Rolls-Royce Holdings, the FTSE-100 engineering group, will this week name a former Deloitte partner as its next finance chief as it tries to navigate through the headwinds of the COVID-19 crisis. Sky News has learnt that Panos Kakoullis, who spent 30 years at the accountancy giant, has been picked as the Derby-based industrial titan’s next
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The shake-up of Britain’s big four audit firms is to continue in earnest when Deloitte unveils the sale of its restructuring arm to Teneo, a strategic consulting firm which advises many of the UK’s biggest companies. Sky News has learnt that Teneo, which is backed by the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, is in
The £4bn flotation of Darktrace, one of Britain’s most prominent technology companies, has been dealt a severe blow by the resignation of one of the investment banks hired to lead it. Sky News has learnt that UBS, the Swiss bank, has informed Darktrace that it is no longer able to work on the cybersecurity provider’s
The worst GDP since the invention of GDP. By now we’re mostly all familiar with the scale of the economic contraction this country has faced over the past year. We have lived the lockdowns, the furloughs, the closures. Even so, the scale of the fall in economic output still takes the breath away. Image: Bank
The coronavirus crisis meant the UK economy endured its deepest annual slump last year since the Great Frost in 1709, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said early estimates, subject to revision, showed that gross domestic product (GDP) tumbled by 9.9% in 2020. It was a consequence of large parts of
New streaming service Disney+ has signed up nearly 95 million subscribers in just over a year, the entertainment giant has revealed. Disney’s latest quarterly results showed continued rapid growth for the direct-to-consumer channel, set up in November 2019 to compete with the likes of Netflix. Disney+ had 94.9 million paid subscribers as of 2 January,
Food exports to the European Union fell by as much as 60% at the start of the year as traders and officials struggled to adapt to post-Brexit arrangements, MPs have been told. Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), said changes since Britain’s trade deal with Europe came into force on
The EU has accused the UK government of “shortcomings” over implementing Northern Ireland protocol, ahead of a meeting between the government and the bloc in London. The protocol was the way in which a “hard border” was prevented on the island of Ireland following the agreement of a Brexit deal in December – but has
Britain’s biggest airlines have told Boris Johnson that the industry is facing a “second lost summer” in a fresh plea for a clear roadmap to reopening international travel. Sky News has seen a letter from Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, to the prime minister in which he warns of “devastating further consequences for
Sales of beer in pubs fell by 56%, or £7.8bn, last year as lockdowns and trading restrictions took their toll, according to industry figures. The report from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said the trade “cannot continue to hold out under these circumstances” and called for continued financial support even after pubs reopen.
Britain’s beleaguered aviation industry has issued a fresh plea for state help as the government set out plans to quarantine travellers from 33 countries in hotels and tightened testing rules for all arrivals. Travel shares fell after the announcement from health secretary Matt Hancock dampened hopes for a return to normality in time for the
Inequality problems have been made worse for many women during the pandemic with government economic support policies “skewed towards men”, MPs have found. The report by the Commons women and inequalities committee said that while ministers acted quickly to protect jobs and adapt welfare benefits, gender disparities were ignored. Pregnant women and new mothers in
Boohoo is to pay £25m for Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton in a deal set to catapult the fashion brands to an online-only future at the expense of thousands of high street jobs. The online fashion specialist, which has already snapped up the Debenhams name amid the COVID-19 bloodbath for physical retailers, said it was
Amazon and other major internet retailers could be hit with a new online sales tax to help the UK pay its debts after extensive borrowing during the pandemic. Treasury sources confirmed Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering targeting companies that have done well out of the pandemic to help pay back UK government debts built up
A private equity consortium is threatening to abandon a £1.4bn deal to shake up Italian football’s broadcast rights amid uncertainty over the intentions of some of the league’s top clubs. Sky News has learnt that a group of investors including Advent International and CVC Capital Partners wrote to Serie A’s 20 clubs late last week
The volume of exports going through British ports to the EU fell by 68% last month compared with January last year, according to research. The Road Haulage Association’s chief executive Richard Burnett told The Observer that the organisation had also found 65-75% of vehicles arriving from the EU were returning to the bloc empty. This