Business

Mortgage payers are now in the minority in the UK. Data from the census reveals that there are more people renting, and more people owning their homes outright, than there are people still paying off their mortgage. Within the EU just three countries – Germany, Austria and Denmark – have more renters as a share

NatWest has reported a better-than-expected surge in half-year profits as the taxpayer-backed lender reels from the Nigel Farage de-banking debacle. At the end of a week in which its chief executive Dame Alison Rose was forced to quit for her own role in the row, the bank revealed £3.6bn in pre-tax profits – up from

British towns have lost 6,000 retail outlets over the past five years, though the vacancy rate has improved in some settings, figures show. The biggest 650 towns across Britain have lost a combined 6,000 retail outlets, such as shops and restaurants, since 2018, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said. Its vacancy monitor, compiled in conjunction

Coutts chief executive Peter Flavel will stand down over his handling of Nigel Farage’s accounts. In a statement from the new NatWest chief executive, it was announced that Mr Flavel had stepped down by mutual consent and with immediate effect. “We have fallen below the bank’s high standards of personal service”, Mr Flavel said. “As

Tech giant Meta is the latest company to beat Wall Street revenue expectations as the number of people using its platforms grew, but Metaverse losses mounted and AI spending rose. Revenue at the WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook parent company was up 11% to $32bn (£24.7bn), greater than the 7% growth expected by analysts. User numbers

Dame Alison Rose’s fate was sealed when reporters checking in with Downing Street and the Treasury were told the PM and chancellor had “significant concerns” about her conduct. That communication – brief, unambiguous and deadly – was in contrast to the exchange with a journalist that ultimately cost Dame Alison her position as Britain’s highest

NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose has stepped down as chief executive effective immediately after she admitted to being the source of an inaccurate story about Nigel Farage’s bank account. Her four-year tenure as chief executive has ended in ignominy over her admission that she had discussed Mr Farage’s bank details with a BBC journalist. Howard

City AM, the London-based business newspaper, is close to calling in administrators after a weeks-long search for a buyer failed to produce a solvent deal. Sky News has learnt that the directors of the title’s parent company are preparing to appoint BDO, the accountancy firm, to commence an insolvency process in the coming days. Sources

British mobile operator Virgin Media O2 has announced plans to lay off up to 2,000 employees by the end of the year. The telecoms giant reportedly started to hand some staff redundancy notices on Monday night. The job cuts will amount to more than a tenth of the mobile operator’s workforce, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Ryanair says it is operating a “full schedule” to wildfire-hit Greece including the island of Rhodes as evacuation flights get under way. The company’s chief financial officer also said, while revealing the airline’s first quarter results, that there had been no surge of cancellations due to the record-setting heatwave hitting southern Europe more widely. Neil

The veteran chief executive of M&C Saatchi, the top London advertising agency, is to step down, marking the latest phase of a leadership overhaul at the group. Sky News has learnt that Moray MacLennan, who has worked for M&C since it was founded in 1995, is to retire from the company in the coming months. M&C

Takeaways and betting shops could be converted into homes more easily as the government launches a review of extensions, conversions and renovations. In proposals to be formally announced on Monday, new freedoms to enlarge existing homes will also be outlined. The idea is to make it easier to “build upwards and outwards, with new extensions

Jeremy Clarkson has warned some bottles of his Hawkstone Cider might explode. The former Top Gear presenter, who owns the craft drink brand, warned there had been a “massive cock-up” in a sweary Twitter update. He wrote: “If the cap has the code L3160, open it underwater, pour it away and get in touch for

The former owners of The Daily Telegraph are courting buyers for Yodel, one of Britain’s biggest parcel delivery businesses, as they race to shore up their finances. Sky News has learnt that the Barclay family is working with bankers on a review of strategic options for Yodel, which last year handled nearly 200 million parcels,

Guy Hands, one of Britain’s most prominent financiers, is to step down as the boss of Terra Firma Capital Partners, the buyout firm he set up more than 20 years ago. Sky News can reveal that Mr Hands, whose business empire has spanned sectors from recorded music to care homes, told stakeholders on Friday that

Ministers have rebuffed pleas for financial support from a London-listed electric battery manufacturer which faces collapse within days. Sky News has learnt that efforts by AMTE Power to hold substantive discussions with Whitehall about emergency funding have stalled. City sources said that AMTE’s chief executive, Alan Hollis, had been left frustrated by a lack of

The chief executive of NatWest Group has apologised to Nigel Farage for the closure of his bank accounts and ordered an immediate review of the processes followed by its Coutts subsidiary. In a letter to Mr Farage seen by Sky News, Dame Alison Rose said she regretted “deeply inappropriate comments” about the former UKIP leader

Average mortgage rates have fallen for the first time in months. Both two and five-year fixed-rate deals have dropped, according to data from financial information company Moneyfacts. The average rate on a two-year fixed deal is now 6.79%, down from 6.81%, while the average five-year rate dipped to 6.31%, a decrease from 6.33%. Rates haven’t

Banks will be forced to give customers three months’ notice of account closures and to provide a full explanation of the reasons under reforms that could be unveiled in the coming days. Sky News has learnt that the Treasury plans to force British lenders to be more transparent with customers amid an escalating freedom of

The rate of price rises has dropped to 7.9% in the year up to June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation shows prices are still rising, just at a slower pace than before, as the rate fell from 8.7% in the year to May. Another