Business

One of Britain’s oldest newspaper publishers is turning to the pensions lifeboat in a rescue deal that will involve steep haircuts for creditors and underline the crisis facing regional media groups amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sky News has learnt that Archant, whose titles include The New European and the Eastern Daily Press, has struck a

Pret A Manger is cutting 2,800 jobs due to the economic downturn caused by coronavirus. The popular cafe chain said its sales are down to levels around what they were 10 years ago. It follows the announcement that 30 Pret shops across the UK will close permanently. CEO Pano Christou said: “I’m gutted that we’ve

A number of chains and independent restaurants will continue to offer 50% off food when the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme ends. More than 64 million meals have been claimed since the scheme was introduced to help the struggling hospitality industry during the coronavirus pandemic. Diners have enjoyed a state-funded 50% discount on

Rolls-Royce has reported a record half-year loss of £5.4bn after it was “severely impacted” by the coronavirus pandemic – prompting a shake-up that has already cost thousands of jobs. The engine maker’s finances have been battered by a collapse in demand for flights, resulting in a hit to revenues as well as huge write-off and

Gatwick Airport is to axe up to 600 jobs – around 24% of its workforce – due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the travel industry. Gatwick, which is owned by VINCI Airports and Global Infrastructure Partners, said in a statement it was only operating about 20% of last year’s flights and would

Pension scams have cost savers more than £30m since 2017 according to a campaign by regulators targeting middle-aged football fans who are among the typical victims. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) said losses range from under £1,000 to as much as £500,000. They said a total of just under £30.9m

One of London’s biggest commercial landlords is to subsidise discounted meals beyond the Treasury’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme in a bid to avoid a renewed slump in footfall. Sky News has learnt that The Grosvenor Estate, which owns property in some of the capital’s most affluent postcodes, will announce on Wednesday that it

The Co-operative Bank has announced plans to cut around 350 jobs and close 18 branches as it cuts costs amid “prolonged economic uncertainty”. Middle management and head office roles will be among those affected as well as staff employed at the branches earmarked to be shut, the lender said. The announcement was partly blamed on

Tesco says it is creating 16,000 new permanent jobs as it sees “exceptional growth” in its online business. Most of the roles are expected to be filled by workers who joined on a temporary basis at the start of the pandemic but who now want to remain with the business for the longer term, the

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has bought some assets of DW Sports out of administration in a £37m deal, saving 922 jobs. The sports retailer and gyms group collapsed earlier this month after its income was wiped out during the coronavirus lockdown. Mr Ashley, the Sports Direct tycoon and Newcastle United owner, has acquired 40 leisure

Former customers of London Capital & Finance (LCF), one of Britain’s biggest recent financial mis-selling scandals, are preparing to challenge its administrators over the scale of fees being charged to handle the insolvency. Sky News understands that a number of creditors have been angered by the estimated £7.2m that Smith & Williamson intends to charge

The board of BT Group is preparing to defend it against takeover approaches from industry rivals and buyout firms after the suspension of its dividend prompted its shares to slump to their lowest level in more than a decade. Sky News has learnt that Britain’s biggest telecoms group, which now has a market capitalisation of

Violence and abuse against shop workers has doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a union representing retail staff. The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) says retail workers have been assaulted, threatened or abused at least once a week on average since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, compared to once a

Student travel firm STA has ceased trading in the UK, saying the coronavirus pandemic has brought its industry to a “standstill”. In a statement on its website, it said anyone with a live booking would receive “further communication in the coming days”. It said: “Unfortunately our travel experts are unable to assist you at this

Britain’s worst wheat harvest in 40 years is likely to cause a price hike in flour and bread, the industry has warned. Only about 40% of the usual amount of wheat crop was planted last October due to heavy rain, while crops being harvested now are very poor quality due to droughts earlier in the

Public debt has topped £2trn for the first time on record as spending soared to prop up the economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The figure at the end of July was £227.6bn higher than the same month last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Image: It is the first