Business

The business secretary will this week hold a fresh round of talks with British Steel’s Chinese owner amid protracted talks about a state bailout of the Scunthorpe-based company. Sky News has learnt that Jonathan Reynolds will discuss the future of the industrial group with Jingye Group’s boss, Li Huiming, in the latest chapter of a

The UK competition regulator has warned Topp Tiles’ purchase of 30 rival shops could make prices more expensive and services worse. On Monday the competition regulator the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) said the acquisition of CTD Tiles stores could lead to competition issues. Money blog: Nearly 300 pubs permanently closed last year Those competition

The private equity backer of Motor Fuel Group (MFG), one of Britain’s biggest petrol forecourt empires, is exploring the sale of a stake in a deal that could value it at about £7bn. Sky News has learnt that Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CDR), which has built MFG from a mid-sized industry player over the course

Crisis-hit Thames Water has launched a bid to charge its customers more over the next five years than the industry regulator will allow, arguing it has been unfairly treated. Britain’s biggest household supplier, which is in a battle for survival as it grapples a £19bn debt pile, had sought a 53% hike to bills from

Regulators have proposed sweeping changes for the baby formula industry, saying high prices and branding are leading to “poor outcomes” for parents. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found many brands cost more than the weekly value of people’s benefits, leading some parents to forgo food to buy formula. The report was released nearly two

Deep under the Bank of England, in a network of vaults into which cameras are rarely admitted, sits the world’s second biggest known trove of gold. Once upon a time the Bank’s vaults stored bullion owned by the Crown but these days they serve mostly as a repository for other central banks and private banks

The number of first-time buyers rose by almost a fifth last year, according to data from Halifax. The bank said 2024 saw 341,068 people buy their first properties, up by 19% from 2023. While the figures are a rebound from 2023’s 22% drop, they are not as high as they were in 2022. That year

The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is exploring launching private criminal proceedings against NatWest Group over the debanking scandal which resulted in the lender’s former chief losing her job. Sky News has learnt that Mr Farage has instructed Chris Daw KC of Lincoln House Chambers to examine whether there are grounds for bringing a criminal

Yes there are all sorts of provisos. The UK economy is still flatlining. A 0.1% expansion is about as close as you can get to zero. Gross domestic product per head – a better measure of our living standards – is shrinking (indeed, it’s been shrinking for two quarters). And the UK remains far weaker

The owner of Hobbycraft has made a late swoop to buy The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) after talks with a rival suitor stalled at the 11th hour. Sky News understands that Modella Capital, which has also been pursuing WH Smith’s high street stores in recent weeks, is close to trumping rival bidder Baaj Capital with

The boss of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) has said she is “appalled and disgusted” by the sex trafficking claims against her predecessor Mike Jeffries. Fran Horowitz, who has led the US-based company since the departure of Mr Jeffries, signalled in an interview with Sky News that A&F had examined and transformed its culture since the

Heathrow is set to announce a multibillion-pound expansion plan to create extra capacity at the airport – as it prepares its proposal for a third runway. The UK’s biggest airport has announced a “once-in-a-generation investment” beginning this year to improve existing buildings and boost passenger numbers. The development is separate from a new runway –

OpenAI’s chief executive and co-founder has told Sky News that his platform is “not for sale” after a group led by Elon Musk launched an unsolicited $97.4bn (£78.7bn) bid overnight. Sam Altman, who is attending the Paris AI Summit with world leaders, was asked whether he can still afford OpenAI after Mr Musk’s bid. “The

British wholesale gas prices have reached a more than two-year high, risking yet more expensive energy bills. Low rates of gas storage in Britain and across Europe, combined with cold weather, have increased demand for gas to heat homes. It’s brought the price up to 140 pence a therm (a unit of heat used to

Companies are slowing investment until they see more momentum in the economy, according to a closely-watched report on employment conditions which warns that budget measures are “acting as brakes” on hiring. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG’s latest snapshot on recruitment found permanent staff vacancies declined at the steepest rate since August 2020

Valentine’s Day might be a gift-giving occasion your wallet could do without, but it’s thousands of pounds cheaper than being alone. Being single costs £2,533 more a year, Sky News can reveal. Suddenly, that box of chocolates doesn’t seem so expensive. Single people are forced to spend 22% more on rent or mortgages, council tax