Business

Britain’s economy continues to rebound but is losing some of the earlier momentum in the face of inflationary pressures, fresh figures indicate. Growth among UK service companies, which make up the lion’s share of UK economic output, slowed to its lowest levels since March although is still strong, according to an influential poll. The sector

A UK businessman with precious stock on the container ship Ever Given has spoken of his relief that the ship has finally arrived in the UK, four months later than scheduled. The vessel, one of the largest of its kind in the world, docked at Felixstowe to offload cargo following one of the most extraordinary

Fewer contacts of people with coronavirus will be told to isolate by the NHS COVID-19 app after an update today. The “logic” which underpins how close contacts are identified and notified will be changed following a review into the NHS COVID-19 app by the health secretary, the Department for Health and Social Care says. Live

Defence and aerospace technology firm Meggitt has agreed a £6.3bn takeover deal by US firm Parker-Hannifin. The FTSE 250 company confirmed an offer from the US engineering technology giant valuing Meggitt at 800p per share. It said the move represents a 70% premium on the share value of the company at the end of trading

A former Unilever executive is being lined up to take the helm of the Whitehall agency which oversees taxpayers’ interests in businesses including the Post Office, NatWest Group and Channel 4. Sky News has learnt that Vindi Banga, who sits on the board of GlaxoSmithKline and chairs the cancer charity Marie Curie, is expected to

There are fears “many thousands” of people will lose their jobs as the furlough scheme is gradually phased out – and the government is being urged to ensure those made redundant are given help to retrain. Changes from today mean employers will be asked to contribute 20% towards the salaries of those whose wages are

The UK is “closing in on” striking an agreement in principle with New Zealand, the international trade secretary has said. Liz Truss said “great progress” had been made in the sixth round of discussions between the two sides, which took place from 19 to 30 July. “We’re closing in on an agreement in principle, with

Up to a quarter of supermarket milk deliveries by the UK’s biggest dairy supplier have been unable to get through because of a shortage of lorry drivers. Speaking to Sky News, managing director of Arla Foods UK Ash Amirahmadi warned of a “summer of disruption” unless bold action is taken by the government to tackle

Amazon’s new boss is facing a sales slowdown as the breakneck pace of expansion fuelled by stay-at-home shopping eases. Andy Jassy, who took over from founder Jeff Bezos earlier this month, saw shares fall 7% in after-hours trading as his first set of results as chief executive revealed revenues short of Wall Street expectations. Second

Between 1.1 million to 1.6 million workers remain on full or partial furlough as taxpayer aid for the wage support scheme prepares to be eased further, according to official estimates. A survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that businesses continued to claim COVID-19 salary aid on behalf of between 4% and 5%

The competition watchdog has imposed fines totalling £100m in the latest case of so-called price gouging that saw patients lose access to a free drug on the NHS. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that pharmaceutical company Advanz charged “excessive and unfair prices” for supplying liothyronine tablets, which are used to treat thyroid hormone

Airlines are putting pressure on the government to exempt fully-vaccinated Americans and EU visitors from quarantine on their arrival to the UK. Amid widespread reports ministers could announce such a move as early as Wednesday, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic – as well as Heathrow Airport – have claimed a recent trial demonstrates how international

Britain’s economy will grow faster than any major economy in Europe as it rebounds from the COVID-19 recession and emerges from lockdown, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted. In the latest update to its World Economic Outlook – its periodical look at the state of the global economy – the IMF forecast that the

China’s government has just provided investors with another reminder of why they should tread carefully when putting money into the country. At the end of last month, the Chinese ride-hailing app Didi made history when it floated on the New York Stock Exchange with a valuation of $70bn, making it the biggest IPO of a

Ministers are reportedly exploring how to block China’s state-owned nuclear energy company from future power projects in the UK. The change in Britain’s stance towards China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) could affect the £20bn Sizewell C nuclear energy project in Suffolk, the Financial Times reported. France’s EDF is scheduled to build the Sizewell site

Selfridges has been put up for sale in a move that could net its Canadian billionaire owners as much as £4bn. The department store chain reportedly attracted bid interest last month, prompting the Weston family to order a formal auction process. It is understood that advisers at Credit Suisse are leading the sale and hope

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, has ordered officials to launch a national security probe into the £2.6bn takeover of Ultra Electronics, a key supplier of military technology, by Cobham, the former London-listed defence group. Sky News has learnt that Mr Kwarteng has told civil servants at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

The food industry tycoon known as the ‘chicken king’ has told Sky News the so-called ‘pingdemic’ staffing crisis is just a small part of unprecedented pressures on supplies, with food shortages already being felt. Ranjit Singh Boparan, whose interests include the 2 Sisters Food Group (2SFG) and a string of casual dining brands, used an

Heathrow Airport has urged the government to reopen the UK economy to fully vaccinated travellers from the European Union and United States by the end of the month after revealing coronavirus crisis losses of almost £3bn to date. The company said expensive COVID-19 testing requirements were hampering an effective reopening of the skies while it

Ryanair has raised its passenger forecast following a recovery in summer bookings but reported a sharper first quarter loss, saying the coronavirus crisis “wreaked havoc” on Easter demand. Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers said it now expected to fly between 90 and 100 million people in its current financial year to the end of