Business

Plans to develop the UK’s largest untapped oilfield have been thwarted in a major climate court case. A Scottish court ruled the previous Conservative government acted “unlawfully” when it green-lit the offshore Rosebank oilfield and smaller Jackdaw gas project. The judge said the assessment of the projects’ climate damage failed to acknowledge the impact of

Pizza Hut’s biggest UK restaurant franchisee is closing in on a rescue deal that would salvage the vast majority of its British outlets and jobs. Sky News has learnt that Directional Capital, an investment firm which already controls much of Pizza Hut’s dine-in operations in Denmark and Sweden, is in advanced talks to acquire roughly

Britain’s leading small business group has issued a clarion call to economic watchdogs to heed Sir Keir Starmer’s edict to tear up regulatory barriers to growth with a fresh list of demands for reform. Sky News has obtained a letter from the FSB to more than half a dozen regulators, including Ofgem and the Financial

The health secretary has said that the cabinet is aware of the “pressure” on Chancellor Rachel Reeves amid volatile markets and a challenging broader economic picture – but appealed for the public to “give her time”. Wes Streeting argued that the public “underestimates” the “amount of heavy-lifting” Ms Reeves has had to do and will

The proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds living with their parents has risen by more than a third in just under two decades, according to new analysis. Last year, the share of the age group living at home was almost a fifth (18%), up from 13% in 2006, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said in

The London Stock Exchange is preparing to do battle for one of Europe’s biggest initial public offerings for years as Verisure, the domestic security systems provider, kicks off plans for a flotation valuing it at more than €20bn (£16.7bn). Sky News has learnt that Verisure’s owner, the private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F), is

Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip. Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home. The past week has seen

The pound has come under renewed pressure at the end of a torrid week for the UK currency, falling to fresh 14-month lows against the dollar. Sterling lost almost a cent, to stand just above $1.22 at one stage, on the back of higher support for the greenback after US employment data came in much

As the dust settles on a tumultuous week for gilts (UK government bonds) and sterling – a week that has raised serious questions about chancellor Rachel Reeves’s stewardship of the economy – the big question many people will be asking is why investor sentiment has shifted so much against the UK in the past week.

The chancellor is under pressure because financial market moves have pushed up the cost of government borrowing, putting Rachel Reeves’ economic plans in peril. So what’s going on, and should we be worried? What is a bond? UK Treasury bonds, known as gilts because they used to literally have gold edges, are the mechanism by

An intervention by the chancellor to help shore up flagging financial market confidence in the UK economy has been ruled out by the government, amid further declines in the value of the pound. Sterling fell to its lowest level against the dollar since November 2023 early on Thursday, building on recent losses. A toxic cocktail

Deepening tensions over the ownership of Yodel, one of Britain’s biggest parcel delivery businesses, were exposed on Thursday when a group of purported warrant-holders indicated a desire to seize control of the company. Sky News has learnt that a group said to comprise dozens of warrant-holders – including the entrepreneur who led an aborted rescue

De La Rue, the Bank of England’s currency printer, has been approached about a takeover by one of the City’s most prominent financiers. Sky News has learnt that Edi Truell, the pensions and private equity entrepreneur, has tabled a conditional offer for De La Rue worth 125p-a-share. The proposal, which was at a roughly-25% premium

Bim Afolami, the former City minister, is to return to HSBC – the bank he worked for before he embarked on a career in politics – in a boardroom role. Sky News has learnt that Mr Afolami, who lost his Hitchin seat at last year’s general election, is to become a non-executive director of the

How worried should Rachel Reeves be about the fact that the interest rates on government bonds have leapt to the highest level in more than a quarter of a century? More to the point, how worried should the rest of us be about it? After all, the interest rate on 30-year government bonds (gilts, as

The UK’s power grid operator has urged electricity providers to bolster output this evening to avert the threat of blackouts amid plunging temperatures. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) issued an alert “to encourage market actions to increase system margins”. It is worried about a lack of spare capacity in the grid from 4pm until

Grocery shoppers are being warned of renewed hikes to food costs in the months ahead due to retailers passing on budget tax hike costs. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned that food prices will rise by an average of 4.2% in the latter half of the year – piling more pressure on households at a

Piers Morgan, the broadcaster and journalist, is leaving Rupert Murdoch’s British empire to focus on expanding his Uncensored YouTube channel in the US and other international markets, underlining prominent media figures’ accelerating shift away from traditional outlets. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Mr Morgan and News UK – publisher of The Sun and The

A committee of MPs has called for the government to be fined if it fails to provide redress quickly enough to victims of the Horizon software scandal, as its report said the Post Office has spent at least £136m on legal fees. New legally enforceable time limits for each stage of claim processing should be

The operator of nearly 150 Pizza Hut restaurants in the UK is in advanced talks with potential buyers as it races to wrap up a deal to secure its future. Sky News has learnt that Heart With Smart (HWS), the US-owned brand’s biggest UK franchisee, is aiming to select a preferred bidder in January after