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Britvic said the recall of its Robinsons Fruit Shoot and Fruit Shoot Hydro drinks could cost the company up to 25 million pounds. Added to this, poor weather conditions and weak consumer sentiment means the group now expects to deliver a full year results at the bottom end of market expectations - before taking account of the impact of the recall. Britvic said it had been unable to quickly resolve issues around a newly designed cap on Fruit Shoot, a popular children's drink. The bottles were recalled last week "as a precautionary measure...due to a packaging safety issue" the company said at the time. It will now take Britvic six weeks to start re-supplying customers and up to six months to get distribution back to full speed. "We believe this will now have an impact on the group profit before tax in the region of £15m to £25m across the current and next financial year," the company said. "This includes an anticipated impact in 2013 financial year of between £5m and £7m."

John Burns, Chief Executive Officer at Derwent London, said: "This acquisition increases our presence to over 570,000 sq ft in Victoria, an improving West End village which is diversifying from its traditional occupier base and attracting a wide range of creative companies. It will provide us with immediate incremental income, and consolidates our existing holdings within the same block which will increase the longer term options available to us." The firm was also keen to point out that rents in the adjoining Greencoat & Gordon House have achieved in excess of £50 per sq ft, pointing to the potential for rental growth.

Derwent London, a FTSE 250 property firm, has acquired Francis House, a freehold office building in south west London covering 57,000 square feet. The £29.1m property adjoins the company's existing holdings at Greencoat & Gordon House and 6-8 Greencoat Place. The building is let to Channel Four Television under a lease expiring in February 2020. The total annual income is £1.56m until February 2015, when there is a fixed rent increase to £1.66m per annum, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.1%, rising to 5.4%. Part of the ground floor together with the upper floors, which comprise 42,600 square feet (sq ft), equivalent to 3,960 square metres, of office space, are let off a low average rent of £36.65 per sq ft. In addition, there is storage space on the rest of the ground floor and the basement totalling 14,400 sq ft (1,340m2) which is under-let to House of Fraser at a nominal rent until January 2054

Pub chain JD Wetherspoon said it had been boosted by strong trading around the fortnight of the Jubilee celebrations and during the Euro 2012 championships. The firm said the events had helped push up like-for-like sales by 6.1%, and total sales by 11.9% in the 11 weeks to 8 July 2012. In the year to date, like-for-like sales increased by 3.0%, while overall sales increased by 9.2%, the company said. It expects to report an operating margin of approximately 8.5% before exceptionals in the second half. Wetherspoon said it expected to achieve "a reasonable outcome" for the current financial year. "As previously stated, the main challenges for the company, in this financial year of 53 trading weeks, have been the continuing cost pressures resulting from government legislation, including increases in excise duty, business rates and carbon tax," the company said.

Following the completion of the acquisition, Mondi Group will reorganise its Europe & International Division into four businesses: Uncoated Fine Paper;Packaging Papers; Fibre Packaging; Consumer Packaging. Nordenia will form part of the Consumer Packaging business, which will be led by Ralph Landwehr, the Chief Executive Officer of Nordenia. Mondi said it expects to capitalise on Nordenia's leading technology, product portfolio, customer know-how and manufacturing capability to expand further in these regions. Following the acquisition Mondi will retain undrawn committed bank facilities of more than €500m.

Mondi Group, the paper and packing company, has bought a controlling stake in Nordenia, a supplier of consumer packaging and hygiene components. Mondi has agreed to acquire 93.4% of the outstanding share capital of Nordenia International for a total cash consideration of €240m, on top of which Mondi will also assume €398m of Nordenia's debt. The consideration plus assumed debt places a total value on the company of €655m, which equates to 6.6 times Nordenia's 2011 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and 9.3 times 2011 earnings before interest and tax. Mondi is funding the transaction through a new €250m two-year committed bank debt facility. Nordenia has 12 fully invested operating facilities located in seven countries across Europe, North America and Asia. An additional wholly-owned greenfield plant is currently being constructed in China and is expected to begin operating in early 2014. The acquisition is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2012. The combination of Mondi and Nordenia is expected to result in pre-tax cost synergies in excess of €15m per annum by 2014. The acquisition is expected to enhance Mondi's underlying earnings immediately, with the group predicting a double digit percentage underlying earnings boost by 2014 once synergy benefits feed through.

