Selfridges has been bought by a Thai retailer and Austrian property company in a £4bn deal, according to reports. The luxury department store chain was bought by the Weston family in 2003, who then went on to establish the Selfridges Group in 2010. But the Selfridges portfolio, which includes 18 sites across England, Ireland and
Business
Lloyds has apologised after some customers were unable to access their online banking accounts on Thursday evening. Users began tweeting they were having problems logging in to the app and website just after 9pm. For some, a message popped up on some screens reading: “We are sorry that our internet banking is currently unavailable. Please
The businessman drafted in by Boris Johnson to advise on the supply chain problems which hit the British economy in the autumn has concluded that major infrastructure changes are needed to avert repeated crises. Sky News has seen an email sent by Sir Dave Lewis, the former Tesco chief executive, to participants in his review
Ryanair has revealed a “sudden downturn” in Christmas bookings has prompted it to slash January flights and pencil in annual losses more than twice as large as previously expected. The Dublin-based airline disclosed the figures as it outlined the financial impact of the Omicron variant and recent government restrictions designed to tackle its spread. It
Britain’s slowing economic recovery was even weaker than previously thought over the summer, according to revised official data. The updated figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 1.1% in the third quarter, down from an earlier estimate of 1.3%. They add to more recent evidence that the
You can’t have Christmas without cardboard, or Boxing Day without a box for that matter. Corrugated board and the paper from which it’s made – fibre as it’s known in the industry – is a fundamental raw material during the festive season. Many parents will be familiar with a child enjoying the box more than
New economic support for the hospitality sector “borders on insulting” and amounts to “far too little”, the Treasury has been told. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced an additional £1bn in financial support for the hospitality and leisure sectors, with every business able to claim a cash grant of £6,000 to help them survive the winter.
The Australian gaming group which has struck a £2.1bn deal to buy Playtech has urged the City’s takeover watchdog to seek clarity over the intentions of a group of Asian investors who have amassed a large stake in the London-listed company. Sky News has learnt that Aristocrat and Playtech have contacted the Takeover Panel to
The UK’s tech sector has enjoyed a record year with start-ups attracting more capital than ever before, new data shows. During what was the tech sector’s best year since 2014, some £29.4bn was raised by start-ups and scale-ups, according to figures prepared for the government’s Digital Economy Council, which were released on Monday. That was
Manchester United Football Club is to unveil Richard Arnold as its new boss following a turbulent period that has seen the sacking of its manager and a backlash over its involvement in the abandoned European Super League (ESL). Sky News has learnt that the Premier League club could announce to the New York Stock Exchange
Additional funding to tackle the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland has been doubled – after the health secretary refused to rule out a two-week circuit-breaker lockdown. The devolved administrations can now spend an additional £860m, the Treasury said, after extra measures and guidance to tackle Omicron were announced by the first ministers
Marks & Spencer (M&S) has drafted in headhunters to shape a three-way internal contest to become its next chief executive – a process that could see the appointment of the first female boss in the chain’s 137-year history. Sky News has learnt that M&S’s nominations committee has hired MWM Consulting, a leading search firm, to
Sky is “surprised and happy” at Sky Glass sales ahead of Christmas, the company product chief has told Sky News, but he stressed it was easier to understand the product more as an entertainment platform than a telly. When the hardware was launched in October it was hailed as Sky’s solution to clutter, both physically
Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his team has held meetings with business leaders as pressure mounts on the government to provide assistance to companies impacted by the Omicron variant. Mr Sunak cut short his trip to the US to hold more talks with business chiefs in response to the fresh COVID crisis on Friday. He and
Rail fares are to rise by 3.8% in March, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced. Rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris said they were being capped “in line with inflation” and it would allow further investment in the railways. Before the pandemic, fares were raised each January, The rise – based on the rate of retail
The Bank of England’s interest rate hike will add to monthly mortgage payments for millions of borrowers. Industry body UK Finance estimates that 26% of home loans are on variable rates, translating to around two million. Of those, some 850,000 have tracker deals directly linked to the Bank rate, whose monthly repayments will typically rise