Business

The John Lewis Partnership has revealed plans to build 1,000 rental properties on its land as part of a drive to diversify its business. The employee-owned group, which is spearheaded by its eponymous department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, said a joint venture with investment firm abrdn aimed to achieve a tenth of its ambition to

Collapsed fashion retailer Joules will live on after Next agreed a £34m cash rescue deal that preserves most of its stores and jobs. Under the deal Next will pick up 100 of its 132 stores and only 133 of 1,600 staff will lose their jobs. The 100 stores now owned by Next are to remain

Buyers are increasingly struggling to afford homes despite prices falling faster, according to a closely watched report. Average prices fell by 1.4% last month, up from a 0.9% drop the month before, Nationwide Building Society found. The mortgage lender said it was the biggest monthly drop since June 2020. It took the annual pace of

HSBC has announced plans to shut a further 114 UK branches, or more than a quarter of its surviving sites. The UK-based but mainly Asia-focused bank said they would begin to shut from April next year. The decision, as the wider banking sector has consistently claimed over many years, is the result of the surge

The administrator to Joules, the collapsed fashion retailer, is on the brink of a rescue deal with the South African owner of Phase Eight. Sky News has learnt that The Foschini Group (TFG) is close to securing an agreement to buy the majority of Joules’ stores and assets. One source said a deal could be

It was as long ago as 1982, back in the pre-privatisation days of the Central Electricity Generating Board, that the idea of building a new nuclear power plant in Suffolk – Sizewell C – was first mooted. At that time, construction had yet to begin on the neighbouring Sizewell B, which for now remains the

EasyJet says it is expecting to build on a strong summer, despite pressures on consumer budgets, after COVID and post-pandemic disruption pushed it to an annual loss. The no-frills carrier reported a headline loss before tax of £178m for the 12 months to 30 September. While that sum was well down on the previous financial

The National Grid will not implement its blackout prevention scheme tomorrrow evening after French energy suppliers said they were struggling to cope with demand. Earlier today it was announced that the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS), which is designed to avoid blackouts, may have been brought in for the first time on Tuesday evening to reduce

Stock markets in Asia have seen sharp falls while a recent easing in oil prices gained new momentum on Monday in reaction to growing COVID lockdowns and public protests against them in China. Brent crude futures were 3% down on the day at $81 a barrel as investors fretted over demand in the world’s second-largest

Qatar is reviewing its investments in London after the organisation running the capital’s transport system banned the Middle East country’s advertisements on the Tube, buses and taxis. A source with knowledge of the review has told Sky News the decision by Transport for London (TfL) is “another blatant example of double standards and virtue signalling

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has received a £400m private equity approach that would see it relinquish majority ownership of The Hundred while raising funds to inject into the sport’s cash-strapped counties. Sky News has learnt that the governing body has in recent weeks been handed an offer from Bridgepoint Group, the London-listed

An extra £118m, at least, will be spent this year on temporary accommodation, such as hotels and B&Bs, by councils, a Sky News investigation has found. If trends continue, local authorities in England will spend nearly a quarter more (24%) this financial year than pre-COVID-19. Outside London, expenditure is on track to increase by 55%.

Primark has announced a £140m investment leading to the opening of four new shops and the creation of at least 850 jobs. The retailer said it plans to make the investment over the next two years in its UK operations. As part of that investment, the company said “at least” four news shops will be

The gas and electricity watchdog has announced a series of new rules for energy companies, including requiring firms to hold more capital, similar to the regulations placed on the banks in the wake of the financial crisis. Ofgem has proposed the regulations to protect customers and make firms more resilient after a number of electricity

UK car production has returned to growth, although it is still well below pre-pandemic levels, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says. Some 69,524 cars were built in October, up 7.4% on the same month a year ago. September had seen a fall in numbers, after four consecutive months of growth, illustrating how supply

A pound could buy $1.21 on Thursday morning, the highest amount since mid-August, making imports cheaper for UK companies and consumers. The 20 cents rise in sterling buying power from an all-time low in the days following the September mini-budget and the associated market upset, is due to dollar weakness rather than pound strength. The

