Fuel retailers will be forced to quickly share price changes under government plans to ensure pump costs are fair.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said its Pumpwatch proposals could save customers 3p per litre.
Under the scheme, now out for consultation, forecourts would have to enter prices within 30 minutes of a change to enable drivers to easily access the cheapest petrol and diesel.
The move builds on a voluntary price monitoring scheme that followed a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fuel market investigation last year.
It found drivers were overcharged by £900m in 2022 due to supermarkets failing to pass on cuts from falling oil prices.
The government said the latest plans did not extend to the creation of a single price comparison app for motorists to get local price information.
Instead, the data would be made available to online platforms including map providers, motoring organisations and journey planning tools.
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The scheme would make data sharing a legal requirement and apply across the UK, feeding in to an existing transparency service in Northern Ireland.
The Pumpwatch proposals were announced amid claims drivers continue to be overcharged due to disparities between average pump prices and wholesale costs.
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While average costs are down to levels last seen in October 2021, the RAC said last week that wholesale data showed the cost of petrol was still low enough to merit “further reductions” at the pumps.
“Retailer margins remain far higher than normal, particularly at the supermarkets, where RAC data shows an average of 10p a litre is being taken on unleaded compared to 3.5p in 2019.”
Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho said: “Our work on competition and transparency is working. Drivers are now paying the lowest average price at the pump for two years.
“We are forcing retailers to share live information on their prices within 30 minutes of any change in price, helping drivers to find the best deal at the pump.
“This will put motorists back in the driving seat and bring much-needed competition back to the forecourts.”
AA president Edmund King said of the scheme: “The government’s proposal should stimulate fairer pricing through free market competition, and takes advantage of the latest information technology.
“It gives leeway to fuel retailers to price according to their circumstances but, by directing motoring consumers to where they can get their fuel at a better price, keeps competitive pressure on the trade.”
The British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets, had no comment on the plans.
However Gordon Balmer, executive director of the industry body for independent fuel providers, the Petrol Retailers’ Association, said: “The PRA has been actively engaged in collaborative efforts with the DESNZ and the CMA to enhance fuel price transparency.
“PRA members operate in a highly competitive market on razor-thin margins. I am pleased to see the government’s release of the road fuel transparency consultation, and we will continue to support them as they develop their final scheme.
“It is important that motorists have the ability to shop around and find the best deals available to them.
“The PRA will be responding to this consultation to ensure that the final fuel price transparency scheme is reliable and easy for both consumers and retailers to use.”
The major backer of Pinewood Studios is among the suitors vying to buy Village Hotels, one of Britain’s biggest mid-market hotel chains.
Sky News understands Aermont, which specialises in real estate-backed investments, submitted an offer last week for Village Hotels, which is owned by KSL Capital Partners.
City sources said KSL was seeking offers worth in the region of £850m or more.
A number of other parties are also understood to have tabled bids ahead of a deadline last week.
Blackstone, the giant private equity firm, is considering making an offer but has yet to do so, according to insiders.
Henry Birch, the former boss of Rank Group, is among the candidates vying to run Entain, the FTSE-100 owner of Ladbrokes.
Sky News has learnt that Mr Birch is one of a small number of candidates being considered by Entain to replace Jette Nygaard-Andersen as its permanent chief executive.
The recruitment process comes at a challenging time for Entain, which has been beset by boardroom upheaval and regulatory difficulties in various international markets.
Its stock has halved in the last year, leaving it with a market capitalisation of just under £5bn.
This weekend, sources close to the company confirmed that Mr Birch was a serious contender for the post, although they said others were also in contention.
An appointment could still be weeks or even a small number of months away, they added.
Mr Birch stepped down as chief executive of Very Group, the online retailer owned by the Barclay family, in 2022.
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He is an experienced gambling industry executive, having spent four years as chief executive of William Hill Online prior to joining the London-listed multichannel gaming operator Rank Group.
