Australian infrastructure firm Babcock & Brown looked set to land PD Ports today after a rival suitor refused to get involved in a bidding war.

A takeover of British ports operator PD Ports was under threat today following the emergence of a second approach from Australia.

The British ports industry today woke up to its second major takeover in 24 hours when North East-based operator PD Ports accepted a £246m (€359m) offer.

British supermarket giant Asda announced plans today for a major dockside warehouse operation to slash the number of miles needed to distribute UK products.