Sports Direct, the retailer owned by Mike Ashley, has announced a “major international expansion” with two European acquisitions. The company has agreed to pay a total of €40.5m for a 51pc stake in EAG, a leading Austrian sports chain which has been owned by the Eybl family for 80 years.
It has the right to buy the rest of the shares from the Eybls over the next five years. Sports Direct has also acquired a 60pc stake in Sportland International Group, the biggest sports retailer in the Baltic region.
Google is planning to develop high-speed wireless networks in sub-Saharan Africa with the help of high-altitude balloons that can transmit signals across hundreds of square miles
It’s been a tough six months for Topps Tiles which has said pre-tax profits dropped from £5m last year to £4.7m with a 4.7pc fall in like-for-like revenues.