Business

Thames Water has secured a £3bn injection to avoid running out of cash. There were fears the UK’s biggest water supplier, which serves 16 million customers, could have run out of money by Christmas. But the cash injection secures its financial future for at least the next year, or possibly until the end of May

The chancellor will need to spend an extra £20bn by the end of the parliament to maintain public investment at its present levels. Rachel Reeves has promised to unveil a “budget for investment” next week, while reversing the “years of underinvestment” overseen by the previous Conservative government. However, this would involve taking on billions of

Rachel Reeves will rewrite the government’s fiscal rules in next week’s budget to allow her to increase borrowing for public investment by around £50bn. Speaking to Sky News in Washington DC, the chancellor said that the self-imposed rule under which borrowing must be falling by the fifth year of economic forecasts will be redefined from

The energy supplier which rescued rival Bulb after its collapse in 2021 has repaid the final tranche of government support provided to secure the deal, delivering what it will say this week amounted to an unexpected £1.5bn profit for taxpayers. Sky News has learnt that Octopus Energy will announce on Thursday that it has paid

Without urgent intervention the UK looks set to see “the end of a clubbing era that has defined generations”, according to industry experts. Ahead of next week’s autumn budget, Michael Kill, the chief executive of the Nighttime Industries Association (NTIA), has spoken to Sky News about the urgent need for government support to protect a “vital

One person has died and 10 have been hospitalised after an outbreak of E. coli linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said. Infections were reported between 27 September and 11 October across 10 US states; Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded its projection for UK growth this year by 0.4% to 1.1% – the largest upward revision for any advanced economy. In a boost to Chancellor Rachel Reeves as she prepares to travel to Washington for the IMF’s annual meeting this week, its latest world economic outlook predicts strengthening

Bonuses to water company bosses rose this year to £9.1m – despite record sewage discharges and financial woes at some utilities. Executives from English and Welsh water firms received a total of £9,126,858 in the 2023/2024 financial year, up from £9,012,777 a year earlier, according to analysis of company filings done by the Liberal Democrats.

The prospects of a rescue deal being struck for a British hypersonic aviation pioneer appeared to recede this weekend when it emerged that talks with a Gulf-based state fund had stalled. Sky News has learnt that negotiations between Reaction Engines and the UAE’s Strategic Development Fund, the investment arm of the UAE’s Tawazun Council, about

Ministers will oversee the HS2 project as the cost of delivering the high-speed train line has been allowed to “spiral out of control”, the transport secretary has said. Louise Haigh announced on Sunday she has launched an independent review into how costs have been allowed to balloon “without sufficient explanation”. The transport secretary and her

Ministers are exploring plans to hand ownership of the Post Office to thousands of sub-postmasters across Britain in an historic shake-up at the 364 year-old institution. Sky News has learnt that the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has asked BCG, the management consultancy, to examine options for mutualising the Post Office. The work is

Tony Danker, the former director-general of the CBI, is to receive in the region of £500,000 from the business lobbying group in a settlement reached nearly a year after he was ousted in the midst of a wider sexual misconduct scandal. Sky News has learnt that Mr Danker, who left the organisation in April 2023,

Overhauling workers’ rights could cost businesses around £5bn a year, the government has said. The Employment Rights Bill, which aims to tackle low pay and poor working conditions, is being debated by MPs today as it passes through its next stage in parliament. Within the bill are a series of reforms branded the biggest overhaul

Baillie Gifford, the Edinburgh-based fund manager, has told staff to return to full-time office working, the latest in a string of employers to cool on pandemic era remote working practices. Sky News understands that Baillie Gifford’s roughly-1,800 employees were notified in a video call several weeks ago that they were expected to attend its offices

The home shopping group behind fashion brands such as Simply Be and Jacamo, received a takeover proposal from Very Group shortly before it agreed to be taken private by a member of its founding family. Sky News has learnt that Very Group – which is chaired by the former Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi – made

A collection of bondholders in Thames Water are mobilising to protect their interests amid an intensifying battle to avert the company’s nationalisation. Sky News has learnt that Class B bondholders were notified on Thursday they would no longer be part of the same group as the Class A noteholders represented by Jefferies, the investment bank,

Britain’s new National Wealth Fund has struck a £1bn deal with two of Britain’s biggest high street lenders to retrofit thousands of homes to upgrade their energy-efficiency. Sky News has learnt that the government-backed vehicle has agreed with Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group to provide partial guarantees on loans to housing associations across Britain. An

The parent company of PizzaExpress is hiring bankers to help it refinance a £335m bond ahead of its maturity, amid tough trading conditions for casual dining operators. Sky News has learnt that Wheel Topco is close to appointing PJT Partners, the investment bank, to advise it on talks with its debtholders. PizzaExpress trades from 359

A trio of buyout firms have been shortlisted to buy a stake in the UK operations of Grant Thornton, one of Britain’s six biggest accountancy firms. Sky News has learnt that Cinven, EQT and New Mountain Capital – the backer of Grant Thornton’s US business – have made the cut in a process that could

The CBI, the struggling business lobbying group, is in talks to sub-let parts of its vast London headquarters as it continues to seek cost-cutting opportunities in the wake of last year’s near-collapse. Sky News has learnt that the CBI has approached some of its trade association members to gauge their appetite to lease parts of