Business

A housebuilder owned by the investment firm Elliott Advisors has tabled a secret takeover offer for Crest Nicholson, its London-listed rival. Sky News has learnt that Avant Homes, which is run by former Persimmon chief Jeff Fairburn, made an all-share proposal to the board of Crest last month. The bid, which City sources said had

Forget the UK general election. The poll that financial markets will be watching most closely over the next few days is the second round parliamentary ‘run-off’ in France this Sunday. The French poll is unpredictable, to say the least. The first round of voting last week raised the prospect of a hung parliament and prompted

Cineworld is drawing up plans to axe dozens of British cinemas as part of a radical restructuring that would also include extensive rent cuts. Sky News has learnt that the company, which until last year was listed on the London Stock Exchange, is considering closing about a quarter of its roughly-100 British multiplexes. Cineworld also

For the first time since the pandemic a million cars were sold in the first half of a year, according to industry data. But the numbers are still well below the 2019 pre-pandemic year sales and demand from individual private buyers has collapsed amid a cost of living crisis, figures from the Society of Motor

A former chair of the Post Office has told the Horizon IT scandal inquiry that in-house lawyers advised him against sharing a report he commissioned on the accounting system. Tim Parker, who held the role for almost seven years from October 2015, said he regretted taking the advice the findings of the review by Jonathan

Whoever wins the next general election will face extremely tough choices on taxation and spending. As the independent Institute of Fiscal Studies has pointed out, both Labour and the Conservatives have ruled out changes to the big four revenue-raisers, income tax, national insurance, VAT and corporation tax. And, while both parties have made relatively modest

Financial markets are giving their first reaction to the early evidence of a record-breaking win for Labour in the general election. A respected exit poll by Ipsos, carried out for broadcasters including Sky News, was the first to put an estimate on the size of the majority expected for Sir Keir Starmer’s party. The 170

Sanctions imposed against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have failed to achieve any of their aims, the country’s ambassador has told Sky News. Andrey Kelin was speaking to Sky News as an investigation by Sky’s Ed Conway revealed glaring loopholes in the restrictions regime, which has allowed British companies – legally – to help

The Conservative Party will on Wednesday unveil a letter signed by scores of small business-owners in a last-ditch bid to convince undecided voters that they can be trusted as the stewards of Britain’s economy. Sky News understands that the Tories are planning to publish a letter signed by between 100 and 150 SME bosses that

Inside Out has become the first film of the year to take over $1bn worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film of the year. It is the first to reach the milestone since Warner Brothers’ movie Barbie last year, gaining the accolade faster than any animated film in history. Image: Pic: Disney/Pixar It has held the

A planned strike at the Port Talbot steelworks has been suspended. The Unite union is suspending its industrial action, it said, after the news on Thursday that the Indian conglomerate owner, Tata, would close the site earlier than first announced in response. The closure date is now 7 July, the day before the previously planned

As the latest reduction in the energy price cap takes effect, households are being warned of a big lift in bills ahead due to higher wholesale gas prices. The cap, which limits what suppliers can charge per unit of energy, fell by 7% overnight in the wake of the latest three-month review by industry regulator

The outgoing boss of Boots is leaving to run Veonet, one of Europe’s largest chains of ophthalmology clinics. Sky News has learnt that Sebastian James is to become the new group chief executive of Veonet, which is owned by the private equity firm PAI Partners and Canada’s Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. He will leave Boots

The chief executive of Boots, Britain’s biggest high street pharmacy chain, is quitting after its owner’s plans for a £5bn sale or stock market listing stalled. Sky News has learnt that Sebastian James, who has run Boots since 2018, will leave the company in November. City sources said this weekend that he had accepted a

Britain’s fourth-biggest household energy supplier is lining up bankers to explore options including bringing in a new investor or a sale, 15 years after it launched in a bid to challenge the industry’s oligopoly. Sky News has learnt that OVO Group, which was founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick, is close to hiring Rothschild to assist with

Nationwide, HSBC and Virgin Money customers have been affected by problems affecting their banking services. Nationwide said there was a “delay with some customers receiving their salary or pension payments today”. Meanwhile, HSBC and Virgin Money said it was aware of issues affecting its online and mobile banking – with the former saying it was

An expert on the Post Office Horizon IT systems has denied suggestions he was “protecting the monster” in evidence he gave to the trial of a sub-postmaster who was wrongly convicted while pregnant. Former senior Fujitsu engineer Gareth Jenkins told the Post Office Inquiry he did not hide glitches in the branch accounting system at

Around three million UK households will see their mortgage repayments rise over the next two years as high interest rates continue to take effect, the Bank of England has said. As many as 400,000 homes are likely to experience “very large increases” of more than 50%, its financial policy committee said. Money latest: 27 areas

A British tech champion which uses ultrasound to simulate the sense of touch is halving its workforce and preparing to offload one of its two core divisions. Sky News has learnt that Ultraleap, which was spun out of Bristol University, informed staff on Wednesday that it was proposing to slash jobs amid shifting priorities at

The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group – the UK’s biggest lender – has warned whoever wins the general election that they will not be able to fuel growth by increasing government borrowing. Charlie Nunn said the UK’s national debt had been forced higher in the last decade and a half due to “massive shocks”