Business

The Post Office is drawing up plans to close dozens of branches and axe hundreds of head office jobs as it tries to place its finances on a sustainable long-term footing. Sky News has learnt that the state-owned company is preparing to announce in the coming days that it will shut or seek alternative franchising

The UK’s jobless rate has risen by more than expected, raising questions over whether the new government’s early warnings on the state of the economy have backfired. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the unemployment rate at 4.3% over the three months to September. That was higher than the 4.1% figure

There has been no discussion of how much Fujitsu, the maker of the faulty Post Office software Horizon, should contribute to compensating its victims, the company’s Europe chief executive has said. The company has been in discussion with the government about paying towards its proposed billion-pound spend on redress for victims of the computer programme

The steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta is to seek court approval for a restructuring of the bulk of its remaining operations in Britain. Sky News has learnt that Liberty Steel, Mr Gupta’s privately owned company, is on Monday launching a restructuring plan for its Speciality Steel division in the UK (SSUK) that would significantly reduce its

A pair of Wall Street banking giants have hired lawyers to represent them in the escalating battle for the future of Thames Water. Sky News has learnt that JP Morgan and Bank of America, which hold financial instruments in Thames Water’s capital structure known as swaps, have engaged Simpson Thacher to advise them on their

Rachel Reeves will this weekend be told by some of Britain’s biggest hospitality groups that the tax hikes imposed in last month’s Budget risk triggering a tsunami of job losses across the sector. Sky News has learnt that dozens of bosses from pub, restaurant and hotel operators have agreed to sign a letter to the

In a significant legal victory, thousands of Bolt drivers have been recognised as workers, securing rights to paid holidays and a minimum wage. This landmark ruling, handed down by an employment tribunal on Friday, is expected to see more than £200m in compensation awarded to 15,000 drivers represented by law firm Leigh Day. The tribunal

The baby formula market is a “broken system” that needs urgent government intervention, according to a leading charity.   Feed UK welcomed the Competition and Markets Authority report that calls for change in the formula milk industry aimed at easing financial pressures on parents struggling to afford it. Clare Murphy, co-director of charity Feed, said: “The

The advisory firm which managed the insolvency of Bulb Energy in 2021 is kicking off a hunt for new backers in a process that could value it at about $2bn (£1.5bn). Sky News has learnt that Teneo, which is based in the US, has begun approaching prospective investors in recent days to gauge their appetite

The baby formula market needs to be shaken up to help parents struggling to afford it, according to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).  Its interim report concluded there are “limited incentives” for the industry to compete on prices and that parents have suffered the consequences of high prices. Among its recommendations is a

The Bank of England has forecast Rachel Reeves’ first budget as chancellor will increase inflation by up to half a percentage point over the next two years, contributing to a slower decline in interest rates than previously thought. Announcing a widely anticipated 0.25 percentage point cut in the base rate to 4.75%, the Bank’s Monetary

The battle for control of Thames Water’s future has deepened after a second group of bondholders tabled a fully underwritten offer to provide £3bn of new debt. Sky News has learnt that the utility’s class B bondholders submitted a proposal to the company on Thursday morning which aims to trump a rival offer from its

Donald Trump’s victory was secured on an unequivocal promise to stretched American households that he would “end inflation”, but markets and economists are anticipating his second term will do the opposite. A combination of corporate tax cuts, government borrowing, lower migration and swingeing tariffs on overseas imports are all expected to heat up the American

Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates is yet to receive a reply from Sir Keir Starmer, despite writing to him over a month ago. Sir Alan said he had written to the prime minister to remind him the “clock is still ticking” on a financial redress deadline for victims. In his letter, he demanded a

NatWest Group, the high street banking group, has struck what is thought to be the UK’s biggest-ever deal to outsource pension payments to a specialist insurance company. Sky News has learnt that pension trustees at NatWest, which is on track to become wholly owned by private sector investors after more than 15 years in partial

A £15bn merger between two of the UK’s biggest mobile networks could get the green light – if they stick to their commitments to invest in the country’s infrastructure, the competition watchdog has said. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the merger of Vodafone and Three had “the potential to be pro-competitive for the

