Business

Energy bills are projected to fall by an average of 15% – equivalent to £293 in annual savings – as a mild winter meant high gas storage levels. A closely watched forecast by Cornwall Insight indicates energy bills from April to June will drop to £1,635 a year for the typical user. By comparison, average

Retail sales have grown significantly – far exceeding expectations – as consumer spending bounced back in January. The 3.4% increase in retail sales is more than double the 1.5% rise forecast by analysts – and suggests the economy is recovering. On Thursday, the UK officially entered recession after two consecutive three-month periods of contraction –

Last year was a tumultuous one for NatWest Group. The lender was engulfed in a damaging row over ‘debanking’, during which it lost its highly regarded former chief executive Dame Alison Rose. NatWest confirmed this morning – as reported earlier this week by Sky’s Mark Kleinman – that Paul Thwaite, the bank’s former commercial banking

The owner of British Gas has reported a big jump in profits – as its boss called for a “social tariff” that would help poorer Britons pay less for their gas and electricity. The retail wing of parent company Centrica, which is mostly made up of British Gas, said profits soared to £799m in 2023,

Let’s get the provisos out of the way first. The fact that the UK is technically in recession changes nothing fundamentally. The economy had been performing weakly for some time. Gross domestic product – the broadest measure of how much income we are all generating across the country – had been essentially flatlining since early

Takeaway delivery strikes will be held every Friday and on holidays if demands are not met, an organiser has said ahead of the Valentine’s Day stoppage. A group calling itself Delivery Jobs UK says up to 4,000 delivery riders could strike between 5pm and 10pm on Wednesday night as there are four full WhatsApp groups,

Jeff Bezos has sold more than $4bn (£3.2bn) worth of his shares in Amazon over the past few days. The Amazon founder and executive chairman sold nearly 12 million shares of Amazon stock worth more than $2bn (£1.58bn) on 7 and 8 February, according to a statement he filed with federal regulators. The collective value

Prices have increased over the past 12 months by 7.9% on average, putting pressure on already stretched household budgets. Inflation is now at its lowest annual rate since March 2022 driven by decreases in transport costs, with the cost of motor fuel decreasing. Price rises for food and other household items, although down from their

The Body Shop was an innovative, fiercely ethical and thriving part of the British high street for almost five decades. To enter a store was an assault on the senses from colour to exotic names and fragrances. We had never seen the like before. Though confirmation on Tuesday that the UK arm had been placed

Bitcoin has returned to the $50,000 level for the first time since December 2021, riding on the coat tails of a wider rally for US stocks. The world’s largest cryptocurrency, which hit one-month highs last Friday, maintained its momentum on Monday by rising almost 5%. Rivals, such as ether, saw similar percentage moves. Analysts credited

Macquarie, the Australian banking giant, is closing in on a deal to buy a big stake in the wholesale arm of TalkTalk Telecom, one of Britain’s biggest consumer broadband providers. Sky News has learnt that Macquarie could sign an exclusivity agreement as soon as this week that would pave the way for a transaction with

The UK arm of The Body Shop has entered administration, threatening jobs and stores. As first reported by Sky News, FRP Advisory has been brought in to handle an insolvency process just weeks since the new owners took control of the cosmetics retailer. The Body Shop has roughly 200 outlets across the UK. Inflation to

Bosses of water companies responsible for illegal sewage spills are to face a ban on their substantial bonuses after years of campaigns and public outrage.   Environment Secretary Steve Barclay announced payouts would be blocked to chiefs who oversee the polluting of rivers, lakes, and seas – starting with bonuses in the financial year starting

NatWest Group is preparing to pay out about £350m in staff bonuses as the government draws up plans for a retail share offer that could drastically reduce the state’s remaining stake in the bailed-out lender. Sky News has learnt that NatWest is finalising proposals for the bonus pot ahead of annual results this week that

Adnams, one of the most historic names in British brewing, has drafted in City advisers to raise new funding amid a deluge of insolvencies across the sector. Sky News has learnt that Adnams is working with Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) on a range of options to shore up its finances. People close to the situation

The new owners of The Body Shop are lining up administrators for its British arm just weeks after taking control of the cosmetics retailer, in a move which could threaten significant numbers of shops and jobs. Sky News has learnt that the company founded by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon nearly half a century

The Premier League is facing a fresh battle over changes to rules governing commercial deals between related parties after it was warned by a club that the proposals were unlawful. Sky News has learnt that the 20 top-flight clubs, which include Arsenal, Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester United, were notified on Thursday that one of them

Tesco has announced the sale of its banking arm to Barclays in a deal worth up to £1bn. The UK’s largest retailer, which had been in discussions with other major lenders including HSBC and Lloyds, said all 2,800 staff at Tesco Bank would transfer to Barclays under the agreement over time. Hundreds of other workers

Labour has finally confirmed it is ditching a flagship pledge to spend £28bn-a-year on green investments if it wins the next general election. The party says it will now spend just £23.7bn on environmental schemes over the course of its first term in office – equivalent to just under £5bn a year. However, Labour insists

There has been a jump in the number of properties falling behind with mortgage payments, according to industry figures that also show an 11% rise in repossessions of buy-to-let (BTL) properties. UK Finance said cost of living pressures and higher interest rates continued to take a toll on borrowers over the final three months of