Business

Labour will promise to get more young people on the housing ladder as it announces its “freedom to buy” scheme on Friday. The party will pledge to make the existing mortgage guarantee scheme – which sees the government act as a guarantor for people unable to save big deposits – into a permanent fixture if

UK entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been cleared of all charges by a US jury in the high-profile fraud case related to the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. Dr Lynch, who was extradited to the United States to face trial just over a year ago, was acquitted alongside a former

The 20 countries using the euro currency have seen interest rates cut from record highs following progress in the battle against inflation over the past two-and-a-half years. The Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB) said on Thursday it was “appropriate” to trim its main deposit rate from 4% to 3.75%. It followed an assertion last month

The next government is being urged to do more to help drive the transition to electric vehicles as private sales of new pure battery models go into reverse. According to data covering May released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), there was a 2% dip in UK sales of new battery electric

A former senior executive at the Post Office was told by auditors the Horizon IT system was “a real risk”, four years before sub-postmaster prosecutions stopped. Post Office’s auditors Ernst and Young (now called EY) warned Alice Perkins, the company chair in 2011, that the accountancy software “is a real risk” and asked, “does it

The commitments offered by the Czech tycoon seeking to buy Royal Mail’s parent firm do not go far enough, according to the union leader representing its 112,000 UK frontline workers. Communication Workers Union (CWU) general secretary Dave Ward made his remarks following talks with representatives of Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group. International Distribution Services (IDS) revealed

The headquarters of Toyota Motor has been visited in Japan as part of an investigation into official safety certifications that is affecting models across five major carmakers in the country. Hours after Toyota’s embattled chairman issued an apology for cheating tests on seven models, officials from Japan’s transport ministry descended on the offices in Toyota

The stock market influencer behind the so-called meme stock frenzy of 2021 has triggered a fresh surge in shares of GameStop, the struggling US videogame retailer. Keith Gill, who goes by the name Roaring Kitty online, revealed a $116m (£90.8m) position in GameStop on Sunday. Gill told his followers he controlled 1.8% of GameStop’s available

Wholesale costs for natural gas have hit their highest levels across Europe since December last year after key Norwegian export operations were shut down due to a cracked pipe. The damage, discovered aboard the Sleipner Riser platform, prompted wider energy infrastructure to be halted including the Nyhamna processing plant which exports gas to the UK,

Shein, the online fashion behemoth, is on the verge of taking a huge stride towards a London flotation that would value it at about £50bn and rank among the most significant – and contentious – deals in the UK’s capital markets for years. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Shein, which was founded in China

Britain’s biggest water company has been told it faces a fine of more than £40m over the payment of a shareholder dividend in spite of its poor performance. Sky News has learnt that Ofwat notified Thames Water last month that it was minded to impose the penalty for breaching rules on the payment of dividends.

Spending a fair chunk on going to see your favourite big artist is not new – but it certainly feels like concert prices have entered a new stratosphere. Fans of Bruce Springsteen have paid upwards of £120 for “rear pitch” standing tickets for his May 2024 tour, while some expressed disappointment recently over the £145

Life comes at you fast if you are the person responsible for maintaining the shareholder register at NatWest. Until last week, it was hoped that the bank would be at the centre of Jeremy Hunt‘s plans to get millions more Britons investing in the stock market. Money latest: Income growth ‘worst in generations’ The chancellor

Superdry, the struggling London-listed fashion chain, has received a reprieve after the owner of its flagship store towed back from a challenge to its rescue plan. Sky News understands that M&G, the asset manager which had been contemplating a formal objection to Superdry’s restructuring plan, has decided not to proceed with the move. M&G owns

The housing market is showing signs of “resilience” with prices rising slightly, according to new figures from the UK’s largest building society. Nationwide said house prices were up 0.4% in May, compared to April. It said the average cost of a home was now £264,249 – with year-on-year prices also increasing by 1.3%. The figures

The establishment of Great British Energy is among the last remnants of the ‘green prosperity plan’ devised and championed by Ed Miliband, the shadow secretary of state for energy security and net zero, three years ago. The former Labour leader’s vision was to spend £28bn per year in the first five years of an incoming

Dr Martens has reported another sharp fall in profits following a “challenging year” for the business. The struggling company said global pre-tax profits in the 12 months to March were £97m – a fall of almost 43% on the previous year. Revenue also dipped 12% to £877m – down from just over £1bn in 2022/23.

Daniel Kretinsky is on the cusp of becoming the new man in charge of the Royal Mail. The board of its parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), announced on Wednesday it had agreed to a takeover by Mr Kretinsky’s EP Group, which has valued the firm at £5.3bn. The deal must first be approved by

The owners of Royal Mail have agreed to a £3.6bn takeover bid by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. The company’s parent firm International Distribution Services (IDS) said its board of directors had approved the deal after a formal offer was made earlier this month. Mr Kretinsky’s EP Group already owns 27.6% of the business. Shareholders will

Rishi Sunak’s committee of business advisers refused to publicly back the government’s economic policy record on Tuesday amid an escalating row over Labour’s efforts to steal the Conservative Party’s traditional mantle as ‘the party of business’. Sky News contacted all 15 of the companies represented on the prime minister’s business council to see whether their