The Business Matrix: Saturday 24 August 2013

Abramovich in lorry fuel deal

Chelsea FC’s owner Roman Abramovich and Zara Schvidler, the wife of his friend and fellow oligarch Eugene Shvidler, backed a £5m share placing by Clean Air Power, which develops technology allowing diesel lorries to switch to and from natural gas.

Farmland heads for £10k an acre

The price of farmland has more than trebled in nine years and could push through the £10,000 an acre mark within a couple of years according to the surveyors professional body Rics. It said prices jumped to £7,440 an acre in the first half of this year.

Sweet project for housebuilder Boot

The housebuilder Henry Boot has moved onto the former Terry’s Chocolate factory in York to start work on a £75m scheme to build up to 400 homes and a business park. Boot bought the factory site and immediately sold on 13 acres with planning permission to rival Barratt.

Co-op to launch groceries online

The Co-operative is to launch groceries online in a belated bid to grab a slice of the fast-growing £6.1bn market dominated by Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Ocado. The UK’s fifth-biggest supermarket chain is to introduce four trials before Christmas.