Monday newspaper round-up: Wilko, London house prices, supermarkets

(Sharecast News) - A union representing thousands of workers at Wilko is seeking an urgent meeting with the business secretary after being told by potential rescuers of "difficulties" in engaging with the administrators who will decide upon the stricken retail chain's future. On Monday, the GMB national secretary, Andy Prendergast, wrote to Kemi Badenoch asking her to ensure that PricewaterhouseCoopers considered all bids for the budget retailer where 12,500 jobs were hanging in the balance. - Guardian Homeowners in London have knocked £23,500 off property asking prices as soaring interest rates hit the capital harder than anywhere else in the country. Since asking prices in London peaked in May, sellers have reduced their advertised prices by 3.4pc, the largest drop of any region, according to data from Rightmove. - Guardian

Michael Gove's "London-centric" building policies are anti-driver and will fail to deliver the homes the country needs, the boss of a top British developer has claimed. Matthew Pratt, chief executive of FTSE 250 house builder Redrow, criticised the Levelling Up Secretary's proposed rules for "beautiful" designs as single-minded and impractical, arguing that restrictions on off-street parking will end up backfiring. - Telegraph

Trust in British supermarkets has fallen to the lowest level for a decade as households grapple with high prices, despite the rate of food prices inflation easing this month. The latest monthly consumer insight tracker from Which?, the consumer group, found that confidence in the grocery industry had dropped in August to the lowest level since February 2013, a time when horse DNA had been discovered in frozen beef burgers and lasagne sold in some Irish and British supermarkets. - The Times

One of Britain's leading life sciences companies is to be taken over by an American group in a $5.7 billion deal after its founder called for a change in strategy. Cambridge-based Abcam is a global supplier to the pharmaceuticals research industry. Quoted on Nasdaq, the technology-heavy New York stock exchange, it has agreed to a $24-per-share offer from Danaher under which it would continue as a standalone entity within the parent group. - The Times