Business

The government is preparing to nationalise Gazprom’s British supply arm within days amid a stand-off between the Russian state-controlled energy firm and a Wall Street banking giant. Sky News has learnt that ministers are drawing up plans to take Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail (GM&T) into public hands if it fails to reassure financial counterparties

The owners of the American basketball team the Cleveland Cavaliers have joined forces with one of the four remaining bidders for Chelsea Football Club as the auction of last season’s Champions League-winners enters its final stages. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Rock Entertainment Group (REG), which owns a string of US sports teams, has

NatWest Group is contemplating an audacious takeover bid for one of Britain’s biggest wealth managers in a move that would represent its biggest corporate acquisition since it was rescued by taxpayers nearly 15 years ago. Sky News has learnt that NatWest is in the early stages of considering an offer for Tilney Smith & Williamson,

The government’s business misconduct watchdog has launched criminal and civil probes into P&O Ferries, adding to pressure on the embattled company. The move comes two weeks after P&O Ferries sacked nearly 800 workers and replaced them with lower-paid crew, a decision that the government called illegal. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed on Friday afternoon that

A London-listed gold mining group which was prevented from making a loan repayment this week after its Russian lender was sanctioned is lining up advisers to help restructure its borrowings. Sky News has learnt that Petropavlovsk, which has seen its shares plummet in the last year, is preparing to bring in AlixPartners to advise it

Household energy bills prices are likely to rise even higher this autumn as the war in Ukraine deepens the gas crisis, the boss of one of the UK’s largest energy companies has told Sky News. Greg Jackson, founder and chief executive of Octopus, which has more than two million direct customers, said volatility in wholesale

Community volunteers have shared their concern about the cost of living crisis and its impact on children. One mother told Sky News her two sons had gone hungry in the past. Another group – offering free hot meals – estimated more than half of the children they are feeding are malnourished. And Sky News has

The UK economy grew at a rate of 1.3% in the last three months of 2021, a faster pace than first thought and bringing GDP to just below pre-pandemic levels. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) had previously estimated GDP grew by 1.0% between October and December last year. “GDP grew a little stronger than we

The government’s lead non-executive director has quit with more than a year of his term to run, paving the way for a prominent businessman to inherit one of the most powerful roles in Whitehall. Sky News has learnt that Lord Nash, who was appointed by the prime minister in July 2020, has stepped down from

Germany has declared an “early warning” of a gas supply emergency, in one of the starkest signs yet that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is spilling over into European energy markets. The country said that its warning was intended to prepare for the risk of disruption to, or even the end of, natural gas flows

The boss of P&O Ferries has flatly rejected the government’s final plea to halt the process of making nearly 800 of its workers redundant. In a letter to transport minister Grant Shapps on Tuesday, the company said the process was in its final stages with most workers already accepting severance offers, and changing course now

Babcock International Group, the FTSE-250 government contractor, is in talks to offload the bulk of its emergency aviation services division, which counts Britain’s Air Ambulance fleet among its operations. Sky News has learnt that Babcock is in advanced negotiations with Ancala Partners, a London-based infrastructure investor, about acquiring a substantial chunk of the business it

A second P&O ferry, the Pride of Kent, is being detained after it failed safety checks by authorities amid the backlash over the company’s decision to replace 800 seafarers with lower-paid crew. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) made the revelation as a new crewmember aboard a P&O vessel told Sky News there was an

Bosses from ferry companies DFDS and Stena Lines will meet government officials later today following rival P&O’s decision to sack 800 staff. The Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed the meeting but did not say what would be discussed, although it comes amid concerns over chaos at ports during the Easter holidays. A DfT spokesman said:

The four contenders vying to buy Chelsea Football Club will submit final bids on April 11, paving the way for a prospective new owner to seek government permission to take over from Roman Abramovich by the end of next month. Sky News has learnt that the remaining contenders have been notified by Raine Group, the

Hundreds of people have demonstrated against P&O Ferries’ sacking of 800 staff at ports across the UK, with some chanting: “P&O, shame on you.” Protesters carrying banners and placards gathered in Dover, Liverpool, and Hull as part of what they called the “fight for justice” for the seafarers dismissed without notice earlier this month. The

