Business

Virgin Orbit has begun drawing up detailed contingency plans for its insolvency days after halting its operations and furloughing its workforce. Sky News has learnt that the commercial space satellite venture founded by Sir Richard Branson‘s Virgin Group is working with Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) and Ducera, two restructuring firms, on fallback plans in the

UBS will take over Credit Suisse in a deal aimed at stemming what was fast becoming a global crisis of confidence. Credit Suisse, the 167-year-old embattled lender had been brought to the brink of financial calamity last week, despite securing a $54bn (£44bn) credit line from Switzerland’s central bank. The credit line was agreed in

The British arm of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB UK) has handed out millions of pounds in employee bonuses just days after its insolvency was averted through a Bank of England-orchestrated rescue deal. Sky News has learnt that the payouts to staff including its senior executives were signed off by HSBC, SVB UK’s new owner, earlier

Ann Summers boss Jacqueline Gold has died at the age of 62, her family has said. The multi-millionaire businesswoman, who passed away with her family at her side on Thursday evening after seven years of treatment for breast cancer, was hailed an “absolute warrior” by her sister. It comes just two months after the death

A tumultuous week in the markets ended on an uncertain note – suggesting fears remain after large losses from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The FTSE 100 (Financial Times Stock Exchange) index of the most valued companies on the London Stock Exchange started the day at around the 7,500 mark – better than all

The Natural History Museum was the most visited indoor attraction in the UK for a second consecutive year, new figures show. The London museum had 4,654,608 visitors last year, topping the British Museum, which had 4,097,253 visitors, and the Tate Modern, with 3,883,160 visitors, according to data from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva).

Security guards at Heathrow Airport are to strike over Easter in a dispute over pay, with passengers warned they face “severe delays”. The Unite union said flights using Heathrow Airport will “experience severe delays and disruption this Easter” as the workers stage a 10-day walkout. More than 1,400 security guards employed by Heathrow Airports Ltd

The European Central Bank (ECB) has maintained its fight against inflation and imposed a large set of interest rate hikes despite financial market turmoil. Bank balance sheets have suffered because of the effect of interest rate increases, which have contributed to recent crises at Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. But the central bank –

A strike by rail workers today will bring train services to a halt across the country in the latest disruption caused by a wave of industrial action. Teachers in England and university staff will also continue their walkout from Wednesday, when they took part in one of the single biggest days of action in a

The FTSE 100 and other major European stock markets have taken a beating as concern over the health of US banks crosses the Atlantic. London’s blue chip index lost £75bn in combined market value by the close after suffering its deepest fall, on a points basis, since the early days of the COVID crisis. Sentiment

Tempting as it is to believe that the chaos with Silicon Valley Bank and its British arm are of interest only to members of the tech community and financial nerds, it has already had a very real bearing on all our lives. For evidence, look no further than the money markets, where investors bet on

The creator of ChatGPT is releasing an upgraded version of the AI behind its powerful chatbot that can recognise images. OpenAI’s impressive software took the internet by storm late last year with its ability to generate human-like responses to just about any text prompt you throw at it, from crafting stories to coming up with

The low point came on Sunday evening. For two days and two nights the Bank of England had, alongside the Treasury and its fellow financial regulators, been locked in talks with a stream of potential buyers for the UK branch of Silicon Valley Bank. With the clock ticking down to the opening of financial markets

HSBC has bought the embattled UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB UK), securing the deposits of more than 3,000 customers worth £6.7bn. Confirming a story broken on Monday by Sky’s City editor Mark Kleinman, the Bank of England, which had been preparing to bring the bank into an insolvency process, said all depositors’ money

HSBC Holdings has emerged as a potential ‘white knight’ bidder for Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) UK as the government and regulators seek to avert the lender’s insolvency. Sky News has learnt that HSBC was on Sunday night exploring a bid for the British arm of the stricken technology-focused lender, joining a slew of smaller rivals

A business lender founded by a prominent former Conservative Party donor is in talks to buy the British operations of Silicon Valley Bank, the US lender which collapsed last week. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Oaknorth Bank, which was valued at nearly $3bn in a funding round in 2021, is in detailed talks with

