Business

One of London’s leading private equity firms has approached the cash-strapped Football Association (FA) about buying a big stake in the Women’s Super League (WSL). Sky News has learnt that Bridgepoint, the long-standing owner of the rights to stage the global MotoGP series, has tabled a proposal that would see the WSL become the latest

Holidaymakers who have accepted refund credits note for cancelled package holidays will get their money back if travel firms goes bust, the government has said. Until now, there have been doubts as to whether consumers’ refund credit notes would be protected if the issuing travel company collapsed before they could be spent. But the government has now said

I took the London Underground today for the first time since February. At 8.30am, a carriage that would usually hold around 200 people squashed like sardines saw just seven of us leisurely spaced. Getting off at Bank station was almost beautiful in its eeriness. Image: London faces the risk of being redrawn if workers are

British Airways’ iconic 747 jumbo jet will no longer be operated by the airline after it decided to retire its entire fleet with immediate effect. BA has used the famous Boeing plane since 1989 and is currently the world’s biggest operator of the 747-400 model. Image: The Boeing plane is one of the air industry’s

Netflix has warned that its lockdown-driven surge in subscribers is starting to peter out – even as it reported another quarter of bumper growth. The streaming service added 10.1 million customers in the second quarter – beating expectations and meaning it has added 26 million so far this year, compared with 28 million for the

Official data suggests almost 650,000 UK workers have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic amid fears an employment crisis exceeding that of the 1980s is looming. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed data showing that 649,000 people left company payrolls between March and June – covering the economy’s enforced hibernation to limit the

Talk of tax increases is in the air. Government borrowing has ballooned as ministers have sought to insulate the economy from COVID-19. The Office for Budget Responsibility, the independent fiscal watchdog that analyses the UK’s public finances, forecast this week that the government’s budget deficit this year will reach £372bn. Why the 2024 economy may

Apple and Ireland have won an appeal against an EU order that the tech giant pay the country €13bn (£11.6bn) in back taxes. In 2016, the European Commission ruled that Ireland had breached state aid rules by giving Apple unfair tax benefits, and ordered Ireland to recover the money plus interest. Both Ireland and Apple

A British-based cruise operator which has been at the centre of a repatriation row involving hundreds of crew is in eleventh-hour talks with potential investors in a desperate bid to stay afloat. Sky News has learnt that Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), which employs about 4,000 people, is in talks with VGO Capital Management, a

The UK’s budget watchdog has revised sharply higher its projections for the cost of the government’s response to the coronavirus crisis and warned the country remains on track for its worst economic slump in 300 years. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said it now expected the chancellor’s support programmes for the economy – part-bolstered

For employers and employees these are challenging and confusing days. Challenging because the UK is on the brink of an historic recession. Thousands of business owners are uncertain of their future viability, and more than nine million workers are wondering if they will be among the millions left unemployed when the government stops paying their

G4S has announced plans to cut up to 1,150 jobs through a shake-up of its cash-handling business in the UK. The company said it was the culmination of a review covering the operational footprint of its Cash Solutions arm including vans which pick up and deliver cash to businesses across the economy. The review is

The government should establish a “UK Recovery Corporation” to help tackle a £35bn state-backed debt burden accumulated by British businesses during the coronavirus crisis, a panel of top City figures will say this week. Sky News has exclusively obtained the principal recommendations of the Recapitalisation Group (RCG) – overseen by TheCityUK lobbying organisation – which

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Airways is this weekend racing to secure the backing of a giant American payments group for a £1bn rescue deal that would save thousands of British aviation jobs. Sky News has learnt that First Data, a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Fiserv, has in recent days demanded stringent terms in return for

The fund manager whose firm’s collapse last year sent shockwaves through the City is staging his comeback as an adviser to a backer of start-up companies. Sky News has learnt that Neil Woodford has quietly begun working for Juno Capital, whose partners include the FTSE-100 grandee Sir Nigel Rudd, who has run and chaired a

Under a warm, blue sky, Thierry Voirin is wandering through his fields of vines. Carefully, he examines them, looks at the leaves, feels the soil. Here, in the only place in the world allowed to use the name for its sparkling wine, his grapes will be used to make champagne. It is a luxury product,