Business

A financial services giant backed by an Abu Dhabi state investment fund is the latest suitor to emerge as a contender to swoop on parts of the stricken London-listed company MJ Hudson. Sky News has learnt that Apex Group, which is based in Bermuda and has around 12,000 employees, plans to table an offer next

The UK’s biggest retailers will next week warn Rishi Sunak that the government’s waste strategy risks forcing prices up for consumers even as continued inflationary pressures exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis. Sky News has obtained the draft of a letter from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) – expected to be sent to the prime minister next

In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western leaders heralded a sanctions regime that would cripple the country’s war machine. Joe Biden claimed Russia’s economy would be “cut in half”, while Boris Johnson spoke of squeezing it “piece by piece.” A year has passed, but that great promise has been slow to deliver. Please

The food system “remains resilient” the environment secretary has said, as she conceded fruit and vegetable shortages will likely continue for another two to four weeks. Responding to an urgent question in the Commons as the crisis leaves supermarket shelves bare, Therese Coffey said: “I am led to believe by my officials after discussion with

British tomatoes will likely remain scarce until the end of April or even early May, the UK’s largest grower has warned. It comes after Tesco and Aldi became the latest supermarkets to place limits on some fruit and vegetables customers can buy due to supply shortages. The soaring cost of energy, and fertiliser also derived

Theft by employees has jumped by 19% amid warnings that the rising cost of living is triggering a wave of workplace crime, new data suggests. Almost 6,000 people were caught stealing from their employer in 2022 – up from 5,000 the year before. Incidents range from the petty pilfering of office supplies to theft of

Government officials will this week fly to China in an effort to convince the owner of British Steel to finalise plans for a state funding package amid hundreds of job cuts at the company. Sky News has learnt that civil servants from the Department for Business and Trade are travelling to meet executives from Jingye

Asda and Morrisons are imposing limits on some of the fruit and vegetables customers can buy due to supply shortages. Asda is temporarily limiting the purchase of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries to three of each item per customer. “Like other supermarkets, we are experiencing sourcing challenges on some products

The world’s biggest trial of a four-day working week has been hailed a success – with most of the companies involved saying they would continue offering a shorter week. A total of 61 companies across several sectors in the UK were involved in the pilot, which ran for six months from June last year. Employers

The government has been accused of going round in circles in its attempt to stop sewage pouring into England’s rivers and seaside. The environment secretary Thérèse Coffey has ordered England’s water and sewerage companies to share a “clear plan” to reduce spills from every single storm overflow. Pipes releasing into bathing waters and critical nature

Planet Organic, the organic supermarket chain, has drafted in City advisers to explore a possible sale. Sky News has learnt that Planet Organic, which was founded in 1995 by Renee Elliot, is working with Interpath on a review of its strategic options. A source close to the process said this weekend that the company was

Railway engineering workers are set to take part in a series of 48-hour strikes next month due to a pay dispute. The action comes after the workers at infrastructure group Balfour Beatty overwhelmingly rejected the company’s offer of a 5.5% increase in pay. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will take strike

Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, is to kick off a review of its presence in the UK banking sector – a move that could lead to a sale of the business. Sky News has learnt that the grocery giant is lining up Goldman Sachs to advise on the future of Tesco Bank, which launched in

Charging customers higher electricity prices has helped the UK wing of the French state-owned energy giant turn a profit. While an overall loss was recorded at EDF (Électricité de France) earnings rose at its UK operations, it said in its 2022 annual results. Core profits in the UK electricity-producing entity hit £1.12bn, up from a

Profits at NatWest have risen to their highest since the global financial crash. The bank recorded profits of £5.1bn before tax in its 2022 full-year results, a high not seen since 2007 and an increase from the £3.8bn booked a year earlier. The payment of a bonus to its chief executive, Dame Alison Rose, was

Rail workers and nurses will strike again next month, while frontline Royal Mail workers are also threatening a new wave of strikes. Tens of thousands of RMT members will strike again beginning on 16 March after the union received “no new offers” from employers involved in the national rail dispute. The RMT revealed the start

Retail sales rose in January, surprising economists after a two month fall, according to official figures. Sales were expected to fall 0.3% according to a Reuters poll of economist forecasts, but data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed the numbers were better than the loss in December. But there was an overall fall

The union representing 112,000 frontline Royal Mail staff is increasingly “gambling with their members’ futures”, a company source has told Sky News as a new wave of strikes looms in their bitter row over pay and modernisation plans. Speaking as the Communication Workers Union (CWU) revealed a fresh mandate for industrial action, the source declared

The UK’s top flight share index, the FTSE 100, has crossed the 8,000 points barrier for the first time. It was less than a fortnight ago that the collective market value of its 100 constituents exceeded the previous record high – seen all the way back in May 2018. The intraday record of 8,003 was

Ofgem has revealed that the end of forced installation of controversial energy prepayment meters only extends until the end of March. The watchdog said the date, that household energy suppliers had agreed to, also included a temporary halt to remote transfers for customers currently on smart meters. The government had suggested last week that the