Dozens of early-stage tech companies in the UK have warned the chancellor of “an existential threat” to the sector following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank in the US. The Bank of England has said it is seeking a court order to place SVB UK into an insolvency procedure, after US regulators took over its

A new clearing bank which launched just two years ago is among the suitors this weekend weighing bids to salvage the British arm of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Sky News has learnt that The Bank of London (TBOL), which recently raised funds at a valuation of over $1bn, is considering making an offer for SVB

The UK arm of Grant Thornton, the accountancy and professional services provider, is drawing up plans to invest millions of pounds in its Indian sister firm. Sky News understands that the top ten auditor has asked its more than 200 UK partners to vote on the proposal later this month. One source said the deal

Hundreds of thousands of mortgage holders could face payment difficulties by the end of June next year, according to analysis by the Financial Conduct Authority. The regulator has said that, in addition to the households already behind on payments, 356,000 mortgage borrowers could face payment difficulties by the end of June 2024. People in this

Households are missing out on £23bn a year because banks are not passing higher interest rates to savers, a Sky News analysis shows. Although mortgage holders have been hit with higher borrowing costs, banks have been slower to pass on rate rises to savers. Politicians accused retail banks of taking advantage of rising interest rates

The economy rebounded to grow by 0.3% in January, according to official figures which reaffirmed that the UK avoided recession at the end of last year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a recovery for output last month after the bigger than expected contraction of 0.5% witnessed in December, which went unrevised in the

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ union (RMT) has said planned strike dates on 14 train operators will go ahead, but they insist they are open to discussions with bosses. The union said the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), representing 14 train operators, invited them to discussions to settle its ongoing dispute, but on the condition

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ union (RMT) is putting a “new and improved” pay offer from Network Rail to its members for a vote. Following the new offer, the union announced on Tuesday evening it was suspending strikes that were due to take place from 2am on 16 March until 1.59am on 17 March.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ union has suspended all industrial action against Network Rail following a new pay offer. Strike action was due to take place from 2am on 16 March until 01.59am on 17 March. A ban on accepting overtime – which can be disruptive for maintenance works – had been due to

Britain’s power system operator has, for the first time ever, ordered two of five emergency coal-fired generators to produce electricity to help prevent the lights going out. National Grid ESO made the announcement hours after it activated contingency plans as a precaution over fears supplies may struggle to keep up with demand during the current

The director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Tony Danker has stepped aside from the role while the business lobby group investigates allegations relating to his workplace conduct. The body said he had requested to leave the role while a number of allegations were examined. Mr Danker responded to the claims in a

Grant Shapps is facing fresh calls to overhaul the energy regulator’s powers amid growing fears for hospitality businesses’ ability to withstand soaring power costs. Sky News has seen a letter from Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, to the energy secretary in which she demands that Ofgem be allowed to tackle suppliers’ handling of

Hundreds of thousands of the UK’s smallest businesses risk going under this year as costs keep rising, a report has revealed. The owners of nearly one in eight microbusinesses, defined as employing fewer than 10 people, fear they will have to fold, equating to 630,000 businesses. Catherine Sweet sells art for a living – both

Gousto, the food delivery service backed by Joe Wicks, the celebrity fitness instructor, has become embroiled in a bitter corporate governance row after excluding long-standing investors from a deeply discounted share sale. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Gousto slashed its valuation from $1.7bn (£1.4bn) just over a year ago to less than $300m (£250m)

An arm of the Wall Street behemoth Goldman Sachs is among the suitors hoping to take a mouthful of Subway, the global sandwich chain which has been put up for sale with an estimated $10bn price tag. Sky News has learnt that Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) is one of at least a handful of

A London-listed company with a valuation of close to £1bn is preparing to list its shares in the US amid an intensifying debate about the waning attractiveness of the City to public companies. Sky News has learnt that WANdisco, a ‘big data’ business, has hired bankers from Evercore Partners to prepare for a listing in

Support for energy bills from the government is expected to continue for three months from April, protecting consumers from an average increase of £500. Sky News understands the chancellor will cancel a reduction in support that would have seen typical annual bills rise from £2,500 to £3,000. In recent days, the government has asked energy