Business

Potential suitors have again begun circling ITV, Britain’s biggest terrestrial commercial broadcaster, after a prolonged period of share price weakness and renewed questions about its long-term strategic destiny. Sky News has learnt that a number of possible bidders for parts or all of the company, whose biggest shows include Love Island, have in recent weeks

The family which has owned Ann Summers, the lingerie and sex toy retailer, for more than half a century is to explore options for the business which could include a partial or majority sale. Sky News has learnt that the Gold family is close to hiring Interpath, the corporate advisory firm, to work on a

Bosch will cut up to 5,500 jobs as it struggles with slow electric vehicle sales and competition from Chinese imports. It is the latest blow to the European car industry after Volkswagen and Ford announced thousands of job cuts in the last month. Cheaper Chinese-made electric cars have made it trickier for European manufacturers to

Cambridge University’s wealthiest college is putting the long-term lease of London’s O2 arena up for sale. Sky News has learnt that Trinity College has instructed property advisers to begin sounding out prospective investors about a deal. Trinity, which ranks among Britain’s biggest landowners, acquired the site in 2009 for a reported £24m. The O2, which

Official accounts have revealed for the first time how much the King’s 2023 coronation cost UK taxpayers. According to the accounts, the government spent £72m on the coronation – the first in Britain since Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953. The figure includes £50.3m of costs attributed to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS),

Nine water companies have been blocked from using customer money to fund “undeserved” bonuses by the industry’s regulator. Ofwat said it had stepped in to use its new powers over water firms that cannot show that bonuses are sufficiently linked to performance. The blocked payouts amount to 73% of the total executive awards proposed across

Nvidia, the chipmaker driving the boom in artificial intelligence (AI), has seen fresh falls in its share price following an earnings report amid continued supply chain constraints. Its third quarter trading update showed demand for its top generative AI chips would continue to outstrip supply for at least a year. Some would argue it is

Ford has announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs across Europe – including 800 in the UK. The car manufacturer said the cuts are needed as part of plans to bolster its competitiveness amid the stuttering drive to an all-electric vehicle (EV) future that has hit sales. Ford said the cuts would take place over the

The Bank of England governor has said industry lobby group the British Retail Consortium (BRC) was right to warn of job losses as a result of the budget. There is a “risk” of unemployment rising due to increases in employers’ national insurance contributions and minimum wage rises announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves last month, Andrew

Dozens of retail bosses have signed a letter to the chancellor warning of dire consequences for the economy and jobs if she pushes ahead with budget plans which, they say, will raise their costs by £7bn next year alone. There were 79 signatories to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC’s) response to Rachel Reeves’ first budget

The chief executive of the City watchdog is at the centre of speculation that he has thrown his hat into the ring in the race to succeed Simon Case in the civil service’s top job. Sky News has been told by a number of sources that Nikhil Rathi has expressed an interest in the cabinet

Energy bills are to rise again next year, according to a respected forecaster. Costs from January to March are projected to rise another 1% to £1,736 a year for the average user, according to research firm Cornwall Insight. The energy price cap, which sets a limit on how much companies can charge per unit of

Cineworld’s hedge fund backers are drawing up plans to return the cinema operator to the public markets amid continuing uncertainty about the future of dozens of its British sites. Sky News has learnt that the company’s owners are at the early stages of considering a New York listing for the business, with the first half

A former Conservative cabinet minister has thrown his hat into the ring to become the inaugural chair of Britain’s new independent football regulator. Sky News has learnt that Chris Heaton-Harris, who stood down as an MP at July’s general election, is among those who applied for the role ahead of a deadline on Friday. Mr

Pizza Hut’s biggest UK franchisee has begun approaching potential bidders as it scrambles to mitigate the looming impact of tax hikes announced in last month’s Budget. Sky News has learnt that Heart With Smart (HWS), which operates roughly 140 Pizza Hut dine-in restaurants, has instructed advisers to find a buyer or raise tens of millions

The former head of Britain’s audit watchdog is being lined up as the next chairman of high street billionaire Mike Ashley’s London-listed retail empire. Sky News has learnt that Sir Jon Thompson, who joined the board of Frasers Group earlier this year as a non-executive director, is expected to take over from David Daly at

Typhoo Tea is preparing to enter administration after 120 years in business, amid declining sales and mounting debts. Typhoo, one of Britain’s oldest tea companies, has filed a court notice to explore potential solutions, with plans to appoint EY as administrators. In a statement to Sky News, chief executive Dave McNulty said: “This action has

The UK economy grew by 0.1% between July and September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, despite the small positive GDP growth recorded in the third quarter, the economy shrank by 0.1% in September, dragging down overall growth for the quarter. The growth was also slower than what had been expected by

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has criticised post-financial crash regulation, saying it has “gone too far” – setting a course for cutting red tape in her first speech to Britain’s most important gathering of financiers and business leaders. Increased rules on lenders that followed the 2008 crisis have had “unintended consequences”, Ms Reeves will say in her

Water company United Utilities has reported hundreds of millions in profit as it seeks to further increase customer bills. The utility serving seven million customers in the northwest of England recorded £335.7m in underlying operating profits for the first half of this year, up nearly 23% from £271.1m a year ago. It comes as the