The M&S website is down – hours after the retailer revealed it’s facing a £300m hit to profits following last month’s ransomware attack.

A holding page told customers that they are currently unable to browse the site, adding: “We’re making some updates and will be back soon.”

Online purchases have been suspended since the incident on 22 April, and it may be a couple of weeks before services are partially restored.

Sky News understands that the maintenance is routine.

M&S recently warned that disruption to its operations could last into July, but chief executive Stuart Machin says the retailer is “on the road to recovery”.

It is widely believed the retailer fell victim to Scattered Spider, a hacking group that has also been linked to similar attacks targeting The Co-op and Harrods.

Last week, M&S also admitted personal data belonging to some of its customers has been stolen – but the company stressed this didn’t include “usable payment or card details”.

Passwords were also not affected, but there are reports that contact details such as names, addresses and phone numbers was taken.

The company’s valuation has plunged by more than £1bn as the fallout deepens.

“This incident is a bump in the road, and we will come out of this in better shape, and continue our plan to reshape M&S for customers, colleagues and shareholders,” Mr Machin told analysts on Wednesday.

The pace of inflation surged last month to an annual rate of 3.5%, its highest level in more than a year, according to official figures which pointed to hikes to essential household bills.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the increase, up from a 2.6% rate in March, was explained by an unusual increase to energy bills during April and steeper rises for other staples such as water.

Households on the energy price cap saw a rare spring rise of 6.4% in April, while council tax bills were widely up by the 5% level.

Money latest: Reaction to inflation spike

The water regulator allowed suppliers to charge customers an extra £10 per month, on average, across England and Wales while broadband, mobile and TV licence costs also rose.

ONS acting director general Grant Fitzner said of the price picture: “Significant increases in household bills caused inflation to climb steeply.

“Gas and electricity bills rose this month compared with sharp falls at the same time last year due to changes to the Ofgem energy price cap.

“Water and sewerage bills also rose strongly this year as did vehicle excise duty, which all pushed the headline rate up to its highest level since the beginning of last year.

“This was partially offset by falling prices for motor fuels and clothing, driven by heavy discounting for children’s garments and women’s footwear.”

The consumer prices index measure of inflation is closely-watched as rising numbers make it difficult for the Bank of England to cut interest rates – raised sharply by the Bank from December 2021 to tackle the infancy of the cost of living crisis.

There have been four cuts since August last year, as easing inflation has allowed.

In advance of the ONS data, financial markets had fully priced in two further interest rate reductions this year, with no change expected at the Bank’s next rate-setting meeting in mid-June.

The inflation numbers also make for tough reading at the Treasury, where Chancellor Rachel Reeves is juggling several challenges.

While the recent economic growth figures have been encouraging, economists widely expect hikes to consumer bills to apply a further choke to consumer spending in the months ahead.

Ms Reeves said: “I am disappointed with these figures because I know cost of living pressures are still weighing down on working people.

“We are a long way from the double digit inflation we saw under the previous administration, but I’m determined that we go further and faster to put more money in people’s pockets.

“That’s why we have increased the minimum wage for millions of working people, frozen fuel duty to protect commuters and struck three trade deals in the past two weeks that will go towards cutting bills.”

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Economists have questioned whether the inflation numbers may have also been pushed higher due to firms passing on costs after the chancellor’s decision to raise employer national insurance contributions and the minimum wage last month.

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride blamed Labour’s “damaging” tax increase for the rise in inflation.

He said: “We left Labour with inflation bang on target, but Labour’s economic mismanagement is pushing up the cost of living for families – on top of the £3,500 hit to households from the chancellor’s damaging jobs tax.

“Families are paying the price for the Labour chancellor’s choices.”

Johnson Matthey, the London-listed industrial group, will on Thursday announce the sale of a unit involved in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as its board fends off pressure from an American activist investor.

Sky News has learnt that Johnson Matthey will announce, as part of its full-year result, that it is selling its Catalyst Technologies arm – one of four main divisions at the company.

Banking sources said the deal had been agreed for a price of between £1.5bn and £2bn – which at the upper end would equate to more than 80% of the group’s entire £2.3bn market capitalisation.

The identity of the buyer could not be established on Wednesday evening.

Read more:
M&S warns of £300m hacking crisis hit – and disruption could last months
Inflation surges to 3.5% due to April bill shock

Selling its Catalyst Technologies is expected to be welcomed by some shareholders who have argued that Johnson Matthey has been insufficiently focused on higher-growth businesses with more obvious potential to generate financial returns.

The London-listed company has been under siege from Standard Industries, the US-based conglomerate which is its biggest shareholder with a stake of over 10%.

Standard Industries wrote an open letter to Johnson Matthey’s board in January, accusing it of destroying shareholder value.

It said the British company’s directors were guilty of a “continued lack of urgency and incapacity…to do what is necessary to turn Johnson Matthey around and help it to realise its potential”.

The Catalyst Technologies arm accounted for roughly a fifth of group sales in the half-year to the end of August, but about a third of group profit.

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As well as being involved in the production of technology needed to make SAF, the division is a market leader in supplying specialised services to the chemicals and energy sectors, with a particular focus on decarbonisation.

More generally, Johnson Matthey is one of Britain’s most significant industrial names, tracing its history back to 1817.

A spokesman for Johnson Matthey, which has seen its shares slump by nearly a quarter over the last year, declined to comment on Wednesday.