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The fresh delays to Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will “very likely” force the UK to burn more gas and import more energy than expected, analysts have told Sky News.

The already delayed project had been due to provide 7% of the UK’s electricity from 2027, until it was pushed back again last week by another 2-4 years.

The likely uptick in dirtier gas power would also add more greenhouse gases just as the UK is trying to slash them by 2030, the industry voices warned.

The UK government did not deny that gas and energy imports will likely increase, but insisted climate targets would not suffer as a result.

An energy department spokesperson said: “Hinkley Point C will serve Britain until well into the next century, making an important contribution to the UK’s net zero commitments.”

Professor Rob Gross, director of UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), said the delays to Hinkley made increasing gas burn in the meantime “almost inevitable”.

Wind or solar are unlikely to plug the gap because the UK is already “struggling to connect all the renewables schemes already in the pipeline for 2027/28″, he said.

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Glenn Rickson, who analyses the UK power sector for S&P Global Commodity Insights, also said it is “almost inevitable” that UK gas generation “will be higher” than if Hinkley had fired up in 2027.

He added: “Albeit well below current levels, mostly due to increased wind generation in the meantime.”

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UK’s electricity grid problem

Increased energy imports and emissions likely in short term

But the “the single biggest change may be an increased pull on power imports from the UK’s neighbours”, said Mr Rickson.

Prof Gross also said the UK “might import more power” by increasing the use of undersea electricity cables known as interconnectors.

The extra electricity imports might come from nuclear in France, wind in Denmark or hydro in Norway, but it could also mean more from gas generation too.

“Certainly the net impacts will be to lift overall fossil fuel generation, whether that’s in the UK or elsewhere in Europe,” said Mr Rickson.

With more fossil fuel generation comes more emissions of greenhouse gases, which governments are trying to cut in order to reign in climate change.

The prime minister Rishi Sunak in September watered down some climate measures on the basis the UK was on track to meet its target to cut emissions by 68% by 2030.

But the country is now missing an important part of that plan – Hinkley was due to provide 3.2GW of clean power from 2027.

That’s about 7% of the UK’s electricity, and enough to power six million homes.

“The most significant impact from a UK perspective will be higher greenhouse emissions,” said Robert Sansom, energy consultant for the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Tom Greatrex, chief executive of business group the Nuclear industry Association, said: “Without more nuclear and renewables, it’s inevitable that we’ll burn more gas.”

“Hinkley will produce clean, reliable power for around 80 years, stretching into the next century, and alongside other stations it will complement wind and solar with a baseload of power available whatever the weather.”

UK plans to ‘revive’ nuclear power

Once upon a time Hinkley was slated to produce power from 2017, but it has been plagued by setbacks and delays, as have two similar plants in Finland and France.

Operator EDF blames Hinkley’s woes on inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit and reportedly thousands of extra additional design changes required by the UK regulator.

The government last month set out plans to radically increase the UK’s nuclear capacity and simplify and accelerate the process.

Industry says future projects can be built faster and cheaper if projects are less spread out in time, and thanks to what is learned from building Hinkley.

The UK hasn’t built any new nuclear projects since Sizewell B was finished in 1995.

Eight of its 9 reactors are due to retire by 2028, and have already had their lives extended, meaning they are unlikely to plug the gap left by Hinkley either.

A spokesperson for the energy security and net zero department said: “We have the right energy mix to meet our net zero targets – investing in renewables, building the five largest operational offshore wind farms in the world, and supporting the revival of nuclear power.”

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Gail’s backer plots rare move with bid for steak chain Flat Iron

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Gail's backer plots rare move with bid for steak chain Flat Iron

A backer of Gail’s bakeries is in advanced talks to acquire Flat Iron, one of Britain’s fastest-growing steak restaurant chains.

Sky News has learnt that McWin Capital Partners, which specialises in investments across the “food ecosystem”, has teamed up with TriSpan, another private equity investor, to buy a large stake in Flat Iron.

Restaurant industry sources said McWin would probably take the largest economic interest in Flat Iron if the deal completes.

They added that the two buyers were in exclusive discussions, with a deal possible in approximately a month’s time.

The valuation attached to Flat Iron was unclear on Sunday.

Flat Iron launched in 2012 in London’s Shoreditch and now has roughly 20 sites open.

The chain is solidly profitable, with its latest accounts showing underlying profits of £5.7m in the year to the end of August.

It already has private equity backing in the form of Piper, a leading investor in consumer brands, which injected £10m into the business in 2017.

Flat Iron was founded by Charlie Carroll, who retains an interest in it, but the company is now run by former Byron restaurant boss Tom Byng.

Houlihan Lokey, the investment bank, has been advising Flat Iron on the process.

McWin has reportedly been in talks to take full control of Gail’s while TriSpan’s portfolio has included restaurant operators such as the Vietnamese chain Pho and Rosa’s, a Thai food chain.

A spokesman for McWin declined to comment.

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AA owners line up banks to steer path towards £4.5bn exit

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AA owners line up banks to steer path towards £4.5bn exit

The owners of the AA, Britain’s biggest breakdown recovery service, are lining up bankers to steer a path towards a sale or stock market listing next year which could value the company at well over £4bn.

Sky News has learnt that JP Morgan and Rothschild are in pole position to be appointed to conduct a review of the AA’s strategic options following a recovery in its financial and operating performance.

