Business

Vauxhall will close its Luton plant in April, the parent company Stellantis announced. More than 1,100 jobs at the van-making factory are at risk, but Stellantis said it is hoping to transfer “hundreds” of jobs to the group’s Vauxhall site in Ellesmere Port. It is now in consultation with unions and employees over the proposals,

Barclays has been fined £40m over capital raising that averted its need for taxpayer aid during the 2008 financial crisis. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that the bank should have disclosed more details to the stock market about the £11.8bn in funding, from Qatari and other sovereign investors, that it had previously described as

Tax rises announced during the recent budget will hit businesses rather than encourage growth, the head of one of the UK’s most prominent business groups will warn on Monday. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has joined a choir of voices opposing Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s fiscal measures, which the Labour Party claims are needed to

The managing director of Jaguar has hit out at what he called “vile hatred and intolerance” after the car company released a new advert. A 30-second clip posted on the luxury car brand’s X account on Tuesday prompted online backlash after it featured a diverse group of models posing in bright clothes but no vehicles

Potential suitors have again begun circling ITV, Britain’s biggest terrestrial commercial broadcaster, after a prolonged period of share price weakness and renewed questions about its long-term strategic destiny. Sky News has learnt that a number of possible bidders for parts or all of the company, whose biggest shows include Love Island, have in recent weeks

The family which has owned Ann Summers, the lingerie and sex toy retailer, for more than half a century is to explore options for the business which could include a partial or majority sale. Sky News has learnt that the Gold family is close to hiring Interpath, the corporate advisory firm, to work on a

Bosch will cut up to 5,500 jobs as it struggles with slow electric vehicle sales and competition from Chinese imports. It is the latest blow to the European car industry after Volkswagen and Ford announced thousands of job cuts in the last month. Cheaper Chinese-made electric cars have made it trickier for European manufacturers to

Cambridge University’s wealthiest college is putting the long-term lease of London’s O2 arena up for sale. Sky News has learnt that Trinity College has instructed property advisers to begin sounding out prospective investors about a deal. Trinity, which ranks among Britain’s biggest landowners, acquired the site in 2009 for a reported £24m. The O2, which

Official accounts have revealed for the first time how much the King’s 2023 coronation cost UK taxpayers. According to the accounts, the government spent £72m on the coronation – the first in Britain since Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953. The figure includes £50.3m of costs attributed to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS),

Nine water companies have been blocked from using customer money to fund “undeserved” bonuses by the industry’s regulator. Ofwat said it had stepped in to use its new powers over water firms that cannot show that bonuses are sufficiently linked to performance. The blocked payouts amount to 73% of the total executive awards proposed across

Ford has announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs across Europe – including 800 in the UK. The car manufacturer said the cuts are needed as part of plans to bolster its competitiveness amid the stuttering drive to an all-electric vehicle (EV) future that has hit sales. Ford said the cuts would take place over the

Inflation has risen by more than expected due to an increase in energy bills, official figures showed. It’s the first rise in the rate of price increases, as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI), for three months. The figure stood at 2.3% in October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), above the

The Bank of England governor has said industry lobby group the British Retail Consortium (BRC) was right to warn of job losses as a result of the budget. There is a “risk” of unemployment rising due to increases in employers’ national insurance contributions and minimum wage rises announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves last month, Andrew

Four suspects have so far been identified by police investigating possible criminal charges in the Post Office scandal, Sky News has learned.  Sources have said that among the offences being considered are perverting the course of justice and perjury. Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for stealing from their branches between 1999 and 2015 after

Dozens of retail bosses have signed a letter to the chancellor warning of dire consequences for the economy and jobs if she pushes ahead with budget plans which, they say, will raise their costs by £7bn next year alone. There were 79 signatories to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC’s) response to Rachel Reeves’ first budget

Energy bills are to rise again next year, according to a respected forecaster. Costs from January to March are projected to rise another 1% to £1,736 a year for the average user, according to research firm Cornwall Insight. The energy price cap, which sets a limit on how much companies can charge per unit of

Cineworld’s hedge fund backers are drawing up plans to return the cinema operator to the public markets amid continuing uncertainty about the future of dozens of its British sites. Sky News has learnt that the company’s owners are at the early stages of considering a New York listing for the business, with the first half

A former Conservative cabinet minister has thrown his hat into the ring to become the inaugural chair of Britain’s new independent football regulator. Sky News has learnt that Chris Heaton-Harris, who stood down as an MP at July’s general election, is among those who applied for the role ahead of a deadline on Friday. Mr

Pizza Hut’s biggest UK franchisee has begun approaching potential bidders as it scrambles to mitigate the looming impact of tax hikes announced in last month’s Budget. Sky News has learnt that Heart With Smart (HWS), which operates roughly 140 Pizza Hut dine-in restaurants, has instructed advisers to find a buyer or raise tens of millions

The former head of Britain’s audit watchdog is being lined up as the next chairman of high street billionaire Mike Ashley’s London-listed retail empire. Sky News has learnt that Sir Jon Thompson, who joined the board of Frasers Group earlier this year as a non-executive director, is expected to take over from David Daly at