Hilton Food shares soar as FTSE 250 firm agrees supply deal with Walmart

• Hilton revealed it would build a new manufacturing plant in Eastern Canada
• Walmart is one of Canada’s largest employers and serves 1.5m people per day

By Harry Wise

Updated: 07:51 EDT, 14 September 2023

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• The Red Devils have struck an agreement with software provider Snapdragon
• The deal is worth a record £60m a year and will start from next season 
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off! 

By Dan Cancian For Mailonline

Published: 02:39 EDT, 13 September 2023 | Updated: 02:52 EDT, 13 September 2023

David Beckham-backed online gaming group Guild Esports seals Sky TV deal

By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter

Updated: 18:32 EDT, 11 September 2023

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Round Hill shares rocket on £376m music deal

By John-Paul Ford Rojas

Updated: 05:17 EDT, 9 September 2023

Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.

Warner Music has signed the first ever record deal with a virtual pop star in what is a potentially seismic moment in the industry — but is facing a backlash online for ‘sexualising a child-like body’ in the avatar’s ‘creepy’ debut music video.

Noonoouri was created in 2018 as an 18-year-old metaverse avatar, before going on to star in fashion campaigns for Dior, Balenciaga and Valentino.

The digital influencer has so far amassed more than 400,000 followers on Instagram and is now set to release her first single Dominoes, which has already had more than 60,000 views on YouTube.

It did not hit the right note with most pop fans, however, as they took to social media to slam Warner’s ‘disgusting’ decision to create ‘pedo clickbait’ with a music video that features Noonoouri wearing Kim Kardashian‘s shapewear brand Skims.

One X user wrote ‘Why….is it a child?’, while another said: ‘Just when I thought they couldn’t sink lower.’

Others said Noonoouri had the body of a ’12 year old’ and was ‘so disgusting’, while X user Lachlan Blackmore added: ‘Is this the look Warner want to be associated with?’ 

It is not the first time parents have expressed concern about metaverse characters being ‘hypersexualised’, in particular in relation to the game Avakin Life, where virtual pop star Polar regularly performs to crowds of teenagers. 

‘My daughter has been on this app around three months. She is 15. The app alleges safe to play for over 13s. She has met children younger than that, parading their avakin dolls in skimpy underwear, looking for relationships, mentioning sex,’ one parent wrote in a review of the game.

‘What is unclear is how many of these kids are actually kids and not adults looking for kids.’

Avakin Life said at the time that it took teen safety ‘very seriously’, and highlighted that it had a reporting system.

A spokesperson for Warner Music Central Europe said: ‘Noonoouri is a long-standing digital character who we’ve signed to a record deal.

‘She’s not AI generated, though AI assisted tech was used to help create her singing voice.

‘Talented songwriters and musicians wrote and recorded her debut track Dominoes, and we can’t wait for fans to discover it.’

The company has not revealed how much its record deal with Noonoouri is worth but every singer, songwriter and musician who contributed to the debut track will receive royalties and publishing splits, as is the case with traditional music production.  

Noonoouri’s voice has a raspiness to it after being created using generative AI, a technology that takes existing data and transforms it into something entirely new.

It involved taking the recording of a real human singer and modifying it to give the pop star her unique vocal identity.  

The character’s debut single features 38-year-old German DJ and music producer Alle Farben, whose real name is Frans Zimmer. 

In an Instagram post, Noonoouri wrote: ‘Music plays a big role in my life since the beginnings.

‘It sets me into the mood and nourishes my visions and ideas to bring them to life as a driving force inside of me. 

‘Warner Music is the home of a lot of my fave music artists. 

‘I cannot be more thankful and honoured to join such a wonderful family, where music tunes are the beat of life.’

Noonoouri was created by 43-year-old graphic designer Joerg Zuber, from Munich. 

Commenting on her debut music video on Instagram, he said: ‘After two years working so hard on this music project, we finally can share this incredible teamwork with world — thank you @warnermusic.de for believing in us #TheBeginning.’

Warner Music’s announcement comes just a month after it emerged that rival Universal Music was in talks with Google to license artists’ voices and melodies so they can be used for songs generated by AI. 

Discussions are at a very early stage and no product launch is imminent, but the aim is to come to an agreement whereby more software can be developed that allows fans to create AI songs and pay the owners of the copyright.

Artists would be given the choice of opting in or out of the venture.

It is a similar situation to the one the music business found itself in with the rise of YouTube, where people began using hit songs as soundtracks to videos they had created.

This led to years of legal wrangling over copyright infringement until an agreement was reached that sees the music industry paid about $2 billion (£1.5 billion) a year for user-generated clips.