Business leaders expressed frustration with ministers on Monday amid a growing budget backlash that bosses said would trigger an “avalanche of costs” and leave them with no choice but to slash investment and increase prices. Sky News has learnt that bosses of large retail and hospitality companies and trade associations told Jonathan Reynolds, the business

There’s fear in some quarters of another Donald Trump presidency but will the economics be that bad? Not a single vote has been counted but the policies of a possible second Trump presidency have already influenced financial markets. The cost of US and UK borrowing – measured through 10-year revenue-raising instruments called bonds – has

Navantia, the Spanish shipbuilder, is racing to finalise a takeover of the stricken shipyard-owner that built the Titanic amid urgent talks to reshape a major government contract. Sky News has learnt that Navantia is attempting to negotiate more favourable terms for a deal to build three Fleet Solid Support ships (FSS) for the Royal Navy

Restaurant chain TGI Fridays has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US. The bankruptcy protection filing was made by TGI Fridays Inc, a Dallas-based American arm of the casual dining brand, which operates 39 restaurants in the US. It comes after the company faced financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and after a deal

The joint owner of Chelsea Football Club has joined forces with one of his fellow board members to bid for the most valuable team in English cricket’s Hundred competition. Sky News has learnt that Todd Boehly is backing a bid spearheaded by Jonathan Goldstein, a British property entrepreneur, in an offer for a large stake

UK markets stabilised on Friday, offering some reassurance to Rachel Reeves as investors, policy makers and business continued to absorb the scale and implications of her first budget. Thursday saw an unusually large increase in the cost of UK government borrowing in response to the massive package of tax rises and increased borrowing. Yields on

The business secretary will next week hold talks with dozens of private sector bosses as the government contends with a significant corporate backlash to Labour’s first fiscal event in nearly 15 years. Sky News has learnt that executives have been invited to join a conference call on Monday with Jonathan Reynolds, in what will represent

The cost of government borrowing has jumped, while UK stocks and the pound are up, as markets digest the news of billions in borrowing and tax rises announced in the budget. While there was no panic, there had been concern about the scale of borrowing and changes to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules. At the

The football financier Keith Harris is spearheading a bid to buy a 45% stake in the Premier League football club Crystal Palace in a deal that could be worth close to £200m. Sky News has learnt that Mr Harris is advising a group of businessmen including Zechariah Janjua and Navshir Jaffer on an offer to

The 2024 Autumn Budget in one word? Big. What we got from Rachel Reeves today was, in economic terms, a major departure from economic policy as we’ve known it in this country for the past decade-and-a-half. We got the single biggest increase in taxes in any fiscal event since 1993. The tax burden itself is

Are you richer or poorer? Use our budget calculator to see how you have been affected by Labour’s first budget in more than 14 years, and the first ever from a female chancellor. Rachel Reeves had promised “more pounds in people’s pockets”. Put your details in the table below and find out if that is

The minimum wage for those aged 21 years and over will rise by 6.7% to £12.21 – with pay for those aged 18 to 20 set to go up by 16.3% to £10 an hour. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed the increases ahead of Wednesday’s budget, and they will take effect from April 2025. The

Small businesses have called for the government to “significantly increase” the employment allowance to prevent them from having to shut down following the budget. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to raise national insurance contributions paid by employers – despite promising not to increase the tax “for working people” – to help fill a £40bn black

A second group of Thames Water lenders will this week submit a fully funded £3bn financing package that it will argue is cheaper and more certain than a rival offer endorsed by the company last week. Sky News has learnt that the water utility’s Class B bondholders – which are reported to include Aviva, BlackRock

Rent has remained unaffordable in England, having been so since records began, the latest official figures show. The typical private sector renter, on a typical wage in England, paid a figure deemed to be unaffordable by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Renters on a median income – the midpoint between the highest and lowest

The Labour government’s first budget will embrace the “harsh light of fiscal reality” but “better days are ahead”, Sir Keir Starmer will say in a speech on Monday. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver the budget on Wednesday and setting the tone for the announcement, the prime minister will warn of “unprecedented” economic circumstances and the

A former chair of one of Britain’s biggest auditors is to step down as chairman of Interpath, the independent advisory firm, because of a potential conflict of interest involving its private equity backer’s choice of auditor. Sky News has learnt that Interpath, which has been engaged by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe on his cost-cutting campaign