Tuesday newspaper round-up: Oddbins, Brexit, Patisserie Valerie, Google

The owner of Oddbins has warned staff of job losses in the near future as the off-licence business said it had appointed advisers to look at options for the future after an “extremely tough” Christmas. In an email to staff at European Food Brokers group, which also includes Wine Cellar Trading and Whittalls Wine Merchants, directors said they had concluded that its retail businesses “cannot continue in their current form” and may have to be sold. – Guardian

Parliament is facing a day of further Brexit deadlock after Theresa May swung the government’s weight behind an amendment that would send her back to Brussels to demand an alternative to the Irish border backstop, splintering Conservative support. The chances of the amendment, championed by the senior backbencher Sir Graham Brady, are on a knife-edge after Tory Brexiters split over whether they should back the change, while pro-remain MPs suggested they would vote against. – Guardian

Patisserie Valerie sales were in secret decline for at least three years before the discovery of the accounting black hole that triggered its collapse, The Daily Telegraph can reveal. Documents containing the stricken cafe chain’s finances show revenues from "un-loved" established stores were falling even as the management team under executive chairman Luke Johnson pursued an "ambitious roll-out plan". – Telegraph

Google has unveiled plans to offer anti-hacking technology called Project Shield to political organisations in Europe, amid fears of election tampering ahead of the European Union elections in May. Google's experimental incubator Jigsaw has said it will offer free cyber protection to political parties and candidates from Tuesday after citing a "pressing concern" to defend elections from digital attacks. – Telegraph

Britain’s biggest accountancy firms are pushing to delay sweeping reforms to the industry, including a forced separation of their businesses, before parliamentary hearings this week. The heads of Deloitte, KPMG, EY and PWC have written to the Commons business committee to say the competition watchdog should postpone moves to overhaul the audit market until the completion of a separate review by Donald Brydon, chairman of the London Stock Exchange, which could take another 12 months. – The Times

Saudi Arabia has sharply cut back its exposure to the electric carmaker Tesla, only four months after Elon Musk settled fraud charges over his claims that the kingdom was backing a management buyout. The country’s Public Investment Fund hedged most of its 4.9 per cent stake in Tesla with the help of JP Morgan Chase after the market closed on January 17. – The Times