The amount energy companies can charge for electricity and gas will rise from January but households will be protected from the increase. Ofgem, the energy regulator which limits the amount suppliers can charge for each unit of electricity and gas, increased its cap for the first three months of next year to 67 pence per

Pay growth has only kept up with inflation in one industry, official figures show. According to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), regular wages – wages excluding bonuses – have only risen as fast as prices in the professional and scientific industry. Jobs in the sector include legal services, management, engineering and scientific

Manchester United’s American owners have confirmed they could sell the club as they explore “strategic alternatives” to boost its sporting and commercial success. It comes after Sky’s City editor Mark Kleinman exclusively revealed the Glazer family were preparing to announce the news and were already being advised by bankers. Fans of Manchester United have long

A fresh round of rail strikes in the run-up to Christmas and in the New Year have been announced. Workers are to stage a series of 48-hour strikes in December and January in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union said. Over 40,000 members across Network

Shell will review £25bn of investments in British projects after the chancellor extended the windfall tax on energy companies, its UK chairman has told Sky News. David Bunch said the oil giant would re-examine each of its projects on a “case-by-case basis” after Jeremy Hunt increased the levy on “excess” oil and gas profits from

Supermarkets are “taking advantage” of drivers with rip-off fuel prices, according to a motoring group, which is demanding a 5p a litre cut for both petrol and diesel. The RAC said prices were “far higher” than they should be and fail to reflect a plunge in wholesale costs. It issued the accusation as hopes for

Immigration should be used to solve worker shortages in the UK and the government must be “practical” on the issue, the head of the CBI is expected to say. Tony Danker, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, will urge politicians to allow migrant workers to take up hard-to-fill jobs. Speaking later at the

A challenger bank specialising in green finance has poached its new finance chief from a rival as it seeks to accelerate its growth in a challenging economic environment. Sky News understands that David McCarthy, who resigned after eight years as chief financial officer of Atom in September, is joining Tandem Bank in the same role.

A multimillion-pound payout to Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, is in jeopardy amid faltering talks about a sale of the asset management business he cofounded. Sky News has learnt that negotiations between Somerset Capital Management, in which Mr Rees-Mogg is a substantial shareholder, and prospective buyer Emso Asset Management have stalled in recent weeks.

Tesla is recalling more than 300,000 vehicles in the US because of potential problems with their rear lights. The Texas-based electric vehicle manufacturer said the recall affects some 2023 Model 3 and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles. Tesla said it has had no reports of any crashes or injuries related to the recall of about 321,000

Elon Musk has posted a poll on Twitter asking users to vote on whether former US President Donald Trump, who was banned from the social media site by its previous owners, should be reinstated. The Twitter boss accompanied it with the words: “Vox Populi, Vox Dei” – a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the

Brexit, slashing investment and Liz Truss’s mini-budget are among the “own goals” that have led to the UK’s dire financial straits, according to a top economist. Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), has been speaking about what left the UK in a position where yesterday’s autumn statement – that will

Twitter employees have been told that all office buildings have been temporarily closed – with more staff thought to be leaving the social media firm. The managing editor of the tech site Platformer, Zoe Schiffer, tweeted that employees were not given details as to why the offices had been temporarily closed until Monday 21 November.

Why energy shares didn’t suffer in response to windfall tax expansion Ian King Business presenter @iankingsky During recent days there have been suggestions in the stock market that investors were being too pessimistic about the windfall taxes likely to be lumped on electricity generators. Happily, for shareholders of those companies, that has proved to be

A Chinese-owned tech company has been told to sell the majority of its stake in a UK silicon chip factory due to security concerns. The government has said Nexperia must reduce its stake in Newport Wafer Fab by 86%, back to its previous holding of just 14% when it took over the firm in 2021,

There has been a higher than expected leap in the rate of inflation, to a 41-year high of 11.1% last month, led by the latest rise in energy bills. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the increase, from 10.1% in September, as the cost of light and heating for homes rose further despite help

The Chinese owner of Thomas Cook is exploring the sale of a stake in the famous British holiday brand three years after its ignominious collapse. Sky News has learned that Fosun Tourism Group is examining options including raising capital from an outside investor in the coming months. Industry sources said on Tuesday that Fosun was