Business

The UK car industry says growing demand for electric cars was the only “bright spot” for the sector last year as a string of coronavirus crisis-related challenges combined to knock sales. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported a rise of just 1% in overall new car sales during 2021 compared to the

A local authority-backed energy supplier with 170,000 customers faces collapsing within weeks as a last-ditch search for new funding nears its end. Sky News has learnt that Together Energy, which is 50%-owned by Warrington Borough Council, is likely to run out of money later in January without an emergency capital injection. A source close to

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng will hold further talks with energy suppliers on Wednesday as the government continues to explore ways of softening the blow of a forecast 50% increase to household energy bills. A third round of talks between industry and ministers in the week since the Christmas break comes after Boris Johnson said he

Frozen food specialist Iceland has revealed that more than one in 10 workers are currently self-isolating as staff shortages take a toll on business, the NHS, and public transport networks after the Christmas break. The supermarket chain told Sky News that about 3,300 people were currently at home – representing 11% of its entire workforce

Shop prices climbed at their fastest rate for nearly three years last month and the increase looks set to accelerate, according to a monthly report published by the retail industry. Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed prices in December were 0.8% up compared with a year earlier, the highest rate since March 2019.

David Bowie’s back catalogue has been sold to Warner Music Group in a deal reported to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The deal covers songs from the 26 studio albums released within the star’s life as well as the posthumous album Toy, and two he made with the band Tin Machine. It spans

One of Britain’s most acquisitive insurance companies has struck a £400m deal to snap up the group which distributes policies for the likes of Marks & Spencer and the RAC. Sky News has learnt that Markerstudy has agreed to buy BGL Insurance, which is owned by the group behind the Comparethemarket price comparison platform in

Twenty Conservative politicians have urged Boris Johnson to scrap energy taxes as bills continue to rocket. The MPs and peers have written a letter in the Sunday Telegraph to ask the prime minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak to help consumers facing “fuel poverty”. Energy prices in the UK are being forced up faster than any

Microsoft says it is aware of a programming flaw which saw some customers’ Exchange servers stop processing emails just as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. System administrators, who are sharing workarounds on social media, have dubbed the bug Y2K22 – in the style of the Y2K bug which affected some computers at

Guy Hands, the billionaire financier, is plotting the sale of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) biggest landlord in what could be one of Britain’s biggest private equity deals of 2022. Sky News has learnt that Mr Hands’ Terra Firma Capital Partners has begun talks with investment banks about overseeing an auction of Annington Homes. City

Tencent Holdings, the Chinese technology behemoth, is taking a stake in Monzo, the British-based digital bank which has confounded expectations by securing a $4.5bn (£3.3bn) valuation. Sky News has learnt that Tencent, which has become a prolific investor in Europe‘s burgeoning tech sector, has subscribed to shares as part of a $100m (£74m) top-up to

New rules banning a loyalty penalty for car and home insurance customers take effect from 1 January. The rules mean customers renewing their policy will have to be offered a price no higher than if they were a new customer. They are designed to tackle the practice of “price walking”, where firms offer below-cost deals

The owners of Shawbrook, one of Britain’s biggest challenger banks, are exploring plans to list it on the London Stock Exchange less than five years after taking it private. Sky News has learnt that BC Partners and Pollen Street Capital, the two private equity firms which each own 50% of Shawbrook, are holding talks with

Taunton has been named as the house price hotspot of 2021, with average values rising 21.8% this year – three times the UK average of 6.2%. Prices in the Somerset county town increased by £56,546 to £315,759, according to Halifax. Newark in the East Midlands had the second-largest growth as values rose 20% in a

Liquidators of the Thomas Cook travel empire which became one of Britain’s best-known companies during its 178-year history have launched a bid to offload its stake in the company behind the UK’s air traffic control operations. Sky News has learnt that AlixPartners, the professional services firm, launched a process shortly before Christmas to sell Thomas

Households face an average hit of £1,200 to their incomes from the double whammy of rising energy bills and taxes, a think tank has said. The Resolution Foundation (RF) says families are facing a “cost-of-living catastrophe” when the energy price cap goes up and National Insurance contributions (NICs) rise by 1.25 percentage points in April.

A health minister has defended the government’s decision not to offer the hospitality sector more financial support, saying venues remain “pretty full”. Business leaders have issued a fresh call for more economic help for the hospitality sector after fears around the new Omicron variant led to a steep decline in trade in the usually busy

Footfall at shopping sites across the UK on Boxing Day fell to almost half of levels seen pre-pandemic, figures show. Shopping centres, usually filled with Boxing Day sale bargain hunters, saw footfall plunge by almost 50% compared to the same day in 2019, while high streets and retail parks saw falls of 38% and 40%.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is to hold meetings with energy bosses today to address rapidly rising gas and electricity prices. Mr Kwarteng will meet with the bosses of major energy suppliers who are likely to ask the government for tax cuts and the relaxation of green levies. Last week, the industry’s trade body Energy UK

The Premier League is facing a fresh bout of boardroom upheaval with the resignation of its longest-serving independent director amid the COVID-induced chaos that has hit the top flight of English football. Sky News has learnt that Kevin Beeston, who joined the Premier League board in 2015, has informed colleagues that he plans to step