Business

Rolls-Royce Holdings, the aircraft engine manufacturer, is to axe more than 2,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive by its new chief executive. Sky News has learnt that the Derby-based company is expected to announce plans to lay off around 2,500 staff as soon as Tuesday. The cuts will be distributed across its global

The former owners of The Daily Telegraph have tabled a blockbuster £1bn bid that they believe will end rival suitors’ hopes of buying the broadsheet newspapers. Sky News has learnt that the Barclay family has lined up financing from Abu Dhabi investors to lodge a knockout offer that would repay the debt owed by their

Metro Bank has set a quickfire timetable for rivals to snap up a substantial chunk of its mortgage book. Sky News understands that Metro Bank wants bidders to submit offers at the beginning of next month, with Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group all having an indicated an interest. News of the timetable comes

Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani has withdrawn from the process to buy Manchester United, Sky News understands. His offer, which valued United at more than £5bn, was believed to be the only bid for 100% of the club – that the Glazers announced last November could be sold. He and Ineos billionaire

NatWest Group is preparing to cancel millions of pounds in bonuses and share awards earmarked for its former chief executive following a probe into the closure of the former UKIP leader Nigel Farage’s bank accounts. Sky News has learnt that NatWest, in which the government remains the single-largest shareholder, wants to resolve the issue of

Luton Airport has admitted it does not know whose vehicles were damaged by a massive fire which ripped through one of its car parks three days ago. Passengers who left their cars at Terminal Car Park 2 say they have been “left in limbo” since Tuesday night’s blaze. The airport apologised to customers in a

UK wholesale gas prices have risen again and are now at their highest level since mid-February. Prices rose to nearly 135 pence a therm (a unit of heat used to measure gas) on Friday afternoon. It comes after gas costs hit a six-month high of nearly 123p a therm on Tuesday afternoon – a level

The chancellor has warned the British public he is preparing “for the worst” as he draws up his autumn statement. Jeremy Hunt told Sky News the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) official economic forecasts would be considerably worse than at the budget – a signal there may be spending cuts or possibly even tax rises

It is a list that includes the former HBOS banker Peter Cummings, the former Co-op Bank finance director Barry Tootell and the former Credit Suisse First Boston trader James Archer, son of the author and Conservative peer Lord Archer – and now it includes Jes Staley, the former Barclays chief executive. Banning someone from working

The former CEO of Barclays has been fined £1.8m after misleading regulators and the bank’s board about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Jes Staley has also been banned from holding senior management positions in the financial services industry. According to the Financial Conduct Authority, he “recklessly approved” a letter sent by Barclays to the FCA

British Airways (BA) has suspended flights to Tel Aviv – after Hamas said it had attacked the Israeli airport. It came after a BA flight was on approach to the airport when the captain made the decision to divert back to Heathrow. A spokesperson for Israel’s airports authority said rockets were flying around Tel Aviv

Next is close to underlining its status as Britain’s most prolific buyer of rival high street fashion chains by snapping up FatFace in a deal worth more than £100m. Sky News has learnt the FTSE-100 clothing giant is putting the finishing touches to an acquisition of FatFace, just three years after it was taken over

Lush, the UK-based cosmetics retailer, is facing a backlash from customers after a “boycott Israel” message was displayed on the window of one of its stores. The company, which has in the past faced criticism from the Jewish community for openly supporting the Palestinian cause, suggested in a statement that a member of staff had

Worse financial pain is to come, as many people have not yet felt the full impact of the increased cost of borrowing, the Bank of England has said in one of its latest health checks of the UK’s financial system. Higher interest rates, currently at 5.25% after a run of 14 hikes, have not yet

There are a few ways one could report the latest economic growth forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The first way is to declare that Britain’s economy is heading for the buffers. Its economy will grow next year at the slowest rate in the G7 group of leading industrialised economies (0.6%). This is considerably

The rate of grocery inflation eased considerably over the past month, part-aided by a “jump in the amount of money spent on offers”, according to a closely-watched study. Kantar Worldpanel, which records supermarket sales and price data, said the annual rate of grocery inflation fell back to 11% over the four weeks to 1 October.

