Shifting expectations for UK interest rate cuts have contributed to a dip in house price growth, according to a closely watched measure. Nationwide reported a 0.4% dip in average property costs last month compared with March, taking the annual rate of growth to 0.6% from 1.6%. The lender’s report said the easing reflected “ongoing affordability
Business
A former boss of Camelot, the National Lottery operator, will be named this week as the next chairman of the Post Office as ministers seek to draw a line under the ugly row surrounding the exit of his predecessor. Sky News has learnt that the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has offered the chairmanship
An Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle has conceded defeat in its bid to buy The Daily Telegraph after its ownership was effectively blocked by the government. RedBird IMI announced it had placed The Telegraph and The Spectator titles up for sale, declaring that its ownership was “no longer feasible”. The move was confirmed after ministers revealed plans
Getir, the grocery delivery app, has abandoned a European expansion that is set to result in the loss of about 1,500 jobs in the UK. Sky News had previously revealed that the Turkey-based company, which means “to bring” in Turkish, had successfully raised money from investors to fund its withdrawals from the UK, Germany and
The average price paid for comprehensive motor insurance rose 1% in the first quarter of the year, according to industry data indicating an easing in the steep rises seen last year. The latest tracker issued by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) showed a 1% increase on the previous three months to £635. That was
Blackstone, the American private equity behemoth, is this weekend finalising a revised offer to buy the company which owns the music catalogues of Shakira and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Sky News has learnt that Blackstone is preparing to lodge an improved bid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF) as early as Monday. Its offer will
Jeremy Hunt is convening a summit aimed at enticing more companies to London’s stock market amid an accelerating exodus of businesses being picked off by overseas and financial predators. Sky News has learnt that the Treasury has invited the bosses of some of Britain’s most prominent private companies to attend a meeting next month at
The owner of Superdry’s flagship store in central London is weighing a challenge to a rescue plan that would impose steep haircuts on the struggling chain’s landlords. Sky News has learnt that M&G, the London-listed asset manager, has engaged lawyers from Hogan Lovells to scrutinise a restructuring plan launched by Superdry earlier this month. The
NatWest Group has become the latest UK banking giant to report a sharp drop in earnings for the first three months of the year. The lender said pre-tax profits in the first quarter of 2024 were £1.3bn – a fall of nearly 28% on the same period a year ago. However, the figure was better
There’s a trade war brewing between China and the West, at stake is who will dominate the global market for electric vehicles. Outside the port city of Ningbo, Chinese car company Zeekr is rolling out luxury EVs and growing fast. The factory has only been up and running for three years, but this year it’s
The extraordinary, unprecedented and largely unexplained flows of millions of pounds of British luxury cars into states neighbouring Russia continued in February, according to new official data. Some £26m worth of British cars were exported to Azerbaijan in February, according to data from HM Revenue & Customs. The numbers show that in the latest quarter
A former top Post Office executive has told the inquiry into the Horizon scandal that she never “knowingly” did anything wrong. Angela van den Bogerd, who held various roles over 35 years at the organisation, made the comment after opening her evidence on Thursday by saying she was “truly, truly sorry” for the “devastation” caused
Sainsbury’s has claimed it is winning over customers from its rivals after reporting higher than expected profits. The country’s second-largest supermarket chain announced on Thursday its underlying pre-tax profits were £701m for the 2022/23 financial year. The figure is up 1.6% on the previous year’s haul of £690m – and ahead of company forecasts that
Shipping traffic through the vital Suez Canal artery has plunged by 66% since cargo was forced to divert due to attacks on vessels, according to official figures. The data, from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), covered the period from mid-December to the beginning of April. It is important as it represents the scale
The post office scandal extends “greatly beyond” faulty Horizon software, according to a lawyer for victims. Paul Marshall, representing former sub-postmasters, says problems with third party systems in branches, such as ATMs, have been “overlooked”. A 2013 report commissioned by the Post Office, and not made public at the time, states: “Removing the ATM reduces
A former HR director at the Post Office, whose misconduct claims against chief executive Nick Read were dismissed following an internal investigation, has written to MPs in a bid to plead her case. Jane Davies, who was in post for seven months from December 2022 until she was dismissed, claimed Mr Read led a “deliberate