MailOnline has contacted Warner Music for comment on the concerns that Noonoouri resembles a child.  

Pirola, the new Covid variant dubbed the ‘real deal’ by experts, may not be as dangerous as initially feared, new data suggests. 

Early results from a US lab found those who had previously been infected with Covid or had a jab had a similar level of immunity to other fellow Omicron Covid variants. 

While this won’t stop people from catching the virus, it suggests the UK’s wall of immunity should still help prevent many people from becoming severely ill.   

Experts say however this depends on the success of the autumn jab drive topping up immunity levels, which has been brought forward starting next week.  

Four Pirola cases have now been officially confirmed in the UK, after Scotland recorded an additional case yesterday.

Alarm bells were initially raised due to Pirola, technically called BA.2.86, having a catalogue of 35 mutations which experts feared could help it to evade immune defences, driving up infections and cases of severe illness.

But the US study suggests that despite Pirola coming from a different branch of the Omicron family trees than other recent and less concerning variants, including Eris and Arcturus, the protection offered from jabs and prior infection still holds.  

British experts today welcomed findings of US data labelling it ‘encouraging’ and said it ‘reinforces the value’ of the UK’s autumn Covid booster campaign. 

Others however cautioned that the results ‘only tell part of the story’ and it is still ‘difficult to say’ whether the strain will really take off.   

The research, published by the Dan Barouch Lab, part of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Harvard University School of Medicine, involved 66 volunteers. 

Scientists analysed how well the antibodies of 44 of the participants — who had all received a Covid vaccine — neutralized 10 Omicron subvariants including BA.2.86. 

Antibodies are a key part of the immune response to Covid and a critical indicator of how likely someone is to be protected. 

They found the neutralising antibody (NAb) response was lower in BA.2.86 than its ancestor BA.2, suggests people are less protected against Pirola. 

However, when compared to other Omicron variants currently circulating, the results were similar suggesting Pirola is no better at dodging immunity.  

Researchers also compared the NAb response in the 22 who had not received a bivalent booster vaccine for up to six months. 

Of these, those with the highest levels of neutralizing antibodies against BA.2.86 had recently recovered from an Omicron infection. 

The results align with previous experiments by labs in China and Sweden last month.

Using the blood of vaccinated mice and from vaccinated and recently infected people, researchers in China found BA.2.86 can partially evade our immunity but was around 60 per cent less infectious than XBB.1.5 virus, nicknamed Kraken.

At the time scientists suggested this may explain why the strain has been detected in so many different countries, but only at low levels.

In a second Swedish experiment, researchers found that antibodies from older blood samples from late 2022 struggled to neutralize BA.2.86. 

But more recent blood samples, from more recent Covid waves, showed improved efficacy. 

Professor Stephen Griffin, an infectious disease expert at the University of Leeds, told MailOnline: ‘It is welcome news to see studies emerging that show BA.2.86 to perhaps be somewhat less antibody evasive than suspected.’

‘This begs the question though, of how this very divergent virus has spread across multiple continents. 

‘The answer may lie in another advantage that the virus has over present dominant XBB strains that we have not yet assessed. 

‘This may involve evading the very early, or “innate” immune response, or possibly infection of a different part of the lungs.’

‘It is hard to tell the extent of spread due to limited testing, so it is welcome to see more.’ 

The study however was small and further research is required, he noted.  

He also added: ‘Only with increased numbers will we see whether more severe disease occurs at the population level, we cannot tell this yet from the limited number of documented cases. 

‘Whether or not BA.2.86 becomes a variant of concern, it represents another new evolutionary branch for the virus that further demonstrates the folly of trying to treat SARS2 like other respiratory viruses. 

‘We should act preemptively, including mitigations and broadening the vaccine programme.’

Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, also told MailOnline today: ‘Data from three different labs provides evidence that the immune evasiveness of the BA.2.86 variant isn’t as extreme as originally feared. 

‘These early studies suggest that previous vaccinations and infections should provide protection from severe disease for most people. 

‘This work also reinforces the value of the autumn booster vaccine campaign, particularly the use of XBB-lineage updated mRNA vaccines.’ 

He added: ‘Other data indicates that the BA.2.86 variant is less infectious than previous Omicron variants, at least in laboratory studies. 

‘It remains a puzzle as to why this variant is spreading. 

‘It could be due to other changes in the virus – noting that, like other variants, this one is continuing to change. 

‘That’s why we can’t be complacent and need to keep monitoring for the spread of infection and particularly for new variants.’ 

Responding to the findings, UKHSA epidemiologist Meaghan Kall, also tweeted: ‘This is very encouraging for XBB vaccines. 