The remaining contenders to buy Chelsea FC have been told they must commit at least £1bn to future investment in the club if they are to succeed in the battle to end Roman Abramovich’s two-decade tenure as owner of last season’s Champions League-winners. Sky News can exclusively reveal that the quartet of bidders which were

A P&O ferry has been detained in Larne, Northern Ireland, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The agency said the ship, the European Causeway, was held “due to failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training”. In a statement it said: “The vessel will remain under detention until all these issues are resolved

The owners of the Chicago Cubs are drafting in a heavyweight investment bank as they attempt to salvage their bid to buy Chelsea Football Club. Sky News has learnt that the Ricketts family and Ken Griffin, the Citadel hedge fund billionaire, are in talks to appoint Lazard to advise on their offer for the Stamford

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said the boss of P&O Ferries should quit for his “brazen, breathtaking arrogance” in admitting “breaking the law” in sacking staff. The cabinet minister also said he would change the law to force a U-turn and prevent the ferry operator paying below minimum wage to its crews. It comes after

A string of bidders for Chelsea Football Club including the former US ambassador to the UK have been eliminated from the £3bn auction of last season’s Champions League winners as the hunt intensifies to find Roman Abramovich’s successor as owner. Sky News has learnt that a number of bidders including Woody Johnson, owner of the

Rishi Sunak has defended his spring statement amid much criticism as he argued the UK is recovering from its biggest shock in 300 years. The chancellor said he knows families are struggling with the rising cost of living and that is “why I announced a tax plan which delivers the biggest net cut in personal

Budgets – and let’s make no bones about it, today’s Spring Statement was significant enough to qualify as a budget – tend to follow a time-honoured pattern. The chancellor unveils his measures, makes a big noise about them in the House of Commons, and then – sometimes over a few hours, sometimes over a few

A change in the law signed off by former Conservative minister Chris Grayling cleared the way for P&O Ferries to legally sack 800 staff last week without telling the government, a leading maritime lawyer has told Sky News. Legislation to protect employees in the UK was amended by Mr Grayling in 2018 so that the

One of these days, Rishi Sunak will produce a fiscal statement which lays out his vision for the nation. We will hear about his plans for skills, for productivity, dynamic enterprise and entrepreneurship. But this is not going to be one of those days. Ever since he took office, the chancellor has had to confront

The UK supply arm of Russia’s state-owned gas firm Gazprom is expected to be placed under taxpayer control within days as customers attempt to flee the firm in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine. Gazprom Energy supplies over a fifth of gas used by commercial and public sector customers in the UK including companies like

800 P&O Ferries workers fired suddenly last week are only being given redundancy pay on the condition they sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), according to the Transport Secretary. Grant Shapps told the House of Commons that the company is using the agreements to try and “keep the employees quiet” while behaving in a “shameful and unacceptable

The Indian-born businessman who owns the Sacramento Kings basketball team has joined forces with the former British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton in his effort to buy Chelsea Football Club. Sky News has learnt that Vivek Ranadive, who made a fortune from the technology industry, has agreed to make a minority investment in the Premier

Rishi Sunak is pledging a £5.5bn crackdown on Whitehall waste as he faces pressure to tackle the cost of living crisis in his mini-budget. Ahead of his spring statement on Wednesday, the chancellor claims the efficiency savings will both curb inflation and fund vital public services. “During these challenging times it’s vital that every single

One of the largest shareholders in Pendragon has been thwarted in a £400m takeover raid on the London-listed car dealership giant. Sky News can reveal that Hedin Group, which operates more than 200 vehicle showrooms in Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland through its subsidiary Hedin Bil, tabled a secret 28p-a-share offer for Pendragon several weeks

The 9pm deadline for bids to buy Chelsea has passed, with consortiums led by Nick Candy, the Ricketts family and Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Sebastian Coe among the bidders. The sale has come amid UK and EU sanctions on Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Chelsea also under a number of restrictions.

The London property entrepreneur Nick Candy is lining up backing from two South Korean groups as he prepares to lodge a takeover bid for Chelsea Football Club. Sky News has learnt that Hana Financial Group, a major Seoul-based lender, and C&P Sports, a sports management firm, were on Friday in discussions about joining Mr Candy’s

Two and a half million households with children will be in fuel poverty once the new energy price cap comes into effect on 1 April, according to estimates from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition. That’s equivalent to two in five households, and it rises to more than half if we look just at single-parent homes.