"Trading conditions in many markets became increasingly challenging through the quarter as concern about the global economy reduced confidence amongst our clients and candidates, particularly in the permanent recruitment markets," said Chief Executive Alistair Cox. Hays is certainly not alone in this storm, with its competitors also feeling the squeeze. Michael Page said the first half of the year had been tough and it expected more of the same in the second half, while Robert Walters saw a slow-down in Asia Pacific put a dent in its net fee income.

Recruitment firm Hays followed its rivals by reporting on a 'challenging' environment, which was likely to remain unchanged in the near future. The company said like-for-like fees grew 2% in the second quarter of 2012, with the firm getting a big boost from German activities. It saw growth of 14% in Continental Europe and Rest of World, driven by a 25% jump in German fees. This off-set the UK and Ireland, where fees dropped 9%, and its Asia Pacific operation where fees were flat. In the UK, private sector fees were down 14% due to increasingly difficult conditions across the market, but especially in the firm's banking and City-related specialisms. In the Asia Pacific region Hays was hit by poor results from Hong Kong and Singapore, where financial services recruitment also predominates.

Spanish airline Iberia, operated by International Consolidated Airlines Group (otherwise known as IAG) is once again in conflict with its employees. Staff at El Prat airport in Barcelona will be holding six days of strikes on July 27th, August 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st, according to an announcement by the UFG labour union in Spain. According to the announcement, the strikes are in response to Iberia's failure to meet its contractual agreements as a result of outsourcing tasks that have until now been carried out by the airline's own staff.

FTSE 250 property business Daejan more than halved its pre-tax profits for the year ended March 31st but kept investors on side with a total dividend of 76p per share, up 1p on last year's payout. Pre-tax profit declined from £84.4m to £41.8m, gross rental income for the year came in at £92.96m (2011: £88.6m), total rental and related income from investment property was £107.1m (2011: £102.7m), while property operating expenses rose from £60.7m to £68.0m. Net valuation gains on investment property plunged from £52.0m to £15.7m. Earnings per share were 221p, compared to 416p the previous year, while equity shareholder's funds per share were 5,290p, compared to 5,143p in 2011. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period was £32.3m compared to £75.3m the same date the previous year.

Babcock, the FTSE-100 engineering support firm, has completed the previously announced sale of VT Services, the group's US defence business to VT Holdings, a special purpose vehicle. The disposal was made for a cash consideration of $98.75m (around £61m). VT Services, an engineering support and facilities management business, was acquired as part of Babcock's acquisition of VT Group in 2010, but following a strategic review it was decided the US defence operations did not meet Babcock's strategic objectives. The net proceeds of the disposal will be used to reduce the group's total net debt position.

Barcelona-headquartered pharmaceutical and chemical group Grifols has acquired 40 per cent of biotech firm VCN Biosciences, a Spanish research and development firm aimed at therapeutic applications for tumours that lack effective treatment. Grifols, principally a producer of blood plasma-based products, announced that its stake in the biotech firm will guarantee the viability of its work-in-process projects and will allow for the development of new virotherapy treatments against cancer. The deal will be realised through Gri-Cel, Grifols's investment vehicle used for investments in medical R&D projects that are different from the group's main acitivity. After the purchase, Grifols will maintain a commitment to future investments in VCN Biosciences depending on the goals reached in the development of virotherapeutical candidates.

Spanish fashion retailer Inditex has announced that it will not pass on the Spain's VAT-rate hike to its customers. The news come shortly after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy explained that the general VAT rate would be raised from 18% to 21% as part of a barrage of measures announced by the government to save the struggling nation €65bn over the next two and a half years. "Inditex is maintaining its price stability policy which it used to absorb Spain's last VAT hike by identifying efficiencies in other parts of the business," the company said in a press release. This price policy extends to all of the group's retail chains, such as Zara, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home, and Uterque.

