Business

Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, is closing in on a multibillion pound deal with Britain’s biggest housebuilders to help resolve the national cladding crisis exposed by the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster. Sky News has learnt that major companies including Barratt Developments and Persimmon are preparing for the imminent signing of a legally binding contract

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has dismissed economic “gloom” in a major speech today as he promised to use “Brexit freedoms” to increase growth and productivity in the UK. Speaking at Bloomberg’s European headquarters in London, he attacked “declinism”, instead saying the country was “poised to play a leading role in Europe and across the world in

Asda’s owners have revealed a planned shake-up that places hundreds of jobs at risk and will see thousands moved to lower-paid roles. The UK’s third-largest grocery chain by market share said its changes were the result of an “efficiency” drive but they were met with stinging criticism by the GMB union. The company has proposed

The number of shops lying vacant on British high streets fell during the final three months of 2022, despite pressure on both firms and consumers from surging costs. Figures in a report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Local Data Company (LDC) showed the overall vacancy rate improving to 13.8%. It marked a 0.1

Royal Mail’s parent firm has raised its estimate for the cost of industrial action so far to £200m and claimed that up to 12,500 union members have worked on strike days. International Distributions Services (IDS) said 18 days of walkouts at Royal Mail helped push the division to a £295m operating loss in the first

A London-based estate agent chaired by the former Sainsbury’s chief Justin King is on the brink of a deal to buy rival Marsh & Parsons. Sky News has learnt that Dexters, which is privately owned, has been in talks for weeks with LSL Property Services, Marsh & Parsons’ London-listed parent company. Sources said a deal

Gambling firm In Touch Games has been fined millions by a regulator for “social responsibility and money laundering failings”. The Gambling Commission said the company, which operates a number of online sites including bonusboss.co.uk, had been given a £6.1m penalty, its third fine related to oversight failures. The issues at In Touch Games, the watchdog

Liverpool and Manchester United supporters will temporarily set aside their historical enmity this week by uniting to demand tougher ownership rules for English football clubs. Sky News understands that the Reds’ and Red Devils’ biggest fan representative groups will issue a rare joint statement to urge ministers to include a beefed-up test for club owners

Government borrowing hit its highest December figure since records began last month, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a total of £27.4bn – a leap of almost £17bn on the same month a year ago. It blamed £7bn in costs from energy support schemes. Added to that was interest payments

The government should introduce a “social tariff” guaranteeing cheaper energy to vulnerable users who cannot afford their basic needs, the chief executive of regulator Ofgem has said. Speaking as Ofgem launched an investigation into energy suppliers imposing prepayment meters on struggling households, Jonathan Brearley said the current high-cost energy market left some households simply unable

Nadhim Zahawi settled his tax issue with HMRC while he was serving as chancellor, a government source has told Sky News. Questions about the now Tory chairman’s deal with tax authorities have continued, even after he released a statement to “address some of the confusion about my finances”. On Saturday he admitted he paid what

The bank executive who helped to transform Virgin Money into one of Britain’s biggest high street lenders has landed a role at the helm of a British-based digital wealth manager. Sky News understands that Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia will on Monday be unveiled as chair of Moneyfarm. Dame Jayne-Anne’s appointment will ignite speculation that Moneyfarm, which

Grant Shapps has launched a crackdown on energy suppliers, following reports some are not doing enough to support vulnerable customers amid the cost of living crisis. The Business and Energy Secretary has written a letter to energy suppliers, telling them to stop the practice of forced fitting prepayment meters as the answer to families struggling

The outgoing chief executive of Rightmove is among a pack of contenders to become the next boss of Future, the Marie Claire and Wallpaper publisher. Sky News has learnt that Peter Brooks-Johnson, who will leave the property portal in March, has been shortlisted to succeed Zillah Byng-Thorne, the media group’s veteran chief. Mr Brooks-Johnson is

The Treasury is close to agreeing a £300m aid package for the UK’s second-biggest steel producer in a move aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and averting the loss of thousands of industrial jobs across northern England. Sky News has learnt that Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has been advised by officials to approve a request

Google workers in the UK and Ireland face uncertainty after its parent company Alphabet announced 12,000 jobs are to be axed globally. The Silicon Valley giant employs more than 5,000 staff in both countries, but the company would not be drawn on how the mass redundancies would impact them. The “difficult news” about the job

Cost-conscious shoppers curbed spending over the Christmas period adding to the woes of retailers, official figures show. Retail sales unexpectedly fell by 1% in December, the second month of decline, according to the Office for National Statistics. It was far worse than the 0.5% rise predicted by economists. Compared with December 2021, sales were down

Lloyds Pharmacy is to pull out of 237 in-store Sainsbury’s branches, potentially putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk and exposing the financial pressure on UK pharmacies at the height of the NHS crisis. Lloyds Pharmacy, which bought Sainsbury’s 280-strong pharmacy network in 2015 in a deal worth £125m, said it would close the branches

The King has again signalled his wish to potentially shake up the way the monarchy is funded following a £1bn wind farm deal that could have created more money for the royals. Six new offshore wind energy lease agreements, announced by the Crown Estate, have generated a major windfall for the estate – and would

Britain’s battery sector has been delivered some unexpected good news, after an Australian billionaire told Sky News he will be opening an advanced battery plant in Oxfordshire later this year, creating up to 300 new jobs. Andrew Forrest, the founder of the Australian iron ore giant Fortescue, said he was expanding operations at WAE Technologies,