Britain’s biggest banks will finalise plans for annual bonus payouts in the coming days, ahead of a results season that will lay bare billions of pounds of anticipated loan losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic. Sky News has learnt that the state-backed lender NatWest Group has informed the Treasury that it wants to hand out
Business
A private equity consortium has approached Aggreko, the FTSE-250 temporary power supplier, about a potential £2bn takeover deal. Sky News understands that TDR Capital, which is in the process of buying the British supermarket chain Asda, and I Squared Capital, an infrastructure fund, have tabled an indicative proposal to Aggreko’s board in recent days. The
Around 15 million families will see their energy bills rise by up to £96 after the regulator hiked the price cap. The return to pre-coronavirus levels is mainly as a result of increase in wholesale costs, according to Ofgem. For six months from 1 April the price cap will increase by £96 to £1,138 for
Mandatory hotel quarantine for UK residents and nationals arriving from countries on the “red list” will come into effect on 15 February – more than two weeks after the move was first announced by the prime minister. Under the policy, people returning from more than 30 high-risk nations will have to quarantine for 10 days
The Bank of England has predicted that the economy will “recover rapidly” this year – as it left interest rates on hold at 0.1%. Latest forecasts from the Bank suggest that after taking a steep downturn during the current period of lockdowns, the roll-out of vaccines and scaling back of restrictions will boost growth for
A cannabinoids company backed by David Beckham will this week become the first company of its kind to formally unveil plans for a main London stock market debut. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Cellular Goods, which makes skincare and athletic recovery products manufactured from biosynthetic cannabinoids, will announce its intention to float as soon
A UK-based pharmaceutical firm that specialises in a cannabis-derived treatment for epilepsy has agreed to be bought in a $7.2bn (£5.3bn) takeover. GW Pharmaceuticals said the cash and stock deal with Jazz Pharmaceuticals – best known for its portfolio of sleep medicines – would create a neuroscience therapy powerhouse. The deal will allow Jazz, which
Amazon has announced its founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is to step down from running the business as it reported record revenues for its core Christmas quarter, topping $100bn for the first time with help from the coronavirus pandemic. The e-commerce, cloud data storage and entertainment giant said Bezos would become executive chair during the
Shares targeted by armchair investors to inflict losses on hedge funds this year have fallen sharply in a sign the activism may have peaked. The market value of GameStop – a struggling US gaming retailer – plunged by up to 50% on Tuesday to roughly $105 a share amid a rollercoaster ride for the stock
Scotch whisky has endured £500m of export losses because of a trade dispute not of its making, according to industry figures. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said shipments of single malt to the United States had fallen by more than a third since the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on the tipple in October
ASOS has agreed to buy Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge – but their 70 stores, employing 2,500 people, are not included in the deal. The online retailer is paying a total of £330m for the brands, plus stock currently held and on order, following the collapse late last year of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia retail
Serco, the outsourcing giant behind NHS Test and Trace, has confirmed that it was hit by a cyber attack – but told Sky News its oft-criticised scheme had not been impacted. The company won several coronavirus-related contracts, including NHS Test and Trace, via a procurement system that came under fire from the public spending watchdog
The FTSE-100 oil giant Shell will this week clinch the purchase of the Post Office’s broadband operations, transforming its presence in the UK home communications market. Sky News understands that Shell was on Sunday close to signing the deal after weeks of talks. It is expected to cost the energy behemoth in the region of
ASOS is this weekend on the brink of capping one of the most tumultuous months in the history of the British high street by sealing a deal worth nearly £300m to buy TopShop and Miss Selfridge. Sky News understands that the online fashion retailer hopes to sign an agreement with Arcadia Group’s administrators ahead of
Lenders to Virgin Active are preparing for a fight over the future of one of Britain’s biggest gym chains as its owners draw up a radical blueprint to help it survive the pandemic. Sky News has learnt that a syndicate of roughly half a dozen banks held a beauty parade of financial advisers this week
Financial markets have been rocked this week by a battle initiated by ordinary people against those who are usually dubbed market manipulators – hedge funds. This is not being fought on trading floors but online and is a consequence of an explosion in the popularity of amateur share trading by armchair investors and collaboration among