Business

The government’s Investment Summit has suffered a major blow after ports and logistics giant DP World pulled a scheduled announcement of a £1bn investment of its London Gateway container port, following criticism by a member of Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet. Sky News understands the Dubai-based company’s investment was due to be a centrepiece of Monday’s

The Post Office’s outgoing CEO today agreed the government is using the company as a “shield” over compensation schemes, while giving evidence at the inquiry. Nick Read, who resigned last month, was giving evidence at the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry for the second day, with a focus on delays to victims’ financial redress. Edward

The chancellor will need to raise taxes by £25bn if she wants to keep spending rising with national income, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). In its annual ‘Green Budget’ analysis, the IFS warned that the government would have to dramatically increase the £9bn of tax rises outlined in its manifesto to meet

The outgoing boss of the Post Office has said he does not need to clear his name following criticism of his leadership over the Horizon IT scandal. Nick Read made the comments as he arrived for the first of three days of evidence to the inquiry into the scandal, in which more than 900 sub-postmasters

US officials have confirmed they are considering breaking up Google’s “illegal monopoly” of internet searches. The tech giant could face restrictions on its own products – including its Chrome browser, Play Store and Android operating system, the US Justice Department said. It comes after a judge found in August the company had broken anti-trust laws

Investors managing more than £9trn in assets have backed a more “competitive” approach to British boardroom pay amid a growing debate about London’s attractiveness as a listing destination. Sky News has learnt that the Investment Association (IA), the influential industry trade body, will publish on Wednesday a revised set of remuneration principles aimed at the

Water firms in England and Wales have been ordered to return £157.6m to customers due to their poor performance. Ofwat said the rebate would come off bills for households and businesses in 2025-26. Last year, the water regulator ordered firms to repay £114m as part of a similar move. It comes as water bills in

A big four audit firm and one of Britain’s high street banks have resumed their membership of the CBI, delivering a boost to the scandal-hit lobbying group’s hopes that it can recover its long-standing influence in government. Sky News has learnt that KPMG and NatWest Group returned to being full members of the CBI this

A US Air Force Reserve brigadier-general will this week unveil a $5m funding boost for her British-based quantum computing start-up. Sky News understands that Mandy Birch, who is also an adviser to the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre, has secured the capital for TreQ, a manufacturing company focused on building and operating open-architecture quantum computers.

A rescue deal for the British operations of TGI Fridays which will salvage more than 2,000 jobs is on the verge of being finalised this weekend. Sky News has learnt that Breal Capital and Calveton, which jointly own the upmarket restaurants business D&D London, could agree a deal to acquire the majority of TGI Fridays

Before we get onto the budget and what Rachel Reeves might do to fiddle her fiscal rules and give herself a little more room to spend, I want you to ponder, for a moment, a recent report from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). This wasn’t one of those big OBR reports that get lots

An investor in one of Britain’s most popular price comparison sites is exploring the sale of its stake in a deal that could value it at more than £4bn. Sky News has learnt that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is lining up advisers to assess whether to sell its 30% holding in Compare

The UK needs a strategy to meet growing demand for data centres or risk losing its advantage in the race to develop artificial intelligence (AI), one of the sector’s largest players has told Sky News. Data centres – warehouses housing processors that power cloud computing – are central to the digital economy. They provide the

The boss of the UK motor industry’s lobby group has blamed “criminal activity” for UK-made luxury cars finding their way into sanction-hit Russia. The chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Mike Hawes was speaking just over a week after Sky News uncovered a system of getting vehicles from the UK

Blackstone, the private equity giant, has hired one of Wall Street’s leading banks to sell the corporate events business which runs some of the world’s largest trade shows. Sky News understands that Blackstone has engaged Goldman Sachs to handle an auction of Clarion Events which is expected to value it at more than £2bn. The

The government has pledged nearly £22bn to fund projects that capture greenhouse gases from polluting plants and store them underground, as it races to reach strict climate targets. The plans are designed to generate private investment and jobs in Merseyside and Teesside, two industry-heavy areas that will be home to the new “carbon capture clusters”.