Breakfast briefing: Retail news on Sports Direct and Tesco's Giraffe

David Cameron lashes out at Sports Direct for not paying staff minimum wage

David Cameron, the Prime Minister has slammed Sports Direct’s “appalling practices” after its founder Mike Ashley admitted that their staff have been paid less than the minimum wage, The Guardian reports.

At prime minister’s questions, Cameron said: "On the issue of Sports Direct and the appalling practice of not paying the minimum wage: I absolutely abhor it and this government has done more than any previous government to crack down on the non-payment."

“We have levied almost 5,000 penalties since 2010, we continue to name and shame eligible employers when the investigation has been closed, something that didn’t happen before.”

He added: “We are going after unscrupulous employers and making sure that people get the deal that they deserve”.

Cameron refused to ban zero-hours contracts outright, saying some workers prefer to be employed on those terms, which are widely used in the retail industry but do not guarantee work.

Tesco to sell Giraffe restaurant chain to owner of Harry Ramsden's

The buyer behind the acquisition of the UK Giraffe restaurant chain from Tesco has been revealed as Boparan Ventures, Sky News reports.

The private investment firm, headed by entrepreneur Ranjit Boparan, is thought to be paying the grocer a small sum to acquire the loss-making restaurant chain.

The supermarket retailer is to also dispose of its Turkish chain Kipa, ostensibly to the Turkish supermarket chain Migros, for “a couple of hundred million pounds” an analyst told Sky News.