Business

The CBI, the ailing business group, has acknowledged its financial travails for the first time as it postponed what was set to be a crucial annual meeting this week. Sky News has seen a message from the CBI to members which admitted it had “experienced some short term cashflow challenges”. It insisted, however, that it

The government has announced a new fixed sum payment for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal in an effort to provide quicker compensation. An award of £600,000 is on offer to the 86 postmasters who have had their convictions over turned after faulty Horizon software made it appear they were stealing. Anyone who has

The chancellor has offered an olive branch to the CBI, the stricken business lobbying group, by agreeing to meet its boss for the first time since a sexual misconduct scandal erupted in the spring. Sky News has learnt that Jeremy Hunt has agreed to hold in-person talks with Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI director-general, in the

A former governor of the Bank of England has launched a scathing attack on Liz Truss – accusing her government of turning Britain into “Argentina on the Channel”. Mark Carney also said Brexiteers such as the former Conservative leader – who became the shortest-serving prime minister in history when she resigned last year – had

The owner of Waterstones is among a pack of bidders circling The Body Shop after its Brazilian owner hoisted a for sale sign above the cosmetics retailer. Sky News has learnt that Elliott Advisors, the investment firm best-known for its activist campaigns against the boards of some of the world’s biggest companies, tabled an indicative

Mike Ashley, the high street billionaire, is in talks to sell the online clothing label Missguided to Shein, the giant Chinese online fashion player. Sky News has learnt that the two sides are in detailed negotiations about a deal, which would represent Shein’s first acquisition of a British fashion brand. City sources said that Shein

At the main roundabout outside Port Talbot steelworks, union reps and those on their lunch break gathered holding a banner: “British Steel – Back It or Lose It!” Some 4,000 are employed by Tata Steel here, more than 12% of the town’s entire population. One of them is Greg Coggins, who has worked for Tata

Business secretary Kemi Badenoch has had a busy week. It started on Monday with a £75m cheque to BMW to secure 4,000 jobs tied to future production of electric Minis at its Oxford plant. It ends with a £500m subsidy to sweeten the decarbonisation, by Indian industrial giant Tata, of its Port Talbot steel plant

Thousands of jobs are expected to be lost at Britain’s largest steelworks despite a £500m rescue package. The government will make the offer to assist Tata Steel employees who may face redundancy at its site in Port Talbot, as it moves from blast furnaces to greener steel production. Tata is expected to contribute £700m towards

The European Central Bank’s main interest rate has hit its highest level since the creation of the euro in 1999 amid the continuing battle against inflation. The Bank’s deposit rate was raised by 0.25 percentage points to 4% at the latest meeting of the governing council, which manages monetary policy for the 20 countries that

Shares in UK-based chip designer Arm Holdings have soared after the firm made its Nasdaq debut on Thursday. The firm’s stock opened at $56.1 (£45.2) per share – 10% above the initial public offering (IPO) price of $51 (£41). Arm, which is still 90.6% owned by Japan’s SoftBank Group, had earlier secured a valuation of

UK-based chip designer Arm Holdings has secured a $54.5bn (£43.6bn) value ahead of its eagerly anticipated return to the stock market later on Thursday. Shares in the firm, majority-owned by Japan’s SoftBank Group, are scheduled to start trading today on the Nasdaq in New York. High demand from investors meant it was able to sell

The Range, the value retail chain, has struck a deal to buy the Wilko brand from its collapsed rival’s administrators. Sky News has learnt that The Range, founded and owned by Chris Dawson, has agreed to pay in the region of £5m for the Wilko name. The deal is expected to be announced later on

The head of BP has suddenly resigned following allegations over “personal relationships with colleagues”. Bernard Looney’s departure as chief executive of the British energy giant comes less than four years after he was appointed to the role. The 53-year-old, who was paid more than £10m in wages, bonuses and other benefits last year, is said

A deal has been struck for the owners of Poundland to take over the leases of 71 Wilko stores. The Pepco Group will rebrand the branches under the Poundland name. It is unclear if Wilko staff at the outlets will be kept on or rehired, but administrators PwC said it was hoped the deal would

A Sky News investigation into potentially misleading and confusing boiler marketing involving the use of hydrogen in home heating has prompted several companies to remove statements about the gas from their websites. It comes as the chief executive of the UK’s independent climate change committee told Sky News that “no one should be installing a

All 400 branches of collapsed retailer Wilko will close by early October with the “likely” loss of all 12,500 jobs at the chain, according to the GMB. The union said it was informed of the development by administrators PwC on Monday morning. PwC declined to comment. The GMB said it meant it was now “likely”

Parents of babies and toddlers say mounting costs and cuts to local services are preventing them from giving their children the best start in life, a survey has revealed. Children’s charity UNICEF UK has warned that expensive childcare, fewer support services and the cost of housing are contributing to parents worrying about their children’s development.

