Business

The UK supply arm of Russia’s state-owned gas firm Gazprom is expected to be placed under taxpayer control within days as customers attempt to flee the firm in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine. Gazprom Energy supplies over a fifth of gas used by commercial and public sector customers in the UK including companies like

800 P&O Ferries workers fired suddenly last week are only being given redundancy pay on the condition they sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), according to the Transport Secretary. Grant Shapps told the House of Commons that the company is using the agreements to try and “keep the employees quiet” while behaving in a “shameful and unacceptable

The Indian-born businessman who owns the Sacramento Kings basketball team has joined forces with the former British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton in his effort to buy Chelsea Football Club. Sky News has learnt that Vivek Ranadive, who made a fortune from the technology industry, has agreed to make a minority investment in the Premier

Rishi Sunak is pledging a £5.5bn crackdown on Whitehall waste as he faces pressure to tackle the cost of living crisis in his mini-budget. Ahead of his spring statement on Wednesday, the chancellor claims the efficiency savings will both curb inflation and fund vital public services. “During these challenging times it’s vital that every single

One of the largest shareholders in Pendragon has been thwarted in a £400m takeover raid on the London-listed car dealership giant. Sky News can reveal that Hedin Group, which operates more than 200 vehicle showrooms in Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland through its subsidiary Hedin Bil, tabled a secret 28p-a-share offer for Pendragon several weeks

The 9pm deadline for bids to buy Chelsea has passed, with consortiums led by Nick Candy, the Ricketts family and Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Sebastian Coe among the bidders. The sale has come amid UK and EU sanctions on Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Chelsea also under a number of restrictions.

The London property entrepreneur Nick Candy is lining up backing from two South Korean groups as he prepares to lodge a takeover bid for Chelsea Football Club. Sky News has learnt that Hana Financial Group, a major Seoul-based lender, and C&P Sports, a sports management firm, were on Friday in discussions about joining Mr Candy’s

Two and a half million households with children will be in fuel poverty once the new energy price cap comes into effect on 1 April, according to estimates from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition. That’s equivalent to two in five households, and it rises to more than half if we look just at single-parent homes.

All remaining COVID travel measures, including the Passenger Locator Form and tests for unvaccinated arrivals, have now ended in the UK. A range of “contingency measures” will be kept in reserve so ministers can take “swift and proportionate action” if needed to tackle new variants, according to the Department for Transport. It is understood that

The Bank of England has hiked the interest rate by 0.25% to 0.75% as it forecast inflation surging to 8% next month – and even higher in the autumn. It is the third increase in a row in as many policy meetings by the bank’s rate-setters and restores the cost of borrowing to pre-pandemic levels.

Ocado said it has “moved certain retail prices” to reflect soaring costs faced by the grocery industry across the UK and warned that the scale of food inflation this year is “difficult to predict”. The online delivery specialist said there had been “significant” rises in the costs of raw materials and products as well as

The former Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli has been hired by Nick Candy, the British property developer, to advise on his looming offer for the crisis-hit Premier League club. Sky News has learnt that Tifosy Capital & Advisory, which was set up by Mr Vialli and a group of financiers, is working with Mr Candy ahead

A Lloyd’s of London syndicate has been fined £1.05m over a culture of bullying and discrimination including an annual “Boys’ Night Out” characterised by heavy drinking and sexualised comments. Underwriting firm Atrium was also ordered to pay £563,000 in costs, after it accepted three charges of detrimental conduct brought by the insurance market’s enforcement board.

The US central bank has fired the starting pistol on interest rate rises as the world’s largest economy faces up to a surge in inflation that is only predicted to accelerate during Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate, for the first time since 2018, by a quarter point to a

McLaren Racing, one of motorsport’s most famous names, has struck a deal to lure Google, the technology behemoth, into Formula One racing for the first time. Sky News has learnt that Alphabet Inc-owned Google has signed an agreement with McLaren that will see the search engine’s consumer brands adorning its F1 and Extreme E cars

As Boris Johnson jetted off to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to persuade the Kingdom to pump more crude, a reminder arrived that whatever the prime minister’s efforts may yield, it may not be enough to save the world from an oil shock. The International Energy Agency, the multinational body set up in the wake

A battle over the future of some of London’s top restaurants has resumed hostilities after its Thai-based owner prepared legal proceedings against the fund which has just taken over the group’s debt. Sky News has learnt that Minor International has hired Linklaters, the magic circle law firm, to sue Knighthead Capital Management for allegedly inducing

Petrol prices have risen to an average of £1.65 a litre as motorists see no let-up in daily increases despite oil prices sliding back from peak levels. Latest figures from data firm Experian Catalist, for Tuesday, also showed average diesel prices had hit £1.76 a litre, both of them records. The cost of petrol has

Mixer-maker Fevertree has warned annual profits will be lower than previously expected after the Ukraine war pushed up commodity prices “dramatically”. The company said the surge over recent weeks had created “significant uncertainty in relation to input costs”. That means underlying earnings for the year are expected at £63m-£66m, down from previous guidance of £69m-£72m.

Boris Johnson will hold talks with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as he bids to end the West’s “addiction” to Russian oil and gas. With Vladimir Putin’s increasingly barbaric assault on Ukraine set to enter a third week, the prime minister is visiting the Gulf in a stepping-up of his