinued in
UK market
UK market
Mondelēz has confirmed the
discontinuation of Toblerone Dark
(360g) bars in the UK, ending a
55-year run for the dark chocolate
variant. The company said the
decision forms part of its strategy to
adapt its product range to shifting
consumer tastes while supporting
business and retail growth.
“We continuously adapt our
product range to ensure it meets
changing tastes whilst supporting
growth for our customers and
business, and as a result made the
difcult decision to discontinue our
Toblerone Dark bars in the UK,” a
Mondelēz spokesperson said.
Carlsberg maintains
Carlsberg maintains
full-year outlook
full-year outlook
Danish brewer Carlsberg reported a
“solid” start to the year in China but
warned that US tarifs could afect
both consumer spending and raw
material costs going forward.
It maintained its outlook for the
full year despite reporting first-quar-
ter sales slightly below expectation.
Earlier this month, Heineken also
kept profit forecasts for the year
unchanged despite a decline in sales.
Carlsberg reported higher
first-quarter revenue after the
acquisition of UK soft drink company
Britvic, but beer volumes fell
following its loss of San Miguel
distribution rights in Britain.
Philip Morris raises
Philip Morris raises
full-year outlook
full-year outlook
PMI revealed exceptional first-quarter
results, with reported diluted earnings
per share (EPS) growing 24.6% to $1.72
(£1.29) and adjusted diluted EPS
increasing by 12.7% to $1.69. The
tobacco giant has also raised its
2025 full-year adjusted diluted EPS
forecast based on favourable
currency conditions. The company’s
smoke-free business continues to
drive growth, accounting for 42% of
total net revenues and 44% of total
gross profit. Total shipment volume
increased by 3.9% to 187.8 billion
units, with smoke-free products
showing particularly strong growth
at 14.4 per cent.