The AA, which has more than 16 million customers, including 3.3 million individual members, is jointly owned by three private equity firms: Towerbrook Capital Partners, Warburg Pincus and Stonepeak.

Insiders said this weekend that any form of corporate transaction involving the AA was not imminent or likely to take place for at least 12 months.

They added that there was no fixed timetable and that a deal might not take place until after 2026.

Nevertheless, the impending appointment of advisers underlines the renewed confidence its shareholders now have in its prospects, with the business having recorded four consecutive years of customer, revenue and earnings growth.

A strategic review of the AA’s options is likely to encompass an outright sale, listing on the public markets or the disposal of a further minority stake.

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Stonepeak invested £450m into the company in a combination of common and preferred equity, in a transaction which completed in July last year.

That deal was undertaken at an enterprise valuation – comprising the AA’s equity and debt – of approximately £4bn, the shareholders said at the time.

Given the company’s growth and the valuation at which Stonepeak invested, any future transaction would be unlikely to take place with a price of less than £4.5bn, according to bankers.

The AA, which has a large insurance division as well as its roadside recovery operations, remains weighed down by a substantial – albeit declining – debt burden.

Its most recent set of financial results disclosed that it had £1.9bn of net debt, which it is gradually paying down as profitability improves.

AA owners over the years

The company has been through a succession of owners during the last 25 years.

In 1999, it was bought by Centrica, the owner of British Gas, for £1.1bn.

It was then sold five years later to CVC Capital Partners and Permira, two buyout firms, for £1.75bn, and sat under the corporate umbrella Acromas alongside Saga for a decade.

The AA listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2014, but its shares endured a miserable run, being taken private nearly seven years later at little more than 15% of its value on flotation.

Under the ownership of Towerbrook and Warburg Pincus, the company embarked on a long-term transformation plan, recruiting a new leadership team in the form of chairman Rick Haythornthwaite – who also chairs NatWest Group – and chief executive Jakob Pfaudler.

For many years, the AA styled itself as “Britain’s fourth emergency service”, competing with fierce rival the RAC for market share in the breakdown recovery sector.

Founded in 1905 by a quartet of driving enthusiasts, the AA passed 100,000 members in 1934, before reaching the one million mark in 1950.

Last year, it attended 3.5 million breakdowns on Britain’s roads, with 2,700 patrols wearing its uniform.

The company also operates the largest driving school business in the UK under the AA and BSM brands.

In the past, it has explored a sale of its insurance arm, which also has millions of customers, at various points but is not actively doing so now.

By recruiting a third major shareholder last, the AA mirrored a deal struck in 2021 by the RAC.

The RAC’s then owners – CVC Capital Partners and the Singaporean state fund GIC – brought the technology-focused private equity firm, Silver Lake, in as another major investor.

A spokesman for the AA declined to comment on Saturday.

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US-EU trade war fears reignite as Europe strikes back at Trump’s threat

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US-EU trade war fears reignite as Europe strikes back at Trump's threat

Fears of a US-EU trade war have been reignited after Europe refused to back down in the face of fresh threats from Donald Trump.

The word tariff has dominated much of the US president’s second term, and he has repeatedly and freely threatened countries with them.

Money blog: Trump sends message to UK on energy bills

This included the so-called “liberation day” last month, where he unleashed tariffs on many of his trade partners.

On Friday, after a period of relative calm which has included striking a deal with the UK, he threatened to impose a 50% tariff on the EU after claiming trade talks with Brussels were “going nowhere”.

The US president has repeatedly taken issue with the EU, going as far as to claim it was created to rip the US off.

However, in the face of the latest hostile rhetoric from Mr Trump’s social media account, the European Commission – which oversees trade for the 27-country bloc – has refused to back down.

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.

“We stand ready to defend our interests.”

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing executive orders regarding nuclear energy in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday

Fellow EU leaders and ministers have also held the line after Mr Trump’s comments.

Polish deputy economy minister Michal Baranowski said the tariffs appeared to be a negotiating ploy, with Dutch deputy prime minister Dick Schoof said tariffs “can go up and down”.

French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said the latest threats did nothing to help trade talks.

He stressed “de-escalation” was one of the EU’s main aims but warned: “We are ready to respond.”

Mr Sefcovic spoke with US trade representative Jamieson Greer and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick after Mr Trump’s comments.

Mr Trump has previously backed down on a tit-for-tat trade war with China, which saw tariffs soar above 100%.

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US and China end trade war

Sticking points

Talks between the US and EU have stumbled.

In the past week, Washington sent a list of demands to Brussels – including adopting US food safety standards and removing national digital services taxes, people familiar with the talks told Reuters news agency.

In response, the EU reportedly offered a mutually beneficial deal that could include the bloc potentially buying more liquefied natural gas and soybeans from the US, as well as cooperation on issues such as steel overcapacity, which both sides blame on China.

Stocks tumble as Trump grumbles

Major stock indices tumbled after Mr Trump’s comments, which came as he also threatened to slap US tech giant Apple with a 25% tariff.

The president is adamant that he wants the company’s iPhones to be built in America.

The vast majority of its phones are made in China, and the company has also shifted some production to India.

Shares of Apple ended 3% lower and the dollar sank 1% versus the Japanese yen and the euro rose 0.8% against the dollar.

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