He has also held roles at Leisure & Gaming plc and BettingCorp.
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Under Mr Birch, Very Group broke the £2bn annual sales mark for the first time.
Investors in Entain have been pressing its board to recruit a new chief executive with substantial gambling experience as it grapples with a plunging share price and numerous regulatory and strategic challenges.
Industry sources said that Dan Taylor, chief executive of Flutter Entertainment’s international operations, had also been approached, although it was unclear whether he was interested.
Entain has been under siege from activist investors for months.
In January, it announced that Ricky Sandler, who runs Entain shareholder Eminence Capital, would join its board as a non-executive director.
Last month, it said that Barry Gibson, its chairman, would retire later this year and be replaced by interim chair, and former acting CEO, Stella David.
Entain has hired bankers to sell PartyPoker and other non-core operations, which the Financial Times reported could include Netherlands-based BetCity, which Entain bought for £398mn last year.
As well as Ladbrokes, Entain owns Coral and a stake in BetMGM, a major US betting player.
MGM Resorts, the US casino operator behind the Bellagio in Las Vegas, attempted to buy Entain in 2021 but was rebuffed at a much higher valuation than the UK company’s shares trade at now.
A privately owned used-car platform is circling Cazoo Group, its stricken US-listed rival which is on the brink of administration.
Sky News has learnt that Motors.co.uk is a leading contender to acquire Cazoo’s marketplace operation, which would include its brand and intellectual property assets.
The process to auction the used-car platform’s constituent parts comes after it spent tens of millions of pounds on sponsorship deals in football, snooker and darts in a rapid attempt to gain market share.
Earlier this week, Cazoo filed a notice of intention to appoint Teneo as administrator, just three years after it floated in New York with a valuation of $8bn.
The filing was intended to provide protection from creditors while Teneo finalises asset sales.
Since an announcement last month about a restructuring of the group, advisers have offloaded a string of assets and unwound Cazoo’s previous operating model to transform it into a marketplace.
Among those have been the disposal of Cazoo’s vehicle fleet, which sources said had been achieved at higher-than-anticipated values, reflecting a current shortage of used cars in the market.
Teneo is also said to have struck a deal with Constellation Automotive, the owner of Cazoo’s rival, Cinch, involving a handful of sites and dozens of jobs.
Meanwhile, several parties are understood to have expressed an interest in Cazoo’s wholesale operation and other vehicle collection sites.
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One industry source said the pivot to a platform model had seen its inventory rise to more than 15,000 cars, with Cazoo now the online vehicle marketplace where consumers can buy and sell cars under a single brand.
If, as expected, the group does fall into administration, it would underline the rapid implosion of a company which once ranked among Britain’s hottest technology start-ups.
Founded by Alex Chesterman, the founder of Zoopla, it raised hundreds of millions of pounds in funding, and rapidly attracted a ‘unicorn’ – or $1bn – valuation.
Mr Chesterman left the business several months ago in the wake of a balance sheet restructuring which saw hundreds of millions of dollars of debt converted to equity.
One insider said the formal triggering of insolvency proceedings was likely to attract wider attention in Cazoo’s assets, including its brand.
It was unclear on Friday how much Motors.co.uk or other suitors for the marketplace were likely to bid for it.
A spokesperson for Cazoo said: “Our new marketplace model, where consumers can both buy and sell cars, is revenue generating and performing ahead of expectations with interest from almost 100 car dealers including many household names wishing to trade on the Cazoo platform.
“Cazoo has successfully restructured and significantly reduced the cash burn of the group, resulting in a cash position in excess of £95m at 30th April 2024 compared to £113m at 31st December 2023, and the platform now has approximately 17,000 cars which is more than double the volume we previously supported and demonstrates the scalability of our technology and the strength of the team.
“We are making efforts to secure the next phase of our business and are grateful to our employees for their hard work and commitment.”
Motors.co.uk did not respond to enquiries, while a spokesperson for Cazoo declined to comment on talks about asset sales.