Matthew Moulding, the boss of the online beauty, nutrition and technology services group THG, is to surrender his golden share in the company in an attempt to restore the City’s confidence after a torrid fortnight. Sky News has learnt that the owner of The Hut Group, which floated just over a year ago, will announce
Business
If the trainee truckers the haulage industry so desperately needs could change direction as fast and frequently as government ministers they would sail through the HGV test. The latest U-turn, executed to address the supply chain crisis, comes from the Department for Transport, and even by the standards of recent weeks it is a screecher.
Job adverts have soared by over 600,000 since late August to a new record high, according to the latest figures released. The number of vacancies in the UK is currently sky-high, a sign that the labour market is yet to fully recover following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 4 and 10 October there
The government wants to change how frequently overseas HGV operators can deliver in the UK to help solve the current supply chain problems. A consultation on extending “cabotage” rights will be launched on Friday to try to shore up supply chains and prevent shops running out of goods or increasing prices due to an HGV
The government is expected to back down today in a row over visas for foreign butchers to prevent a mass cull of British pigs. A shortage of butchers at industrial slaughterhouses has left farmers with too many pigs on their farms, leading to warnings that 10,000 pigs a week could have to be destroyed. It
The EU has offered to cut 80% of checks on some goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland in an effort to avoid a post-Brexit trade clash. It has drawn up plans designed to ease the flow of items across the Irish Sea, including chilled meats, to put an end to the so-called “sausage
UK economic growth picked up in August as bars, restaurants and festivals benefited from a first full month without COVID restrictions in England, official figures show. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.4% month-on-month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – slightly below experts’ average forecast of 0.5% growth. However the report also
A major global shipping company has blamed a backlog of containers at UK ports for a decision to divert vessels elsewhere, threatening delays to deliveries as the pre-Christmas trade rush gets underway. Maersk said it was re-routing one 80,000-tonne container ship per week from Felixstowe, the UK’s largest commercial port, to unload elsewhere in Europe.
The number of job vacancies hit a record high of 1.1 million in the three months to September, as the post-pandemic labour market continued to recover. The Office for National Statistics said the number of job vacancies increased by 318,000, with all industry sectors above or equal to the levels seen between January to March
Big Ideas live will explore the challenges facing the economy as we come out of the pandemic. It will look at how business can fire up the UK, but also at the challenges they face in doing so. What are the jobs which will be created, post pandemic, and where in the country? And with
A £50m cash injection will enable Liberty Steel to restart production in Rotherham, saving hundreds of jobs. The investment is part of a wider restructuring of Liberty’s owner, GFG Alliance, also involving Liberty Primary Metals Australia. GFG was forced to seek new funding when its key lender, Greensill Capital, collapsed. The plant in Rotherham has
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has told Sky News that the price cap on consumers’ energy bills “will not be moved” this winter and he is “convinced” that the UK won’t suffer gas shortages in the coming months. Speaking to the Trevor Phillips On Sunday show, Mr Kwarteng said he was “convinced we will have full
The business secretary has vowed to keep energy prices capped this winter despite soaring wholesale prices to shield millions of consumers from price hikes this Christmas. Kwasi Kwarteng said keeping the cap in place is “non-negotiable” and did not set out any additional support for struggling businesses after some company bosses and some Tory MPs
Amber Rudd, the former cabinet minister, is joining a new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that will float in London and target a merger in the renewable energy sector. Sky News has learnt that Ms Rudd, who served as secretary of state for energy and climate change between May 2015 and July 2016, is to
Boris Johnson has appointed the former boss of Tesco as an expert supply chain adviser. Sir David Lewis, former chief executive of the supermarket giant, will assist both the prime minister and newly appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Stephen Barclay on both immediate improvements and any necessary long-term changes to UK supply chains
Royal Mail has launched a drive to take on more than 20,000 seasonal workers – just as new figures illustrate how employers are struggling to fill roles. Temporary staff are needed to sort high volumes of parcels, Christmas cards and letters for Royal Mail and its Parcelforce Worldwide arm from late October through to early
