Unilever plans to acquire Dollar Shave Club in the US in a deal worth about $1bn (€905m), gaining a firmer foothold in the burgeoning market for male grooming products and opening up a new front in its battle against Procter & Gamble.

Kerry Foods is to continue with the restructuring programme that delivered a sales uplift at the end of 2013 and into 2014 — despite “highly competitive” consumer markets in the UK and Ireland.