Business

Tesco has launched a checkout-free store where shoppers can pick up groceries and leave without having to go to a till. It is the latest supermarket giant to open an outlet where hi-tech cameras track the items consumers are buying. The new store, named GetGo, opens in London’s High Holborn today – the same branch

A global shipping services firm has told Sky News it could be another “18 months” before the industry weathers the sea of challenges causing massive disruption to the supply chain. James Gundy, the chief executive of Braemar Shipping Services, warned that container bottlenecks around the world were only part of the problem and only going

A former boss of Gucci is being lined up by Carlyle, the global buyout giant, to fashion a fresh growth spurt at End, the British online clothing business it bought this year. Sky News understands that Patrizio di Marco, who left Gucci in 2014 and subsequently had a spell with Dolce & Gabbana, another famed

Matthew Moulding, the boss of the online beauty, nutrition and technology services group THG, is to surrender his golden share in the company in an attempt to restore the City’s confidence after a torrid fortnight. Sky News has learnt that the owner of The Hut Group, which floated just over a year ago, will announce

If the trainee truckers the haulage industry so desperately needs could change direction as fast and frequently as government ministers they would sail through the HGV test. The latest U-turn, executed to address the supply chain crisis, comes from the Department for Transport, and even by the standards of recent weeks it is a screecher.

The head of British Gas owner Centrica has called for a “fit and proper” test for executives running energy firms after a series of insolvencies prompted by high gas price crisis that are set to leave consumers with a £2bn bill. Chris O’Shea, chief executive of the energy giant, called for changes to ensure that

The FTSE 100 has hit a new post-pandemic high as rising oil and banking stocks helped it shrug off supply chain and inflation worries. London’s leading share index ticked up to 7242.7 points in early trading on Friday, taking it above a previous peak in August to hit the highest level since February 2020. It

Boots enjoyed a bumper year thanks to booming sales of COVID-19 tests, according to its latest company results – despite footfall levels on the high street still being weaker than they were before the pandemic. In the 12 months between August 2020 and August 2021, sales topped £34bn at parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA).

The government wants to change how frequently overseas HGV operators can deliver in the UK to help solve the current supply chain problems. A consultation on extending “cabotage” rights will be launched on Friday to try to shore up supply chains and prevent shops running out of goods or increasing prices due to an HGV

Pure Gym, Britain’s biggest health and fitness club chain, is close to abandoning a £1.5bn stock market listing amid growing signs of jitters among investors. Sky News has learnt that Pure Gym, which is majority-owned by the private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, could decide as soon as this week to shelve its proposed

The EU has offered to cut 80% of checks on some goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland in an effort to avoid a post-Brexit trade clash. It has drawn up plans designed to ease the flow of items across the Irish Sea, including chilled meats, to put an end to the so-called “sausage

UK economic growth picked up in August as bars, restaurants and festivals benefited from a first full month without COVID restrictions in England, official figures show. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.4% month-on-month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – slightly below experts’ average forecast of 0.5% growth. However the report also

There are almost 10,000 fewer licensed premises across Britain since the start of the coronavirus pandemic – with a rush of closures taking place since the summer despite a reopening of the economy, according to a report. The latest market recovery monitor from industry consultants CGA and business advisory firm AlixPartners said the sector, including

The number of job vacancies hit a record high of 1.1 million in the three months to September, as the post-pandemic labour market continued to recover. The Office for National Statistics said the number of job vacancies increased by 318,000, with all industry sectors above or equal to the levels seen between January to March

Big Ideas live will explore the challenges facing the economy as we come out of the pandemic. It will look at how business can fire up the UK, but also at the challenges they face in doing so. What are the jobs which will be created, post pandemic, and where in the country? And with

Online fashion retailer ASOS has warned profits could fall by as much as 40% as it counts the cost of supply chain strains and Brexit duties – and said it was parting company with its boss. Shares plunged as much as 15% in early trading as the group pencilled in slowing sales growth ahead, after

A £50m cash injection will enable Liberty Steel to restart production in Rotherham, saving hundreds of jobs. The investment is part of a wider restructuring of Liberty’s owner, GFG Alliance, also involving Liberty Primary Metals Australia. GFG was forced to seek new funding when its key lender, Greensill Capital, collapsed. Image: The Liberty Steel plant

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has told Sky News that the price cap on consumers’ energy bills “will not be moved” this winter and he is “convinced” that the UK won’t suffer gas shortages in the coming months. Speaking to the Trevor Phillips On Sunday show, Mr Kwarteng said he was “convinced we will have full

A pig farmer who fears he may have to destroy 80 animals a week due to a shortage of butchers says the army may need to be called in to help. Stephen Thompson, who keeps 2,000 pigs at Povey Farm in Norton, Derbyshire, described the situation facing the industry as “the biggest waste and mess

Amber Rudd, the former cabinet minister, is joining a new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that will float in London and target a merger in the renewable energy sector. Sky News has learnt that Ms Rudd, who served as secretary of state for energy and climate change between May 2015 and July 2016, is to