Precious metals miner Polymetal said it had lost a mult-million dollar court fight with the Russian authorities. The Russian Supreme Arbitration Court yesterday ordered the group to pay 883m rubles, equivalent to around $27m. The dispute is over the group selling silver in 2007, which the tax authorities claimed was sold at 30-45% below the market price in order to lower the company's tax bill. The group unsuccessfully argued that the silver sales to ABN AMRO were part of a $105m loan agreement signed in December 2004, which included forward contract sales at the then current market price. The firm said that in 2011, based on success in defending the case in lower level courts and an assessment of the group's tax position, the board concluded that the tax authorities would lose. Accordingly no provision had been created in the financial statements at the end of 2011 for the money it now needs to pay back, the company said. The additional tax charges will be reflected as an expense in the financial statements for the six months ended 30 June 2012 and are due to be paid in July 2012, Polymetal said.

Fund manager Ashmore is also issuing an IMS and, given the tough market backdrop, Peel Hunt thinks there is scope for fund flows to disappoint. "We are forecasting net inflows of $1.7bn, which compares to the $1.2bn generated in the quarter to 31 March," the broker revealed. "The risk to forecasts for the year to June 2013 is very much on the downside at present, particularly with regards to performance fees," Peel Hunt reckons.

The final quarter of Centaur Media's financial year - the second quarter of the calendar month - is usually a big one for the exhibitions organiser and publishing company. In the first nine months of the financial year, digital revenues were doing a lot better than print revenues, and it will be little surprise if that trend is repeated in Thursday's interim management statement (IMS). On the events side, broker Jefferies is expecting a "robust" fourth quarter performance. "We forecast year end net debt of £8m versus long running facilities of £40m," the broker said, leaving the way open for the group to hit the acquisition trail.

Associated British Foods, which last Friday announced the acquisition of the Elephant Atta ethnic flour brand from Premier Foods, updates the market on Thursday. Attention will probably be on the group's Primark clothing chain, as usual, but the Elephant Atta purchase is a useful reminder that there is more to the company than Primark. Panmure Gordon expects the tone of the trading update to be similar to the previous report with "strong earnings growth expected to be delivered for the year to September, driven by particularly impress growth in the Sugar division.

Positive Points: Operationally, investment in flagship markets continues with six large stores opened in the three months period including a fourth store in Brazil and an outlet in Hong Kong. Burberry plans to open further stores later this year in London, Milan, Chicago, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The company said it continued to see strong sales growth in Asia and in particular China. The retailer reported its men's tailoring and non-apparel "performed strongly" alongside new merchandising in soft accessories. Retail sales account for approximately 70% of the Burberry business, with wholesale and licensing making up the remainder. Discussions continue between Burberry and Interparfums regarding the potential establishment of a new operating model for the Burberry fragrance and beauty business. A progressive dividend policy continues to be pursued.

Negative Points: While revenue for the quarter was 11% higher than the same period a year earlier, Burberry missed analyst expectations with the European debt crisis and slowing growth in some emerging markets leading concerns. Burberry's results are exposed to changes in demand for luxury goods, which in turn is reliant on the health of the external economic environment, the stock market and local consumer confidence. Large proportions of Burberry's sales are related to tourism and are therefore exposed to changes in international tourist flows. Burberry has a much higher exposure to apparel and therefore is exposed to fashion and inventory risk.

Financial Highlights: Retail sales, which make up the majority of the group's revenues grew to £280 million, up from £245 million, helped by a strong performance in its menswear range. Wholesale revenue rose 9% to £102 million, in line with company expectations. Licensing revenue fell 5% to £26 million, impacted by the phasing of licence terminations. Full year is expected to be broadly unchanged, added the group. Overall, total revenues rose to £408 million in the quarter from £367 million in the same period the year earlier. Analysts had expected sales of £416 million.