Business

The billionaire brothers behind one of Britain’s biggest petrol station operators have bought Asda from Walmart in a £6.8bn deal. Sky News exclusively revealed earlier this week that a consortium led by Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the bosses of Blackburn-based EG Group, and TDR Capital, the London-based private equity firm, had been selected by the

The coronavirus-ravaged exhibitions industry has warned that 80% of its total workforce may be lost within weeks as the clock ticks down to the furlough scheme’s closure at the end of the month. An open letter to Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, signed by more than 330 employers and also the Labour Party, pleads

Ocado is facing allegations that its robot-operated warehouse technology has infringed a rival company’s patents. The online grocery firm, which has built a surge in its market value in recent years on the sale of such systems, is being sued by Norwegian robotics company AutoStore. It has filed lawsuits in both the US and UK

Britain’s benefits system is bracing for up to four million unemployed in the coming months as the economic fall-out of the COVID crisis accelerates. The work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey told Sky News her department was preparing to support that level of unemployed, but said she “genuinely hopes” that we do not reach that

TSB revealed on Wednesday it was to close 164 branches, with the loss of more than 900 jobs, as it accelerates the shift towards digital banking. The announcement builds on a wider exodus from the high street by major UK banks since the financial crisis that has resulted in tens of thousands of job losses

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has announced plans to cut up to 9,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting shake-up. The restructuring is part of the company’s efforts to adapt to a low-carbon future and becoming more “streamlined”, with the severe impact of COVID-19 also a factor. Shell, which had 83,000 employees at the end

Burger King, the fast-food giant, is preparing to close a number of its UK restaurants as part of a restructuring process triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Sky News has learnt that Burger King’s British operations have drafted in advisers from AlixPartners to review options for one of its subsidiary companies, which directly owns approximately 25

Care leavers are facing “digital poverty” without laptops or access to the internet, campaigners say. A government scheme to provide digital devices and internet access to vulnerable young people in England during the pandemic is set to end in November. Charities say it risks leaving up to 80,000 18-25 year-old care leavers isolated and unable

The billionaire brothers behind one of Britain’s biggest petrol station operators have moved into pole position to clinch the biggest deal of their career: the takeover of Asda that will value the supermarket chain at more than £6.5bn. Sky News can exclusively reveal that a consortium led by Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the bosses of

An order which would have banned the popular video sharing app TikTok from smartphone app stores in the US has been temporarily blocked. The order, from the administration of Donald Trump, was due to take effect at 11.59pm on Sunday. A more comprehensive ban remains scheduled for November, about a week after the presidential election.

A former boss of Arqiva, the communications technology group, is the leading candidate to become the next chief executive of the British chip designer which has been embroiled in a row over its Chinese ownership. Sky News has learnt that Simon Beresford-Wylie, who left Arqiva earlier this year, is in talks to take the helm

Royal London is pursuing a takeover of its fellow financial services provider, LV=, in a deal that would create a “mutual champion” with nearly 10m customers across the UK. Sky News has learnt that the two groups are in detailed negotiations about a tie-up. City sources said this weekend that a transaction would bring together

Rishi Sunak could not have been more stark. Unveiling his latest package aimed at tiding the UK economy through what threatens to be the bleakest winter for many years because of the COVID-19 crisis, the chancellor admitted: “I cannot save every business. I cannot save every job.” That much became clear as the City’s economists

Online fashion retailer Boohoo is facing criticism over its handling of the treatment of workers within the company’s Leicester supply chain. The review, led by Alison Levitt QC, was commissioned by the company in July after media allegations of sweatshop conditions at third-party suppliers during the coronavirus pandemic prompted a dramatic plunge in its share

The Treasury borrowed the third-highest sum for any month on record in August, according to official figures – as the chancellor prepares to unleash his latest support for the coronavirus-hit economy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that public sector net borrowing, excluding the effects of bank bailouts, was estimated to have hit £35.9bn

Novavax is ready to start its Phase 3 trial of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the UK. The US biotechnology firm plans to enrol up to 10,000 volunteers aged between 18 and 84 over the next four to six weeks. The company joins AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna as its vaccine candidate enters the final step