Business

Britain’s biggest defence contractor has handed its chief executive a multimillion pound pay rise as its board scrambled to prevent a rival FTSE-100 company from poaching him. Sky News can reveal that BAE Systems has increased Charles Woodburn’s base salary by well over £100,000 and awarded him an additional ‘golden handcuffs’ share package worth £2m

Uber has been ordered to pay $1.1m (£790,000) to a blind woman who was refused rides on 14 separate occasions. An independent arbitrator found that the company illegally discriminated against Lisa Irving due to the treatment she and her guide dog received from its drivers. Ms Irving brought the complaint against Uber in 2018 as

Nike has won a bid to temporarily stop a company selling a customised version of its Air Max trainers dubbed “Satan shoes”. The Air Max 97s were given a controversial spin by art brand MSCHF and produced in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X. They featured a pentagram design and each shoe was said to

The board of Deliveroo is facing demands from the company’s new shareholders to cancel an £18m payout to the investment banks which this week launched one of the City’s most turbulent flotations on record. Sky News can reveal that a number of furious investors want the company to decide “at the earliest opportunity” that it

The pub trade has reacted angrily to the prospect of a “triple whammy” of new coronavirus restrictions when sites reopen in England, warning they risk further damage to businesses after a year of disruption. Hospitality industry representatives have written to the prime minister to express their outrage at new guidance governing the start of outside-only

Rises in the National Living and Minimum Wage are now in effect and will see two million workers secure more money at a time when both employers and employees are suffering coronavirus crisis hardship. The new levels – announced ahead of the budget – were recommended by the Low Pay Commission on the basis that

Ever wanted some words of support from your football hero? How about help with a marriage proposal from a famous musician? The coronavirus pandemic has hit the entertainment industry hard – and it’s seen a growing number of celebrities selling personalised video messages online. Websites such as Cameo and Memmo give members of the public

Shares in Deliveroo have slumped by as much as 30% as the takeaway delivery company made its highly-anticipated stock market debut. The flop wiped more than £2bn off the company’s initial £7.6bn valuation – just over a week after it was estimated at up to £8.8bn. Some of the City’s biggest institutional investors had shunned

Lloyd’s of London, the 335-year old insurance market, has reported a loss of £900m for 2020 following a surge in claims due to the coronavirus crisis. It revealed that gross payouts linked to COVID-19 disruption were expected to have topped £6.2bn for the year as a whole – a record for a single event. But

Sir Keir Starmer has revealed one of his top team has apologised after describing business as “the enemy”. Shadow tourism minister, Alex Sobel, was “wrong” in his comments, according to the Labour leader, who added that under him, the party was “very clearly pro-business”. Image: Sir Keir Starmer stressed Labour was ‘pro-business’ under his leadership

Liberty Steel UK says it is to restart production next week as its parent firm continues to seek new funding to fill the hole left by the collapse of Greensill Capital earlier this month. Sky News reported on Friday how GFG Alliance, owned by Sanjeev Gupta, had gone cap in hand to the government for

Deliveroo has blamed “volatile” market conditions as it knocked nearly £1bn off the top end of its expected stock market valuation. The takeaway delivery firm is lining up a much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) in London, which it had said would see it valued at between £7.6bn and £8.8bn. But it disclosed on Monday that

Uber says it will let London customers request a fully electric car so they can “play their part in cleaning up urban transport”. The ride-hailing app said its Uber Green option in central London will mean passenger fares will match those made in petrol, diesel and hybrid Uber vehicles, while drivers will be charged a

Tough new rules aimed at regulating the CBD food supplement market in the UK will come into force nationwide this week. Applications for “novel food” status must be submitted to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) by Wednesday 31 March in a bid to crack down on mislabelling and deal with concerns about the contents of

Spain is planning to use €50m (£43m) in EU funds to cut its working week to four days in a bid to prevent further coronavirus outbreaks. The experiment is set to last for three years and will be funded by money from the European Union’s massive COVID-19 recovery fund. The money will compensate some 200

Britain’s two fastest-growing online used-car marketplaces are racing to raise staggering sums of capital as they seek to reshape an industry boasting €400bn (£343bn) in annual sales across Europe. Sky News can reveal that Cinch, which is part of the private equity-backed Constellation Automotive Group, is in talks with a syndicate of global blue-chip institutions