Business

The governor of the Bank of England is opposing plans drawn up by the Treasury that would allow ministers to overrule financial watchdogs on key areas of City regulation. Sky News has learnt that Andrew Bailey has expressed disquiet about a so-called ‘call-in power’ that will be included in the Financial Services and Markets Bill,

Tom Glick, a former executive at Manchester City FC’s parent company, is to take over the day-to-day running of Chelsea Football Club in the wake of its £2.5bn takeover. Sky News has learnt that Mr Glick’s appointment could be announced within days by Chelsea’s new owners, although it remained unclear on Friday whether he would

Klarna, the buy-now-pay-later credit provider, is trying to finalise a fresh capital injection likely to value it at less than $10bn – just 20% of its worth only two years ago. Sky News has learnt that the Swedish company has asked investors to commit in the coming days to a fundraising that is expected to

Aston Martin has said it is considering multiple funding options following reports that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund was lining up a possible investment worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Responding to the reports, the luxury carmaker said that it was keeping all “funding options under review,” amid uncertainty around the company’s future. Aston Martin’s

Talks between Network Rail and the RMT have resumed with the union warning it will announce more strike dates if the rail bosses press ahead with a consultation on compulsory redundancies. The two sides met for the first time since a national strike last week against the backdrop of Friday’s deadline for Network Rail to

Thames Water is to tap shareholders for £1.5bn of new equity in an effort to accelerate its transformation plan, months after it was hit by the latest in a string of regulatory fines. Sky News has learnt that Britain’s biggest water utility is expected to announce on Thursday that its existing investors have agreed to

A two-year extension of tariffs on some foreign steel has been revealed by the government in a bid to protect domestic producers, despite pleas from manufacturers for help to grow imports because of a domestic steel shortage. International Trade Secretary told MPs “safeguards” would remain on 15 major categories of imported steel in total, because

Hilco, the specialist retail investor, is closing in on a takeover of Cath Kidston, the modern vintage brand recently put up for sale by the owner which bought it out of administration just two years ago. Sky News has learnt that Hilco, which has owned an array of prominent high street names over the last

The international money-transfer service WorldRemit has become the latest fintech unicorn to take an axe to its workforce, as tumbling valuations force founders onto a survival footing. Sky News has learnt that Zepz has let go scores of employees in recent months in a move that reduced its global employee numbers to approximately 1,000. News

Four Seasons Health Care, one of Britain’s biggest care home operators, is putting the bulk of its operations up for sale three years after its holding companies fell into insolvency amid an impasse over its massive debt pile. Sky News has learnt that administrators to Four Seasons have appointed the property agent Christie’s to oversee

Petrol retailers have been accused of forcing “rocket and feather” pricing after unleaded hit a new, and unexpected, record average high over the weekend. Motoring organisations had forecast a decline in wholesale costs to have been reflected at the pumps, but data from Experian Catalist revealed on Monday that petrol had reached 191.1p a litre

One of HSBC’s top UK executives is quitting in a surprise move to run the Skipton Building Society, one of Britain’s biggest financial mutuals. Sky News has learnt that Stuart Haire, group general manager and chief executive of the London-listed banking giant’s UK personal and private banking businesses, is to become the new CEO of

The father-and-son duo who have built Matchroom Sport into a global sports promotion empire are plotting a deal that will cement their status among Britain’s super-rich. Sky News can reveal that Barry and Eddie Hearn are in detailed talks with at least three private equity firms about the sale of a substantial minority stake in

A cheap festival should not be an oxymoron but many people at Glastonbury this year are in a very different place financially to where they were when they booked their tickets before the coronavirus pandemic. Festival goer Harriet Wheeler, 32, from Brighton, said people she usually goes to watch music with are not forking out

The global chairman of KPMG has taken a swipe at the $80bn break-up being hatched by rival EY, implying that such a radical restructuring would be akin to an act of corporate vandalism. Sky News has obtained part of a memo sent by Bill Thomas to partners at the firm, reiterating KPMG’s commitment to retaining

London Underground workers have voted to strike again, as they near the end of this week’s action which has seen tube services disrupted across the capital. Around 10,000 London Underground staff refused to work this week – with all tube lines affected. More than 90% of Rail, Maritime and Transport union members who voted decided

Cath Kidston, the modern vintage brand, has been put up for sale just two years after collapsing into administration with the loss of nearly 1,000 jobs. Sky News has learnt that Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) has instructed advisers at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to find a new owner for the now wholesale-led company. Cath Kidston, which

The British public is well-used to confrontations between workers in the public sector and the government of the day. Over the decades there have been strikes and work-to-rules involving miners, teachers, the railways, the civil service and health workers among others. In the last century, “the Winter of Discontent” in 1978-79 and the miners’ strikes

The UK government made one of its largest interest payments on public debt ever last month, after inflation pushed borrowing costs to some of their highest levels on record.  Despite a cut in public sector borrowing, interest costs soared to £7.6bn in May, far above the £5.1bn predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

The rate of inflation has risen to a fresh 40-year high of 9.1% in May, according to the latest official figures. The update, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), represents a slight uptick on the 9% figure of the previous month – driven upwards by April’s unprecedented rise in the energy price cap. The