Business

The government has extended a national security probe into the fire-sale of a leading British mobile phone technology provider whose owners include Roman Abramovich. Sky News has learnt that officials at a division of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) are to take up to 45 additional working days to scrutinise the

Waitrose has admitted to blocking rivals from opening supermarkets in close locations for close to a decade, according to the market watchdog. During an investigation between 2010 and 2019 into supermarket practices, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that Waitrose had conspired with landlords to prevent competing companies from opening stores. The practice, which

The chancellor is preparing a multibillion-pound package of tax cuts to help businesses struggling with soaring energy costs. Nadhim Zahawi is drawing up emergency plans to save companies on the brink of collapse for the incoming prime minister, who will be named on Monday. According to The Times, the chancellor believes the government can learn

The British adult subscription platform OnlyFans has had a huge jump in revenues this year, raking in more than £805m as users flocked to the site for its amateur pornographic content. Recording pre-tax profits of £374m, OnlyFans had its most significant yearly growth to date in 2021. The company’s revenues increased by 160% from £309m

The UK will enter recession before the end of this year, with growth expected to be weak into 2024. That is the latest forecast from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), which said it expects the UK economy to record three consecutive quarters of contraction – the definition of a recession – this year. However,

British households are on course for the deepest living standards squeeze in a century, with real household disposable incomes expected to fall by 10% this year and the next. The warning comes in a new report by the Resolution Foundation, which said that real earnings are falling at their fastest rate since 1997, meaning that

BrewDog has announced it will close six of its pubs, blaming spiralling costs and a “clueless government”. The craft beer firm will shut the Hop and Anchor in Aberdeen, Smithfield Market Arms in London, Hop Hub in Motherwell and its BrewDog bars in Dalston, east London; Old Street, east London; and Peterhead, Scotland. James Watt,

The Co-op has sold its petrol station business to supermarket giant Asda for £600m, it announced on Wednesday, saying the deal would free up cash for the company and strengthen its financial position. The deal includes 129 petrol forecourt sites across the country, representing 5% of Co-op’s total retail portfolio of 2,564 stores. The company

Transport for London has secured around £1.2bn in funding from the government, but the city’s mayor has warned the agreement is “far from ideal”. The funding package replaces TfL’s last bailout, which was the fourth since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Andy Byford, Transport for London commissioner, said the agreement, which

Energy price increases of more than 300% are in danger of forcing pubs and brewers across the UK out of business in the coming months, industry leaders have said. Unlike domestic customers, who are facing an 80% increase in average bills in October, businesses operate without any sort of regulated price cap, with some pub

Asda is preparing to accelerate a long-awaited move into Britain’s convenience store market with a £450m swoop on the Co-op Group’s petrol forecourt business. Sky News has learnt that Asda is the leading contender to buy the mutual’s fuel retailing arm, which includes a sizeable convenience operation. Sources said a deal could be struck as

Millions of people in the UK will not turn their heating on this winter because of rising energy bills, a survey suggests. The poll, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, showed 23% of adults plan to take this drastic move, rising to 27% for those with children at home. The results also showed 23% would be

The struggling fashion chain Joules’ hopes of securing a lifeline from the high street behemoth Next have hit a stumbling block days after it issued a fresh profits alert. Sky News has learnt that the two companies are not close to agreeing the terms of an investment from Next more than three weeks after confirming

Boris Johnson has admitted that energy bills will be “eye-watering” this winter – and the cost of heating is already “frightening” for some. Writing in The Mail on Sunday, the outgoing prime minister blamed Vladimir Putin for the worsening crisis – and claimed the Russian president “likes it”. And although Mr Johnson warned the months

Jupiter Fund Management is in talks to sell its entire stake in Starling Bank months after the digital lender’s valuation passed £2.5bn. Sky News has learnt that Jupiter, which owns close to 10% of Starling’s equity in its UK Mid Cap Fund and elsewhere across its funds portfolio, has instructed bankers at Citi to find

Drop-off fees have increased at two-thirds of the UK’s major airports since 2019, according to research. An RAC investigation found 16 of the 22 airports analysed have introduced or raised charges for dropping off passengers in the past three years. The motoring services company claimed drivers will be “stunned” by some of the “sky-high” fees.

We have never seen anything like this.  The UK has been through all sorts of ups and downs (sadly more of the latter than the former) in recent years. There was the financial crisis of 2008 and the recession that followed, a lost decade of stagnating real wages and productivity, Brexit and of course the

With the flick of a switch, fuel poverty has become a mainstream economic condition. Defined as spending 10% or more of disposable income on energy, confirmation that typical annual bills will rise from just under £2,000 to more than £3,500 means it will now apply to around half of households in England, Scotland, and Wales.

The business secretary has warned Royal Mail that a Czech billionaire’s bid to raise his stake in the company faces a national security investigation. The news was revealed by Royal Mail in a notification to the London Stock Exchange, saying that Kwasi Kwarteng “reasonably suspects” that Vesa Equity Investment might increase its stake from 22%

The government must increase its energy bills discount by at least 150% or risk pushing millions of households into financial distress. That is the warning from consumer group Which? ahead of Friday’s announcement of the energy price cap for the three months from October. It comes as British Gas announced it will donate 10% of