'One in four drink at danger level with middle classes the worst offenders'

One in four Britons is drinking too much, official figures show. One in three men and one in six women is classed as a ' hazardous drinker', meaning their thirst for alcohol is putting them at risk of physical and psychological damage. And 9 per cent of men and 4 per cent of women show some signs of alcohol dependence - The Daily Mail​

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the All Bar One and Harvester operator, is expected to exhibit the scars of the toughest trading period in its history today by reporting a slump in first-half profits of almost 50 per cent - The Times​

Nearly a quarter of all adults are risking their health through hazardous drinking, according to official statistics released today. The NHS Information Service said it estimates that a third of men and a sixth of women are drinking at a level which puts them at risk of physical or psychological harm - The Guardian​

Soft-drinks maker Britvic reported flat profits because of the cost of restructuring its struggling Irish business, where it announced 145 jobs would go earlier this year. In the first half, pre-tax profit was £7.2m compared with £7.1m the previous year, after £12.8m of costs linked to shrinking the Irish business. Excluding those costs, pre-tax profit climbed 16pc to £20m - The Telegraph ​

Pubs group Enterprise Inns added 12.25p to its shares taking it to 165p as Credit Suisse started coverage of the company with an outperform rating and a 224p price target as part of a note on the sector. But the bank was negative on Mitchells and Butlers, setting a 232p target, which sent its shares 13.75p lower at 260.75p - The Guardian​