‘Now with three sets of data with similar results, I am feeling more confident of this result. 

In a second tweet addressing the data, she added: ‘Right now our best protection against a bad Covid season is the booster.

‘With the autumn booster campaign starting in days and XBB monovalent vaccine in the pipeline, these lab data — comparing with/without XBB infection — suggest a XBB vaccine will be effective vs BA.2.86.’

Concerns over the variant prompted the Department of Health and Social Care to u-turn on the autumn Covid and flu jab drive start date, with vaccinations for care home residents and vulnerable adults now starting earlier than scheduled.

GPs and pharmacies are now set to begin dishing out the jabs under the autumn booster campaign from September 11, a full month earlier than originally planned.

Ministers said they had made the decision to reduce pressure on the health service while scientists rush to learn more about Pirola.

Globally the variant has now been spotted in the UK, US, Israel, Denmark, South Africa, Portugal, Sweden, Canada, France, Thailand and Switzerland.

But Professor Paul Hunter, a respected infectious disease specialist at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline: ‘It is now difficult to say whether a new variant will really take off or not.’ 

He added: ‘For most people immunity to infection will be being driven primarily by what infections they have already had and recovered from rather than their recent vaccination history. 

‘But for the vulnerable immunisation remains important to prevent severe disease, hospitalisation.’

It is still unclear how long the variant has been in circulation, he noted and ‘is only now cropping up in countries that still do a reasonable amount of sequencing’.

Meanwhile, Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist from the University of Reading, told MailOnline: ‘Looking at the effectiveness of antibodies in people’s blood is useful, but only tells part of the story. 

‘Immunity is complex and made up of lots of different components, of which antibodies are just one important factor, and while these findings are encouraging, they probably don’t tell the whole story. 

‘And studies in a lab often don’t mirror exactly what happens in the real world.’

He added: ‘We know that immunity induced by vaccines is excellent at protecting against disease, but not so good at protecting against transmission, so even very effective protection against getting ill may not stop BA.2.86 spreading around the world.’

Virologists have also warned it is too early to reliably pinpoint if BA.2.86 has any new specific symptoms, as scientists are still analysing the recently discovered cases. 

Professor Francois Balloux from University College London told MailOnline: ‘Based on the tiny number of BA.2.86 cases diagnosed to date there is no evidence for, but also no reason to expect, a significant shift in symptoms.’

Professor Young, also added that a combination of immunity induced by previous infections, Covid vaccinations and ‘a combination of changes in the virus’ has seen Covid symptoms alter over the last three years. 

‘It’s much more like a cold now than when we first experienced Covid,’ he said.

However, he noted: ‘That doesn’t mean that those who are more vulnerable due to underlying conditions won’t suffer more severe symptoms if infected with BA.2.86.’

During a meeting last week the UKHSA’s variant technical group confirmed the UK’s three known BA.2.86 cases at the time, were identified through hospital testing and ‘have no known recent travel history’. 

The group is tasked with forecasting scenarios of Covid variants and producing assessments on the risk of emerging strains. 

‘The first UK case was mildly unwell and the second UK case — in England — did not have respiratory symptoms’, they said. 

A third case in Scotland however was symptomatic. But officials noted there was no laboratory data available yet, with two of the UK samples currently ‘in culture’.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) yesterday also confirmed a second case in Scotland had been identified through PCR testing. 

But details surrounding the fourth case have not yet been disclosed. 

These are also signs the virus is spreading within the community with PHS confirming Pirola had also been found in wastewater testing, in an undisclosed part of the country. 

Scientists can test community wastewater samples to monitor the prevalence of the virus through the stools of infected people. 

It comes as Covid cases in the UK are rising sharply — almost doubling in a month — just as the country heads into the autumn when the NHS gets busier.  

Data from the ZOE health study shows there were 93,432 new daily cases of symptomatic infection on September 2 — up from about 50,000 at the start of August. 

The study, which is based on data from millions of users of the ZOE app, estimates there are around 1.17million people in the UK with the virus right now – roughly one in 57. 

But the estimated peak of the pandemic, in cases, was in late March 2022, where at one point about 4.9million people were thought to have the virus.

Experts predict Covid cases will continue to rise as the UK heads into the autumn, as people mix more indoors.

This could contribute to NHS pressures, with the season traditionally a busier period for the NHS than summer. 

