Business

Sajid Javid, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Greg Clark, Rishi Sunak, Grant Shapps and Kemi Badenoch: the list of Tory chancellors and business secretaries who have sought to unlock the puzzle of the British steel industry’s future in recent years is almost as long as the number of active production facilities remaining in Britain. And as the issue

Little has been heard from Mohamed Fayed during the last decade. He sold Harrods to Qatar Holdings as long ago as May 2010 and his other main trophy asset in the UK, Fulham FC, was offloaded to the US businessman Shahid Khan in July 2013. That latter deal brought down the curtain on a controversial

Comparing the UK economy with its pre-pandemic size has become an almost totemic way of highlighting its sluggish performance post-COVID. It has certainly been a gift for Opposition politicians and in particular when – in September last year – the Office for National Statistics (ONS) produced evidence that the UK was the only economy in

House prices fell by 5.3% in the year to August – a bigger-than-expected drop, according to Nationwide. The lender’s figures were released as interest rate hikes by the Bank of England to tackle inflation send mortgage payments higher – as well as rental costs. Additional housing bills are piling more misery on families at a

The owner of HMV is finalising a deal to rescue the majority of Wilko’s operations, salvaging more than 8,000 jobs at the stricken high street retailer. Sky News has learnt that Wilko’s administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), began consulting the chain’s major creditors on Thursday on the terms of an agreement with Doug Putman. One source with

The UK car industry has declared it is “recovering” after production last month rose by almost a third compared to a year ago. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported a 31.6% hike in output during July versus the same month in 2022. It said the 76,451 vehicles made represented a sixth consecutive

Job losses at Wilko could be announced on Thursday after an offer to buy the entire business reportedly failed to “pass basic checks”, according to a union representing workers. The GMB said it had been told redundancy plans at the discount homeware chain, which were said to have been suspended earlier this week, could be

The number of house and flat sales in the UK this year is set to be the lowest in a decade, according to new figures from a leading property website. Zoopla’s monthly house price index, which tracks the number of homes sold subject to contract, found levels were down a fifth so far compared to

Redundancies among Wilko’s 12,500-strong workforce have been suspended while further bids for the collapsed retailer are considered, a union has said. The GMB said it had been assured by administrators PwC about the move during a meeting on Tuesday morning. The discount homeware goods company collapsed earlier this month after struggling from inflationary pressures, competition

The expansion of Sadiq Khan’s controversial ultra low emissions zone (ULEZ) will come into force on Tuesday despite facing a number of political hurdles. The zone – which charges motorists £12.50 a day if their car does not comply with emissions standards – will cover every London borough and not just the city centre, as

Three members of the quintet that founded M&C Saatchi nearly 30 years ago have placed a £1m bet on the revival of the advertising agency’s fortunes. Sky News has learnt that David Kershaw, Bill Muirhead and Jeremy Sinclair, have collectively invested the sum in M&C’s London-listed stock. It takes their combined stake to about 6%

A trio of former Deliveroo executives have secured investment for a new property search engine start-up backed by a Google artificial intelligence fund. Sky News understands that Jitty will announce this week that it has raised $2m from investors led by Gradient Ventures, an AI fund established by the global technology behemoth. Jitty, which will

“When the time comes, disconnect the main flex cable.” Besides being a short guy named Tom, I never felt I had any sort of Mission: Impossible credentials until I donned safety googles and got handed a screwdriver and plastic scalpel at what’s thought to be the UK’s biggest phone recycling factory. Fixing the screen on

The owner of HMV has approached a number of debt providers to back a last-gasp rescue bid for Wilko, the ailing high street retailer. Sky News understands that Doug Putman has sounded out firms including Gordon Brothers and Hilco – from which he bought HMV in 2018 – about helping to finance an offer for

The former owners of The Daily Telegraph have lined up hundreds of millions of pounds from Middle Eastern investors in a bid to wrest back control of the newspaper from Britain’s biggest high street bank. Sky News can exclusively reveal that the Barclay family lodged a proposal last week to buy back roughly £1bn of

Rail services across England will be crippled today because of another strike in the deadlocked dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Around 20,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at 14 train operators are expected to join the walk out. Trains will start later on Saturday and finish earlier and some areas

The energy regulator has confirmed a cut to its price cap that will see average household bills come down this autumn, as experts continue to warn of hikes to come during the winter months. Ofgem said the typical household paying by direct debit for gas and electricity faces an annual charge of £1,923 from October

Consumer confidence has grown again, with positive signs ahead for the UK economy, a survey says. But the picture still remains negative, according to a closely watched index of shopper sentiment. The figures, by research group GfK, suggest consumer demand has been resilient to the shocks of rising prices and more expensive borrowing. The long-running

A group of trading nations known as BRICS, which is hoping to rival the G7, is set to grow in size after inviting six new countries to join – including Iran and Saudi Arabia. BRICS – which has, until now, comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – announced the proposed expansion at

Fears for thousands of retail jobs at the ailing chain Wilko deepened on Wednesday evening when trade union officials warned that the majority of its shops were likely to close within days. Sky News has learnt that administrators at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) are in advanced talks to carve up parts of the 400-strong chain, with Poundland’s