Business

Sir Philip Green’s retail empire is facing collapse within days, putting 15,000 jobs at risk and bringing the curtain down on the high street career of one of Britain’s most controversial businessmen. Sky News has learnt that Arcadia Group – which owns TopShop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins – is preparing to appoint administrators from Deloitte

Boris Johnson must commit to weekly reviews of the coronavirus tiers dictating the ability of pubs, restaurants and nightclubs to trade during the remaining months of the coronavirus pandemic, scores of hospitality chefs will warn on Thursday. Sky News has seen an open letter to the prime minister from dozens of bosses – including executives

After four years of politics and prevarication, Brexit is about to become a test of competence rather than conviction.  And the heart of the government’s effort to meet it is a Portakabin in a lorry park in Ashford, Kent. It’s one of 45 sites around the country where agents patiently attempt to brief hauliers on

Government secrecy over its new border operating system is hindering the country’s Brexit preparations, according to haulage industry bosses who labelled the process a “complete shambles”. In a letter seen exclusively by Sky News, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) has warned Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove that delays in sharing the new IT software with

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is setting out government spending plans and latest economic forecasts. Here are the main points: £18bn allocated to testing, PPE and vaccines and £3bn for the NHS plus over £2bn for transport arteries open How will the spending review affect you and the country? Sky’s economics editor Ed Conway will answer your

Rishi Sunak must not try to raise taxes in this parliament, the leader of the group of northern Tory MPs has told Sky News. When the chancellor delivers his spending review later, he will also unveil a set of dire forecasts, These are likely to show the lowest growth for 300 years, with a long-term

The EU’s aviation regulator has revealed plans to approve the return of 737 MAX to Europe’s skies within weeks. EASA (the European Union Aviation Safety Agency) has published a proposed airworthiness directive for the aircraft, which has been grounded since March last year after two fatal crashes. The agency is launching a 28-day consultation and

A bill that would give the government greater powers to shut out high-risk vendors from the UK’s telecoms infrastructure will be put before parliament on Tuesday. At the beginning of the year, ministers determined that additional safeguards should be put into place to protect the UK’s 5G and gigabit-capable networks and exclude ‘high risk’ vendors from

The government has been accused of “killing Christmas” for hospitality businesses and their staff through tough new restrictions after England’s second coronavirus lockdown ends next week. The sector argues it will be among the hardest hit through Boris Johnson’s revised three-tier system, which is due to come in to force from Wednesday 2 December as

Almost half of the UK’s manufacturers are unhappy with the government’s efforts to “level-up” the country. “Levelling up” is the phrase used by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to describe the government’s efforts to reverse regional inequalities. But some 42% of manufacturers say that these efforts are not enough and that regional industrial strategies need to

A former chairman of Centrica is being lined up to lead the AA by the consortium which hopes to agree a £3bn takeover of Britain’s biggest roadside recovery service this week. Sky News has learnt that Rick Haythornthwaite has been approached by Towerbrook Capital Partners and Warburg Pincus about chairing the AA if their joint

Crossrail, London’s long-delayed £19bn east-to-west rail link, faces being “mothballed” without the release of urgent new government funding, the capital’s transport chief has warned ministers. Sky News has learnt that Andy Byford, the London transport commissioner, wrote to the permanent secretary at the Department for Transport (DfT) this week, seeking £80m of immediate support to

Confidential notes seen by Sky News reveal European Union officials think a Brexit deal is 95% agreed – but show the extent of anxiety over the potential impact if negotiations break down. The notes come from a meeting of the most senior diplomats in Brussels on Friday morning, when they were briefed about the state

Britain’s biggest airport is to furlough its entire senior management team apart from its chief executive and pave the way for more permanent job losses, underlining its pessimism about the aviation industry’s short-term recovery prospects. Sky News has seen emails sent by Heathrow executives on Friday which detail plans for a new voluntary redundancy scheme

Public sector net borrowing is estimated to have been £22.3bn in October – the sixth-highest borrowing in any month since monthly records began in 1993. The figure, from the Office for National Statistics, means that public sector net debt stood at £2.076trn by the end of October – or 100.8% of GDP, a level not

UK households are expected to have spent £6,600 less this year after the pandemic slashed demand for holidays, eating out and transport, according to new research. In total, consumer spending for 2020 is on course to be £183.6bn, or 14.9%, lower in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to consumer analysts Mintel. Bucking the