Private equity swoops on UK pharma firm in £703.1m deal: Ergomed founder lands £120m windfall

By Leah Montebello

Updated: 16:55 EDT, 4 September 2023

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Mitie acquire engineering services firm JCA in a deal worth £31.5m

• London-based group will pay initial fee of £21m
• The deal includes the deferred payments of up to £10.5m over three years 

By Daniel Fessahaye

Updated: 06:43 EDT, 4 September 2023

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Octopus is set to become the UK’s second biggest energy supplier after it announced plans to buy Shell’s household gas and electricity business.

The company, which started as a challenger to traditional suppliers, has climbed the rankings of the energy firms and now only Centrica-owned British Gas lies ahead of it.

Founded in 2015 by businessman Greg Jackson, Octopus will supply energy to almost 6.5m customers following the deal.

The acquisition, which also includes Shell Energy’s German business, comes less than a year after Octopus took on 1.5m customers from Bulb after its collapse into administration.

The deal needs regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of the year.

The Competition and Markets Authority declined to comment on whether it will investigate.

Chief executive Jackson said: ‘Octopus has proven that it delivers game-changing service while innovating and investing relentlessly towards a cheaper cleaner energy system.’

Consolidation in the energy sector has ramped up over the last few years with Octopus emerging as one of the major players.

Many smaller suppliers collapsed in the autumn and winter of 2021 under the pressure of soaring wholesale gas prices, with millions of customers snapped up by surviving businesses. The biggest casualty of the crisis was Bulb, which had been Britain’s seventh biggest energy supplier.

E.On bought N Power in 2019 and Ovo Energy, founded by Northern Irish businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick in 2009, purchased SSE in January 2020.

Ovo Energy’s and Octopus’s trajectories are similar.

Both were founded by British entrepreneurs as challengers to the established suppliers and have gone on to become two of the major players in the UK’s energy market.

Shell Energy entered the UK domestic energy market when it bought First Utility in 2018. The oil giant announced in June that it had put its British and German domestic energy business up for sale, exiting the household energy supply sector after just five years.

It followed a strategic review of the division under chief executive Wael Sawan, who was appointed in January this year.

In May, it was reported that Ovo and Centrica were among those also interested in bidding for the company.

Shell Energy customers in the UK will be transferred to Octopus following the deal’s completion and will not face any disruption to energy supply.

Shell is also winding down its home energy retail business in the Netherlands but said it does not plan to exit the home energy markets in Australia or the USA. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said that the ‘deal suits the strategic objectives of both firms’.

‘Shell exits a market that has seen low returns for energy providers, thanks to soaring wholesale energy costs and increased regulatory and political pressure in the form of caps on the prices that suppliers can charge their customers,’ Mould said.

He added: ‘Providing the transaction gets regulatory approval, this is another step for Octopus to cementing its position as a leading supplier in the UK energy supply market, following the failure or withdrawal of many rivals and its purchase of Bulb in 2022.’

The deal also includes 500,000 UK broadband customers.

Octopus does not currently have a broadband division and said it could not comment on plans for those customers until after the deal receives regulatory approval.

James Mabey, an analyst at analysis provider Cornwall Insight, said: ‘This marks the second major customer book acquisition by Octopus Energy in the last year, after the transfer of Bulb’s customers.

‘The transfer of Shell’s customers will represent an increase in customer numbers on a similar scale. The acquisition will see concentration in the domestic supply market taken to its highest level since early 2016.’

What to do if you’re a Shell Energy customer

The deal is expected to complete in the final three months of 2023 following regulatory approval so Shell customers have been advised to sit tight.

In time they will be transferred to their new account with Octopus, together with their existing direct debits and all customer credit balances are protected.

Natalie Mathie, energy expert at Uswitch, said: ‘Until any takeover is done and dusted, the business will operate as normal. 

‘Customers can be reassured that whatever happens, their credit balances will be protected and no action is required from them.

‘Shell Energy’s decision to exit the market is disappointing, as it has been a well-backed challenger to the larger energy suppliers.

‘It is important that there is strong competition between firms in the longer term, so suppliers cannot rest on their laurels when it comes to service quality and price.’ 

What about broadband customers?

Peter Ames, broadband expert at Broadband Genie, said: ‘While many eyes will be on how the Shell Energy takeover by Octopus will affect its energy customers, around half a million people also get their broadband through the company.

‘A question mark remains over the future of Shell Energy Broadband and whether Octopus will use this acquisition to venture into telecoms. 

‘For the time being at least, we are being told that customers won’t see a drop in service or an increase to their bills.’

Callum Hudson-Odoi joins Nottingham Forest from Chelsea on three-year deal, as the winger re-unites with his former England Under-17 coach Steve Cooper

By Tom Collomosse For Mailonline

Updated: 13:05 EDT, 1 September 2023