A British-based sleep technology business is being put up for sale by its London-listed owner in a deal that could fetch tens of millions of pounds. Sky News has learnt that Cambridge Sleep Sciences (CSS), which develops and licenses sound technology to help users get better sleep, is to gauge interest from prospective buyers. City

Insolvency firms face being formally regulated for the first time under reforms to be announced next week that will nevertheless fall short of a pledge to establish a new watchdog. Sky News has learnt that the Insolvency Service, which is part of the Department for Business and Trade, will unveil plans that will mean firms

The owner of Cafe Rouge is in talks to buy Chiquito’s and Frankie and Benny’s, two of Britain’s best-known restaurant chains. Sky News has learnt that The Big Table, which is backed by the private equity firm Epiris, is negotiating the acquisition of the two brands from The Restaurant Group (TRG), the London-listed owner of

The supermarket chain Wm Morrison is in talks about a £2bn deal to offload one of Britain’s biggest petrol forecourts empires. Sky News has learnt that the grocer has opened discussions with Motor Fuel Group (MFG) about a deal, with an agreement possible during the autumn. Both Morrisons and MFG are controlled by the private equity

The government’s green energy plans have been dealt a blow after firms snubbed an auction for contracts to run new offshore wind sites. Insiders had warned the process had struggled to attract bidders because the government has set the maximum price generators can receive as too low, failing to reflect the rising costs of manufacturing

About 80% of mortgage holders and renters are now worried about rising housing costs, according to a poll. Which? said the figure was the highest in the 10-year history of its monthly Consumer Insight Tracker. It comes as rents continue to rise and mortgage payments remain high after the Bank of England hiked interest rates

Energy industry leaders have warned the UK could fall behind a key target for new offshore wind power ahead of the results of a government auction that is widely expected to flop. Multiple industry sources have told Sky News the auction, the results of which are expected to be announced on Friday, has received little

The governor of the Bank of England has told MPs that interest rates may not rise much further amid expectations that inflation is set to fall “markedly” by the end of the year. Andrew Bailey said rates were “much nearer now to the top of the cycle” following a 14th consecutive hike – to 5.25%

Rick Haythornthwaite, the City grandee who has chaired companies including Centrica and Network Rail, is being lined up as the new chairman of NatWest Group in the wake of the row about the de-banking of Nigel Farage. Sky News has learnt that Mr Haythornthwaite, who currently chairs Ocado and the AA, is expected to be

The price of petrol in the UK could soon rise further after the cost of oil jumped to its highest level this year. Brent crude climbed to more than $91 (£72) a barrel on Tuesday afternoon, a price not seen in the market since November 2022. It later fell back slightly by the evening to

Another 1,332 redundancies at collapsed retailer Wilko have been confirmed despite a deal to snap up more than 50 branches, the GMB union has said. It comes after administrators PwC offloaded 51 of the chain’s 400 stores to budget retailer B&M. The job cuts are in addition to the loss of 269 roles at the

The Bank of England “regrettably” made mistakes that have fuelled inflation in the UK, its former chief economist has told Sky News. Andy Haldane said the Bank had printed money through its programme of quantitative easing “longer than it needed to” as it tried to help the economy recover from COVID – and also suggested

It’s been a crazy few years for the cost of many services and essentials, with fuel prices among the bills enduring something of a roller-coaster ride. Pump prices during the COVID pandemic sank as low as £1.07 a litre for petrol and £1.11 for diesel as demand fell off a cliff due to lockdowns. As

The boss of Universal Music Group and the fashion designer Anya Hindmarch are among a coterie of British business leaders being lined up to join a revamped government Board of Trade. Sky News has learnt that Ms Hindmarch, the UMG chairman and chief executive Sir Lucian Grainge and Tim Bevan, the co-founder of film producer

Frontline Tesco workers will be offered body cameras following an “unacceptable” spike in verbal and physical attacks. The supermarket’s chief executive Ken Murphy said the move to protect its “unsung heroes” was prompted by a rise in physical assaults by a third compared with this time last year. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Mr