Outsourcing giant Serco has raised its revenue and profits forecasts for 2020 as a result of the growth in work with the global pandemic. Updating the London Stock Exchange in an unscheduled announcement, the company, which is leading the UK government’s test and trace scheme, said it had achieved strong revenue growth in the three
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A quarter of a million hospitality jobs are at risk from additional coronavirus restrictions imposed on London from this weekend, the mayor of London has been warned by an industry chief. Sky News has seen a letter to Sadiq Khan from Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, in which she said that his request for
Pubs group Marston’s has warned that 2,150 jobs will be impacted after the government tightened coronavirus restrictions. Curfews and new rules on face masks table service, added to “three tier” guidance for operating in England as well as tough limitations in parts of Scotland had taken their toll on consumer confidence, the company said. Marston’s
The government is paying individual private sector consultants million-pound wages to work on its test and trace system, according to documents seen by Sky News. Some executives from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) helping the government set up and run its testing system are being paid day rates of around £7,000 – equivalent to an annual
The poultry tycoon who rescued Carluccio’s earlier this year is to swallow another of Britain’s leading restaurant chains by taking control of Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK). Sky News has learnt that Ranjit Boparan, who has built one of the country’s largest casual dining groups through a string of takeovers, is to buy GBK through a
More than 90 million people could be forced into “extreme deprivation” this year as developing and emerging economies are hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the world’s lender of last resort predicts the pandemic will undo decades of progress in reducing global
Unemployment rose to a three-year high over the summer and there were more redundancies than any time since 2009, official figures show. The jobless rate climbed to a higher than expected 4.5% in the three months to August, up from 4.1% a month before, as the coronavirus crisis took a further toll on livelihoods. That
Boris Johnson will this week seek to portray Britain as a welcoming destination for foreign investors by unveiling plans for a Downing Street operation aimed at securing backing for multibillion-pound infrastructure projects. Sky News has learnt that officials at Number 10 are coordinating the launch of a unit called the Office for Investment, which insiders
British Airways chief executive Alex Cruz is stepping down from the role with immediate effect, owner International Airlines Group (IAG) said. IAG boss Luis Gallego said the shake-up came as the company navigated “the worst crisis faced in our industry” – which has seen demand crushed by the coronavirus crisis and thousands of jobs axed.
The housing market is the most unequal it’s been in a decade, according to experts. Despite the UK entering a recession the market is booming, with house prices rising 5% on an annual basis in September, according to the Nationwide House Price Index. But the state of the economy has left lenders anxious and many
The expansion of the government’s job support scheme will put close to one million roles at risk and is like throwing whole sections of the economy on the “scrapheap”, Labour has said. The shadow business secretary, Ed Miliband, also said fewer than one in 15 jobs in shut-down businesses stand to benefit from the move.
One of Britain’s leading industrial groups is lining up a move to recruit Sir Andrew Parker, the former head of MI5, to its board. Sky News has learnt that Babcock International Group is in advanced talks to appoint Sir Andrew as a non-executive director, in the latest stage of a boardroom overhaul. The recruitment of
Throughout the pandemic the chancellor has been consistent on one key point. He’s always said “not every job and not every business” could be saved. As recently as two weeks ago, when announcing his Job Support Scheme, Rishi Sunak repeated this mantra – the Winter Economy Plan was primarily focused on protecting “viable jobs”. Today’s
Workers at businesses forced to shut due to stricter lockdown measures will have two-thirds of their salaries paid by the government. Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled the expansion of the Job Support Scheme, which is a successor to the furlough scheme, saying: “It will provide a safety net for businesses across the UK who are required
The economy grew 2.1% in August but remained 9.2% below its February level, official figures show. Even the Eat Out To Help Out scheme failed to get the economy anywhere near the 4.6% rise analysts had been expecting. The Office for National Statistics said the manufacturing sector grew by 0.7% (still 8.5% below February’s figure) and construction
More than a thousand consultants from Deloitte are now working on Test and Trace, according to newly-released documents that underline the scale of the government’s reliance on the private sector. According to documents released by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) under Freedom of Information rules, there are currently 1,114 consultants from the