Autogrill, the Italian catering company, is reported to have submitted a bid of just over £1bn (€1.45bn) for Select Service Partner, the motorway services unit of UK caterer Compass. The solo bid comes in spite of buy-out firms' requests to tie up with Autogrill for the deal.

Corriere della Sera, the Italian daily newspaper, reports this morning that Autogrill and several private equity buyers submitted second-round bids yesterday ahead of a midnight deadline.