Business

The Trafford Centre, Britain’s fourth-biggest shopping mall, is being put up for sale less than two months after its parent company, Intu Properties, collapsed into administration. Sky News has learnt that the Manchester shopping destination, which draws 30 million visitors every year, is to be auctioned following pressure for a rapid sale from its biggest

Britain is to be officially declared in recession for the first time since the financial crash with figures set to show the COVID-19 crisis triggered a record economic slump. The dramatic 21% downturn between April and June – the worst in western Europe – is expected to be confirmed by the Office for National Statistics

Victims of bank transfer scams face a “total lottery” over whether they will get their money back under a voluntary industry code, according to a consumer campaign group. Which? said people who fell foul of authorised push payment (APP) fraud are being treated unfairly or inconsistently by banks and building societies when trying to get

McDonald’s is suing its former chief executive – fired last year for an inappropriate relationship with an employee – over claims he had affairs with other staff and destroyed evidence. According to court documents filed by the fast-food giant, Stephen Easterbrook, who grew up in Watford, Hertfordshire, “lied about his wrongdoing” in having had sexual

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been arrested under the city’s new national security law on suspicion of collusion with foreign forces, one of his aides has said. “Jimmy Lai is being arrested for collusion with foreign powers at this time,” Mark Simon, a senior executive at Mr Lai’s media company Next Digital, tweeted

The American investment firm Apollo Global Management is weighing a £3bn takeover bid for the AA, Britain’s biggest roadside recovery service. Sky News has learnt that Apollo, co-founded by Leon Black, one of Wall Street’s financiers, has joined a trio of rival bidders in approaching the debt-laden company. Sources said this weekend that Apollo had

By Sally Lockwood, news correspondent There is a crisis behind the coronavirus crisis in the US. As it prepares to lose thousands more lives to COVID-19 in the coming weeks, millions of Americans are facing destitution. The emergency benefits that have been supporting around 30 million Americans since March ended on 31 July. Many received

More than 10,000 British Airways workers are being made redundant, it has been confirmed. It is understood that 6,000 of the redundancies are voluntary and trade union Unite says a further 4,000 are compulsory. A spokesperson for British Airways said: “Our half-year results, published last week, clearly show the enormous financial impact of COVID-19 on

Ofgem has said it will cut bills for around 15 million households by up to £95 after reducing its cap on energy bills to the lowest level yet. The price cap has been set at £1,042 per year for an average household and will come into force from October, Ofgem said. It is an £84

The chancellor has warned there is hardship ahead for many people as the furlough scheme winds down over the next few months. Rishi Sunak told Sky News that ending the scheme was “one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make in this job”. He added: “If you look at it from start to

Businesses have demanded a “no surprises” approach to the handling of local coronavirus lockdowns following complaints of mixed messages and a lack of communication. The CBI, which represents 190,000 UK firms, said those caught up in renewed COVID-19 restrictions to date in places such as Leicester had rated the implementation as “mixed at best” to

The Bank of England has said the UK is still set for a record economic slump due to COVID-19 as it left the interest rate unchanged at 0.1% . The central bank’s nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to hold rates as it said it expected Britain’s economy to take longer to get back

Moves to slash red tape and hand automatic planning permission to some homes – and projects like schools and hospitals – are being unveiled by Boris Johnson. A radical blueprint hailed as a “once-in-a-generation reform” is being published by the government with the aim of sweeping away “slow and complex” planning laws. The shake-up, a

WH Smith is looking to cut up to 1,500 jobs after the high street retailer said its recovery from the COVID-19 lockdown remained slow. With other firms also threatening redundancies, including PizzaExpress, DW Sports and Hays Travel, it brings the total number to almost 6,000 so far this week alone. WH Smith said it was

Tech retailer Dixons Carphone is to cut 800 jobs as it changes the way its stores are managed. The company, which owns Currys PC World, has already started to consult with the affected staff, as it begins to remove roles from its stores. Retail managers, assistant managers and team leader roles will be cut at

PizzaExpress has said it could close around 67 of its UK restaurants, putting up to 1,100 jobs at risk. The chain, which also revealed it has put itself up for sale, blamed the move on the “significantly more challenging environment” caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Highlighting the “current unprecedented backdrop” of COVID-19, bosses believe the