The gap between electricity supply and demand is expected to be narrower this winter than last as the country battles an energy crunch but there should be no disruption from the lights or gas flames going out, according to key industry reports. System operator National Grid released eagerly awaited forecasts covering both gas and electricity
The price of natural gas is soaring – and both equity and bond markets are again fretting about surging inflation. The cost of wholesale gas for next-day delivery in the UK today hit an all-time high of £3.55 per therm (one therm is equal to 100 cubic feet of natural gas), a rise of 27%,
Wholesale gas costs reached new uncharted territory on Wednesday as financial markets fret over the impact of inflation on the global recovery from the coronavirus crisis. The gas contract for next-day delivery in the UK breached £3/therm for the first time on Wednesday morning and was as high as £3.20 at one stage. Market experts
Just 127 of the 300 visas issued for international HGV drivers to come to the UK have been granted, Boris Johnson has admitted. The prime minister argued supply chain problems have been caused “very largely by the strength of the economic recovery”. He told BBC Breakfast: “What we said to the road haulage industry was
There are nearly 1,800 more streets across Britain where the average home is valued at more than £1m compared with a year ago, new figures have shown. Some 11,673 streets in September 2021 had an average property price into seven figures, which was 1,782 more than the 9,891 last September, according to property firm Zoopla.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce a £500m expansion of government action to tackle unemployment and support job seekers following the end of the furlough scheme. In a speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Monday, Mr Sunak will outline fresh funding for schemes designed to increase the chances of employment for
A British logistics start-up backed by the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and other titans of the technology world is raising tens of millions of pounds to help it satisfy booming demand for its services. Sky News has learnt that Beacon, which helps companies to manage their supply chains more efficiently, has sealed a $50m (£37m)
The restaurant empire founded by Sir Terence Conran is to change hands for the first time in nearly a decade after its owners entered exclusive talks with a little-known private equity investor. Sky News has learnt that D&D, which owns prominent London restaurants such as the Bluebird in Chelsea, Coq d’Argent in the heart of
Sir Keir Starmer has called on the government to take “emergency action to get a grip” on the HGV driver shortage causing fuel and food shortages. The Labour leader said the prime minister needs to deploy the 150 army drivers that are on standby now to petrol stations across the UK after an independent fuel
Some 400,000 more lorry drivers are needed to plug a shortfall across Europe, according to consultancy Transport Intelligence. The same estimates suggest that Poland needs at least 120,000 drivers, while Germany and France also have a shortage of more than 40,000 each. The industry estimates that the UK needs 100,000 drivers to partly alleviate supply
About 120,000 pigs could be culled and their carcasses dumped because of a shortage of butchers, the industry has warned. A workforce shortfall has meant farms are running out of space to keep the animals that should already have gone for meat, raising welfare concerns. While the sector had previously warned of the problems faced,
Pre-departure tests for anyone travelling to the UK are being reintroduced as the government continues to gather information on the new Omicron COVID variant. The move coincides with Nigeria being placed on the red travel list – and represents the biggest change to the UK’s travel rules in quite some time. What’s the latest? All
A 12% rise in the energy price cap has taken effect amid warnings further increases are inevitable in the months ahead as wholesale costs surge in a time of “chaos” for the wider economy. Labour, which has claimed a “winter of discontent” looms, accused the government of complacency over “the fuel crisis, energy costs crisis,
Energy firm Igloo, along with two others, have confirmed they are ceasing to trade as the record surge in wholesale energy costs continue to take their toll on small suppliers. Industry regulator Ofgem said the customers of Igloo, Symbio Energy and ENSTROGA would be sheltered through the appointment of a new supplier in due course.
Retailer Next has called for the government to take a “more decisive” approach as it warned a lack of foreign workers could hamper Christmas shopping deliveries. The business, led by Conservative peer Lord Wolfson, suggested that after the “widely predicted” HGV driver shortage crisis it should act to avert further looming problems in areas such
The first “very tentative signs of stabilisation” are being seen on petrol forecourts, the transport secretary has said, following days of long queues and closed pumps at some filling stations across the country. Grant Shapps said the sooner people returned to their normal habits and stopped panic buying petrol and diesel, the sooner the fuel
Petrol retailers hoping for a return to normal after motorists drained pumps over the weekend have faced yet more forecourt queues – as parts of the economy started to feel the strain. In some areas, up to 90% of pumps ran dry, according to industry estimates – and there was little sign of the panic-buying