Football Manager players will no longer be able to manage ‘Manchester United’, following a settlement between the club and the games developer Sports Interactive. Instead, from FM22 onwards, the Manchester United football club will be renamed “Manchester UFC” or “Man UFC”, the games maker announced on Friday. Fans of the game and the club have
Business
The creators of the long-running and often controversial cartoon South Park have penned a new deal to bring 14 more movies to screens. Matt Stone and Trey Parker have also seen their show renewed through to a 30th season in a deal thought to be worth about $900 million (£650 million). The pair will make
A takeover bid for the supermarket chain Morrisons by a private equity-backed consortium has been increased to £6.7bn following speculation of a rival offer. The group led by Fortress Investment Group has increased its previous financial pitch for the Bradford-based grocer, which had been agreed by management, by £400m. It said it upped the offer
Around 15 million families will see their energy bills soar by up to £139 after the regulator hiked the price cap by the biggest increase yet. The sharp rise, which will impact half the population, is driven by a rise of more than 50% in wholesale fuel costs over the last six months with gas
A row has broken out over the “naming and shaming” of companies which fail to meet minimum pay rules, with the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) understood to be furious after it was identified as an offender. The Department for Business (BEIS) released a list of 191 firms it wanted to publicly call out for failing
Britain’s economy continues to rebound but is losing some of the earlier momentum in the face of inflationary pressures, fresh figures indicate. Growth among UK service companies, which make up the lion’s share of UK economic output, slowed to its lowest levels since March although is still strong, according to an influential poll. The sector
A UK businessman with precious stock on the container ship Ever Given has spoken of his relief that the ship has finally arrived in the UK, four months later than scheduled. The vessel, one of the largest of its kind in the world, docked at Felixstowe to offload cargo following one of the most extraordinary
Fewer contacts of people with coronavirus will be told to isolate by the NHS COVID-19 app after an update today. The “logic” which underpins how close contacts are identified and notified will be changed following a review into the NHS COVID-19 app by the health secretary, the Department for Health and Social Care says. Live
Defence and aerospace technology firm Meggitt has agreed a £6.3bn takeover deal by US firm Parker-Hannifin. The FTSE 250 company confirmed an offer from the US engineering technology giant valuing Meggitt at 800p per share. It said the move represents a 70% premium on the share value of the company at the end of trading
A former Unilever executive is being lined up to take the helm of the Whitehall agency which oversees taxpayers’ interests in businesses including the Post Office, NatWest Group and Channel 4. Sky News has learnt that Vindi Banga, who sits on the board of GlaxoSmithKline and chairs the cancer charity Marie Curie, is expected to
There are fears “many thousands” of people will lose their jobs as the furlough scheme is gradually phased out – and the government is being urged to ensure those made redundant are given help to retrain. Changes from today mean employers will be asked to contribute 20% towards the salaries of those whose wages are
The UK is “closing in on” striking an agreement in principle with New Zealand, the international trade secretary has said. Liz Truss said “great progress” had been made in the sixth round of discussions between the two sides, which took place from 19 to 30 July. “We’re closing in on an agreement in principle, with
Up to a quarter of supermarket milk deliveries by the UK’s biggest dairy supplier have been unable to get through because of a shortage of lorry drivers. Speaking to Sky News, managing director of Arla Foods UK Ash Amirahmadi warned of a “summer of disruption” unless bold action is taken by the government to tackle
Amazon’s new boss is facing a sales slowdown as the breakneck pace of expansion fuelled by stay-at-home shopping eases. Andy Jassy, who took over from founder Jeff Bezos earlier this month, saw shares fall 7% in after-hours trading as his first set of results as chief executive revealed revenues short of Wall Street expectations. Second
Between 1.1 million to 1.6 million workers remain on full or partial furlough as taxpayer aid for the wage support scheme prepares to be eased further, according to official estimates. A survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that businesses continued to claim COVID-19 salary aid on behalf of between 4% and 5%
The competition watchdog has imposed fines totalling £100m in the latest case of so-called price gouging that saw patients lose access to a free drug on the NHS. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that pharmaceutical company Advanz charged “excessive and unfair prices” for supplying liothyronine tablets, which are used to treat thyroid hormone
Airlines are putting pressure on the government to exempt fully-vaccinated Americans and EU visitors from quarantine on their arrival to the UK. Amid widespread reports ministers could announce such a move as early as Wednesday, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic – as well as Heathrow Airport – have claimed a recent trial demonstrates how international
Britain’s economy will grow faster than any major economy in Europe as it rebounds from the COVID-19 recession and emerges from lockdown, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted. In the latest update to its World Economic Outlook – its periodical look at the state of the global economy – the IMF forecast that the
China’s government has just provided investors with another reminder of why they should tread carefully when putting money into the country. At the end of last month, the Chinese ride-hailing app Didi made history when it floated on the New York Stock Exchange with a valuation of $70bn, making it the biggest IPO of a
Ministers are reportedly exploring how to block China’s state-owned nuclear energy company from future power projects in the UK. The change in Britain’s stance towards China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) could affect the £20bn Sizewell C nuclear energy project in Suffolk, the Financial Times reported. France’s EDF is scheduled to build the Sizewell site