Business

Royal Mail has been fined £10.5m for missing postal delivery targets. Regulator Ofcom said 74.7% of first class mail and 92.7% of second class was delivered on time in 2023/24. The targets were 93% and 98.5%. A “challenging financial position” was blamed by the company for its poor performance, the regulator said. There were also

The economy remained in a reverse gear during October, according to official figures covering the month ahead of the government’s first budget. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said output fell 0.1% following the 0.1% decline recorded for the previous month. The figures showed zero growth in the powerhouse services sector, with manufacturing and construction

The Daily Telegraph’s publisher is to hand hundreds of staff a £500 bonus this month as uncertainty over its ownership looks set to stretch into a third calendar year. Sky News has seen an email sent on Thursday by Anna Jones, Telegraph Media Group’s chief executive, in which she told employees that they would receive

Currys has warned of a drop in consumer sentiment over the past six months, with the chain plotting price rises to help offset the impact of the new Labour government’s first budget. Alex Baldock, the retailer’s chief executive, told reporters that progress in tackling financial pressures on households had “stalled in recent months”. He noted

Labour’s rural problem has reared its head once more. This time, the government is facing down fierce opposition over changes to inheritance tax. Unless a breakthrough is achieved, Labour’s rural problem risks becoming everyone’s problem. Protesters showed no sign of backing down on Tuesday. Farmers from across rural Britain got up in the middle of

Two of Britain’s biggest high street banks have quit a body dedicated to enhancing industry lending practices, sparking a furious row and casting doubt over its future. Sky News has learnt that HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group have terminated their membership of the Lending Standards Board (LSB). Their resignations – alongside that of Santander UK

A $10bn-plus takeover bid for one of America’s biggest pharmacy chains is set to trigger a fresh auction of Boots the Chemist after a string of aborted attempts to sell the British retail giant. Sky News understands that Sycamore Partners, the private equity firm, is expected to seek separate ownership for Boots if it succeeds

Thames Water has revealed a 40% spike in sewage spills while warning that a looming decision on what it can charge customers is “fundamental to our future”. The UK’s biggest supplier, which has been battling to avert the prospect of a special administration amid a massive debt pile, has consistently argued that the regulator’s ruling

Bankers are to review state spending as part of a push to bring the private sector “into the heart of government”. External oversight is to be incorporated into the first line-by-line spending review of government departments in 17 years. Under plans announced by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves “every pound” of government spending will be interrogated

Demand for new staff among businesses slumped to levels seen in 2020 in the wake of last month’s budget, according to a survey of major recruitment consultants. A monthly report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) trade body and accountants KPMG suggested that the tax raid on firms announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves on

A London-listed marketing specialist backed by Lord Ashcroft, the former Conservative Party treasurer, will this week announce the purchase of a key digital partner to sporting properties including the Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup. Sky News has learnt that Brave Bison, which trades on the junior AIM exchange and has a market capitalisation of just

Harland & Wolff (H&W), the shipyard-owner which built the Titanic, is closing on a government-backed rescue deal with a Spanish shipping industry group. Sky News can reveal that Navantia has won approval from Downing Street to acquire H&W’s four UK shipyards in a transaction which could be formally agreed as early as next week. If

Fourteen new trains are to be built at a Hitachi plant in County Durham, securing hundreds of jobs. The plan safeguards 700 jobs with a £500m investment for the Newton Aycliffe site. The plant and its workers had faced an uncertain future with an upcoming gap in its order book before work begins on HS2

Dale Vince, the activist and entrepreneur, has accused the owners of The Guardian of telling “a complete untruth” about his interest in taking control of The Observer. Speaking to Sky News, Mr Vince, who has extensive interests in green energy and owns Forest Green Rovers Football Club, said his discussions with Guardian Media Group (GMG)

The owner of The Guardian is pressing ahead with the sale of the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper to a fledgling digital media company, just hours after scores of journalists went on strike in protest at the deal. Guardian Media Group (GMG) and its parent, the Scott Trust, confirmed on Friday that the sale of The

The UK’s biggest water provider has received another bid, despite having declared itself “uninvestable”. The latest bid for Thames Water came from infrastructure investor Covalis Capital, which would bring in French utility Suez, the firm confirmed on Friday morning. If agreed, the supplier could be broken into smaller businesses, the Financial Times reported, and Suez