Business

The state pension is due to rise by 4% in April, giving an extra £460 a year to recipients. The payment increases by the highest of total average weekly earnings, inflation for September or 2.5%. Figures on Tuesday showed average weekly earnings rose by 4% in the three months to July. Inflation data for September

Ministers are racing to finalise a £1.25bn deal with Tata Steel, the owner of Britain’s biggest steelworks, amid fading hopes of a similarly consensual agreement with the industry’s second-largest player. Sky News understands that Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, wants to make a statement to parliament on Wednesday about the Tata Steel deal after Prime

The remaining bidders for The Daily Telegraph have been given a deadline for revised bids for the right-leaning newspaper as its stablemate, The Spectator magazine, clinches a £100m sale to the hedge fund tycoon Sir Paul Marshall. Sky News understands that RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed entity which was thwarted in its efforts to buy

A clearing bank launched just three years ago is raising tens of millions of pounds of fresh funding just days after it was served with a winding-up petition by the UK tax authorities. Sky News understands that The Bank of London, which attempted to rescue Silicon Valley Bank UK last year, is progressing plans for

More than 100 Body Shop stores have been saved from closure after a deal was struck to rescue one of Britain’s best known high street chains. The well-known retailer was bought out of administration by a consortium led by “Cosmetics King” Mike Jatania. The millionaire tycoon’s investment firm Aurea announced the completion of the acquisition

The Aston Martin Formula One team is to set a new valuation benchmark by selling a large stake to two of the world’s most prominent investment funds. Sky News can exclusively reveal that HPS Investment Partners, a US-based firm which manages roughly $115bn in assets, and Accel, one of the giants of the Silicon Valley

Three out of four parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have been forced to give up work, or cut their hours, Sky News has learned. In a survey of more than 500 people, two out of five (40%) had to leave their jobs, and more than one in three (33%) reduced

A stronger performance for job creation in the United States appears to have eased financial market fears of a US recession. Closely-watched employment data showed that 142,000 net new jobs were created in the world’s largest economy last month. While that was below forecasts of 160,00, it represented a significant recovery on a downwardly revised

The new owners of The Body Shop are lining up tens of millions of pounds in new financing as they finalise a deal to buy the chain out of administration. Sky News has learnt that Aurea, an investment company led by Mike Jatania, a cosmetics entrepreneur, is in advanced talks to secure more than £30m

Royal Mail may not be obligated to deliver second class letters on a Saturday in future, under plans being considered by the industry regulator. Ofcom, which launched a consultation on the company’s universal service obligation (USO) earlier this year, said such a shift would protect priority deliveries, including first class mail, and help loss-making Royal

An American investment firm has joined forces with one of the remaining bidders for Cala Group, the privately owned housebuilder which has been put on the market. Sky News understands that Sixth Street has teamed up with Patron Capital Partners – Cala’s former owner – in an effort to trump a rival offer from Persimmon,

Stock markets globally are feeling the pain of a US-led slump that was sparked by renewed concerns for the country’s economy and artificial intelligence-linked values. The darling of US stocks since 2019, AI chipmaker Nvidia, saw its shares plunge almost 10% on the back of poorly received earnings growth last week. Other tech stocks in

EY, the big four auditor, has assembled a female-dominated shortlist to become the firm’s new UK and Ireland managing partner, paving the way for it to elect a woman to its top British executive position for the first time. Sky News has learnt that EY partners were briefed on Tuesday that one of Anna Anthony,

Bidders for The Daily Telegraph and its Sunday sister title are this week holding their first direct talks with the newspaper group’s bosses ahead of a deadline for formal bids later this month. Sky News has learnt that the remaining bidders for the right-leaning newspapers are participating in management presentations as they seek to finalise

American tech giant Hewlett Packard has said it is to continue with legal proceedings “through to their conclusion” to seek up to £3bn in damages from late British billionaire Mike Lynch’s estate in the UK. The company had been seeking compensation over its acquisition of British tech firm Autonomy amid claims of fraud masterminded by

Labour is facing a drop off in confidence among business leaders amid plans for tax rises and improvements to workers’ rights, according to a survey. The Institute of Directors (IoD) had noted a leap in optimism in July among its membership as the new government came to power. But its latest economic confidence index showed

A full-fibre broadband builder is accelerating its search for merger partners amid growing financial strains on some of the industry’s smaller players. Sky News understands that Zzoomm, which is backed by the giant US-based investor Oaktree Capital Management, has drafted in Acuity Advisors, a specialist technology firm, to identify prospective deals. Zzoomm operates in nearly

A British hypersonic aviation campaign which has been hailed as a successor to Concorde is this weekend racing to avert collapse. Sky News has learnt that Reaction Engines has lined up PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the accountancy firm, to act as administrator if its quest to secure new funding is unsuccessful. The company is understood to be

GE, one of the world’s best-known conglomerates has swooped to buy a British climate technology start-up in its quest to reduce the aviation industry’s environmental impact. Sky News has learnt that GE Aerospace has struck a deal to buy Satavia, a Cambridge-based company which helps to mitigate the warming effect of aircraft contrail clouds. Founded

The government’s plan to ban smoking in pub gardens and other outdoor venues is a “sensible approach” to help people stop, a minister has said. Sir Keir Starmer confirmed leaked reports on Thursday his government is considering the smoking ban, which would also include outdoor restaurants and outside sports venues, hospitals, nightclubs, and in some