Santander UK has been approached to revive its financial crisis-era role as a white knight for failing British lenders as regulators seek to secure a quickfire private sector deal to shore up Metro Bank. Sky News has learnt that the Spanish-owned bank, NatWest Group and Lloyds Banking Group are among those approached by banking regulators

Wilko will shut the doors on its last remaining high street stores for the final time after the chain’s collapse. The 93-year-old retailer has been closing each of its 400 UK stores over the past month after collapsing into administration in August. Forty-one stores now remain but will close on Sunday. The shelves have already

The board of Metro Bank rejected a secret takeover approach last month from a rival British lender, just days before its share price crashed when it emerged that it was seeking hundreds of millions of pounds to shore up its finances. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Shawbrook has tabled several bid proposals to Metro

The UK is on course for the biggest tax rise in at least 50 years because of the freeze on personal thresholds and soaring inflation, according to new analysis. The Resolution Foundation said taxpayers are set to hand over about £40bn a year by 2028 – up from a forecast of £30bn at the time

One thing that quite often puzzles people who do not work in financial markets is their tendency to treat seemingly good news as bad. We got a classic example on Friday with news that US employers added 336,000 jobs in September. That was up from 227,000 in August (a figure itself revised higher from the

JD Wetherspoon has credited a surge in sales and reduction in costs for its first annual profit since the COVID pandemic. The value pub and hotel chain, which trades from 826 sites across the UK and Ireland, reported profit before tax for the year to the end of July of £42.6m. That compared to a

Metro Bank has kicked off talks about the sale of a £3bn chunk of its mortgage book as part of an increasingly urgent attempt to shore up its fragile balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that advisers to Metro Bank – which saw its shares plunge on Thursday after acknowledging that it was seeking to

The competition regulator is to investigate the dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in the UK’s cloud market. It follows a study by the telecoms watchdog Ofcom which “identified features that make it more difficult for UK businesses to switch and use multiple cloud suppliers”. Ofcom added: “We are particularly concerned about the position of the

Metro Bank, the high street lender, is drawing up plans to raise hundreds of millions of pounds of new capital in weeks in a bid to strengthen its troubled balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that Metro Bank – the first new lender to open on Britain’s high streets in over 100 years when it

Fuel retailers have dismissed claims that drivers are being overcharged following a surge in pump prices. Data released by the RAC on Wednesday showed an 8p per litre surge in the cost of diesel last month to a new average of 163.1p. Petrol prices rose by nearly 5p per litre to 157p. The motoring group

Superdry, the struggling London-listed fashion retailer, is close to striking a partnership with India’s biggest retailer that will release tens of millions of pounds to bolster its fragile balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that Superdry is in advanced talks with Reliance Brands, part of the vast Mumbai-headquartered conglomerate, about a new licensing joint venture.

Food prices have dropped for the first month in more than two years, according to an industry lobby group that says food inflation is now in single digits. The British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index found food inflation eased to an annual rate of 9.9% in September, which is down from 11.5% in August.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the petrochemicals billionaire, is contemplating buying a minority stake in Manchester United Football Club rather than seeking full control, in an effort to end a nearly 10 months-long process to resolve the club’s future ownership. Sky News has learnt Sir Jim’s Ineos Sports vehicle has proposed to the controlling Glazer family a

Water companies are making their case for a hike to annual household bills of up to £156 in the second half of the decade, to tackle challenges including shortages and sewage leaks. Industry body Water UK said the firms’ business plans, which have to be signed off by the regulator Ofwat, would see investment almost

The prominent financier Jonathan Rowland is to take the challenger bank he co-founded six years ago onto the London stock market through a reverse takeover of another business set up by his family. Sky News has learnt that Mr Rowland, who has floated a number of corporate vehicles in the City, has orchestrated a deal

The owner of Beds.co.uk and furniture retailer Cox & Cox has swooped to buy Victoria Plum, one of the UK’s best-known bathroom sellers. Sky News understands that AHK Designs acquired Victoria Plum late on Friday evening. The brand had been put up for sale by Endless, the investment firm which had owned it since 2019.

The German media giant which publishes Die Welt, one of Europe’s leading newspapers, has joined the race to buy The Daily Telegraph and its Sunday sister title. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Axel Springer has registered its interest in acquiring the British broadsheets. Insiders said the company, which also owns the Business Insider and