Travel shares have dropped sharply on growing fears of another lost summer for foreign holidays. British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) was the biggest faller on London’s FTSE 100, losing 5%, with aircraft engine maker Rollls-Royce not far behind, shedding 4%. Shares in easyJet fell 5% while Dublin-based rival Ryanair was nearly 3% lower,
Business
Deliveroo’s founder is poised to sell millions of pounds-worth of shares in the food delivery app as part of a blockbuster stock market debut that will see him become one of Britain’s wealthiest technology entrepreneurs. Sky News has learnt that Will Shu, who launched the company less than a decade ago, is likely to sell
A software company that helps financial institutions monitor employees’ electronic communications will this week unveil a $25m (£18m) investment from one of London’s most prominent asset managers. Sky News understands that VoxSmart, which was founded in 2010, will announce on Monday that Toscafund has become its largest shareholder with a capital injection aimed at accelerating
Elon Musk has said his company would be shut down if its cars were used for the purposes of spying. The Tesla chief executive was responding to news that China’s military has banned Tesla cars from its facilities. Speaking to a Chinese forum in a virtual discussion, Mr Musk said: “There’s a very strong incentive
The maker of Fortnite and Houseparty, two of the pandemic’s biggest technology smash hits, is closing in on another large injection of funding that will value it at about $28bn (£20.2bn). Sky News can exclusively reveal that Epic Games, which was founded by Tim Sweeney 30 years ago, is finalising the terms of a $1bn
UK pubs face a “bleak future” as they mark a year since being forced to close due to the first coronavirus lockdown. Dave Mountford, a publican and campaigner at the Forum for British Pubs, told Sky News that at least 2,000 pubs have already closed permanently. He said the remainder will need significant financial help.
British Airways and the newspaper group behind the Daily Mirror have become the latest big companies to signal a major switch to working from home. BA said it was considering selling its headquarters near Heathrow because the shift means it may not need so much office space. Reach, the company behind the national Mirror and
McDonald’s will expand its investigation into COVID rule-breaking among staff after claims that sales competitions between restaurants are endangering health and safety. Employees across England have contacted Sky News with serious concerns about how the chain has dealt with the winter wave of the pandemic. They have now claimed that competitions, where restaurants try to
The Bank of England has predicted a slightly quicker bounce-back for consumer spending this spring than previously thought as lockdowns are eased. Minutes of the Bank’s latest monetary policy meeting showed rate-setting officials also think that the short-term rise in unemployment will be “more moderate” than it expected just a month ago. The Bank said
The US central bank has raised expectations of a faster recovery from the coronavirus crisis, signalling it will allow the economy to run hot to drive a recovery in employment. The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate pegged to near zero following its latest policy meeting. But the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) guided,
New rules to end ‘rewards for failure’ in boardrooms are to be unveiled by ministers this week with the release of a long-awaited white paper on audit and corporate governance reform. Sky News has learnt that the consultation document, which will be published on Thursday, will propose a further review that could make it mandatory
The payments giant Visa is to hike fees for purchases made by UK-based customers from most of Europe – stoking fears of higher prices and fuelling the argument that Brexit is adding to the cost of trading with the EU. Sky News has learnt that Visa plans to inform its roughly 4000 clients later this
The energy regulator has revealed a crackdown on household suppliers to prevent them hoarding credit balances for customers who pay by direct debit. Ofgem’s examination of the issue, a bugbear of many bill-payers, found that £1.4bn of customers’ money was languishing in the hands of companies in 2018 through overpayment. It said a series of
Thorntons, the chocolate retailer, has announced plans to permanently close its entire UK store estate of 61 sites. The company said its decision, which was now the subject of consultation with employees, would affect 603 workers though it was yet to rule out the possibility of redeploying some of those affected. Thorntons said it was
Hand sanitisers are in and white chocolate bars are out as the basket of goods and services used to calculate inflation undergoes its latest reshuffle. The impact of the pandemic on consumer habits is apparent in the announcement from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which also sees casual clothing and home exercise equipment added.
An online platform that connects entrepreneurs to internationally renowned figures in fields such as business, sport and politics is seeking £20m to finance its global expansion. Sky News understands that Vintro, which counts former chancellor Lord Hammond among its advisory board members, has embarked on a funding round that is expected to close in the