Business

An estate agency group backed by the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group is being put up for sale in the latest sign of corporate activity in the sector. Sky News understands that LDC has hired bankers from Clearwater International to oversee a sale of Lomond Group. A process is expected to kick off

Heineken is investing £39m in more than 600 of its pubs in the UK – in a move it says will bring 62 back from the dead. The Dutch brewer said the cash injection into its Star Pubs operation will create more than 1,000 jobs. According to Star Pubs, 612 pubs are set to benefit,

The world’s second-largest steel company has warned the government that a planning verdict due this week could lead to a key division quitting the UK. Sky News has seen a letter sent by ArcelorMittal to Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary, in which it says that a decision to allow the closure and redevelopment of part

Ordinary investors will be awarded ‘bonus’ shares in NatWest Group if they hold onto stock they acquire in the taxpayer-backed bank, under a plan expected to be finalised by ministers later this month. Sky News has learnt key details of the options being explored by the Treasury for a multibillion pound retail offer of NatWest shares,

Entain, the FTSE 100 gambling group, has been rebuffed by the former bosses of bookies Coral and Skybet in its hunt for a new chief executive. Sky News has learnt that Entain, which owns Ladbrokes, approached Andy Hornby, who now runs Wagamama’s parent company, and Richard Flint, who holds a portfolio of roles, about the

A former top Post Office lawyer has been accused of telling the Horizon IT inquiry a “big fat lie” over his knowledge of a bug in the system that could have stopped wrongful prosecutions of sub-postmasters in their tracks. Jarnail Singh was a senior in-house lawyer and subsequently head of criminal law at the Post

Official figures have raised fears of a deepening public sector drag on the the UK’s economic recovery from recession. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that productivity in the public sector, dominated by education and healthcare, deteriorated between the third and fourth quarters of 2023. It measured a 1.0% decline over the

HSBC is set to become the latest major international bank to remove the European Union-imposed bonus cap that had applied to its UK-based workers. The London headquartered lender’s shareholders voted in favour of scrapping the limit at its Annual General Meeting, the company said. The move was recommended by the board after the UK government

Goldman Sachs is removing a cap on bonuses for London-based staff, paving the way for it to resume making multimillion pound payouts to its best-performing traders and dealmakers. Sky News can exclusively reveal that the Wall Street banking giant notified its UK employees on Thursday that it had decided to abolish the existing pay ratio

One of the world’s leading economic authorities has warned the UK that borrowing should remain expensive until the rate of price rises eases further and stays there. Interest rates, which are at a post-2008-era high of 5.25%, should stay there, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Money latest:Tips for plane upgrades;

The US central bank, known as the Fed, has again kept interest rates high – at 5.25% to 5.5%. It comes despite the bank signaling in January that interest rate cuts were around the corner. Money latest: Bitcoin suffers nightmare month – and it’s just got worse Progress in bringing down rates and making borrowing

Shifting expectations for UK interest rate cuts have contributed to a dip in house price growth, according to a closely watched measure. Nationwide reported a 0.4% dip in average property costs last month compared with March, taking the annual rate of growth to 0.6% from 1.6%. The lender’s report said the easing reflected “ongoing affordability

A former boss of Camelot, the National Lottery operator, will be named this week as the next chairman of the Post Office as ministers seek to draw a line under the ugly row surrounding the exit of his predecessor. Sky News has learnt that the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has offered the chairmanship

An Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle has conceded defeat in its bid to buy The Daily Telegraph after its ownership was effectively blocked by the government. RedBird IMI announced it had placed The Telegraph and The Spectator titles up for sale, declaring that its ownership was “no longer feasible”. The move was confirmed after ministers revealed plans

Items bought in shops are becoming more expensive at the slowest pace in more than two years, according to latest industry figures which show that some prices are actually falling. It means that goods, such as clothes and food, are becoming more costly but far less than before, according to the shop price index from

Getir, the grocery delivery app, has abandoned a European expansion that is set to result in the loss of about 1,500 jobs in the UK. Sky News had previously revealed that the Turkey-based company, which means “to bring” in Turkish, had successfully raised money from investors to fund its withdrawals from the UK, Germany and

Blackstone, the American private equity behemoth, is this weekend finalising a revised offer to buy the company which owns the music catalogues of Shakira and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Sky News has learnt that Blackstone is preparing to lodge an improved bid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF) as early as Monday. Its offer will

Monzo, the fintech which has become one of Britain’s biggest consumer banking groups, is this weekend putting the finishing touches to an expanded fundraising involving one of the world’s best-known technology investors. Sky News has learnt that Monzo has agreed terms with Hedosophia, an early backer of Airbnb and Uber, for it to become a

Jeremy Hunt is convening a summit aimed at enticing more companies to London’s stock market amid an accelerating exodus of businesses being picked off by overseas and financial predators. Sky News has learnt that the Treasury has invited the bosses of some of Britain’s most prominent private companies to attend a meeting next month at

The owner of Superdry’s flagship store in central London is weighing a challenge to a rescue plan that would impose steep haircuts on the struggling chain’s landlords. Sky News has learnt that M&G, the London-listed asset manager, has engaged lawyers from Hogan Lovells to scrutinise a restructuring plan launched by Superdry earlier this month. The