Business

Gas supply this winter is “not a cause for immediate concern”, the UK’s business secretary has reassured, following reports that a spike in prices could threaten food production and other industries. Kwasi Kwarteng posted a series of tweets after holding meetings with senior executives from the energy industry to discuss the impact of high global

Travel companies have seen a sharp surge in bookings as the government announced the current traffic light system of red, amber and green countries will be scrapped for England from 4 October. Thomas Cook’s chief executive said customers are “already booking in their droves” following the latest travel changes, with the holiday company experiencing its

Britain’s meat industry is warning of a shortage of carbon dioxide gas without which the food manufacturing process could grind to a halt. Representatives of the industry have been in emergency talks with the government over the crisis which is a knock-on effect of the Europe-wide surge in natural gas prices. CO2 is used to

Retail sales fell unexpectedly last month partly thanks to shoppers spending more money eating out than in supermarkets, official figures show. The 0.9% decline in sales volumes in August followed a downwardly-revised slump of 2.8% in July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – and was the fourth month in a row of

England’s 20 top-flight football club owners will be required to sign a nine-point plan designed to maintain the competition’s integrity in a bid to avert any future breakaway threat. Sky News has learnt that Premier League clubs were on Thursday sent a final draft of a new “Owners’ Charter” that their controlling shareholders will be

Households are being urged to protect themselves from a surge in energy costs ahead of winter as a fire at a crucial power installation adds to growing worries about affordability in the months ahead. The blaze took out an electricity interconnector on the Kent coast – one of only two – which allows power to

Inflation rose to 3.2% last month from 2% in July – its largest ever recorded increase – the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation for August was the highest since March 2012 – though the ONS said much of the effect was likely to be temporary. That

Apple is launching a new-look iPhone 13 with diagonally aligned cameras and what it says is a 20% smaller notch in the front. This September’s launch event featured far less than the company announced last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic led to three separate special events to announce a range of products. But retained from

The energy watchdog has moved to reassure customers of two failed household suppliers as wholesale prices hit record levels, threatening a leap in bills in and after the winter months ahead. Ofgem said the demise of Utility Point – first reported by Sky News – and People’s Energy meant their respective customer bases, totalling more

Two-thirds of travel sector employers with staff still on the furlough scheme are planning redundancies once the wage support is removed at the end of the month, the travel association ABTA has warned. The body said a survey of its membership showed that 69% of employers planned to let staff go after 30 September. It

Primark has revealed it suffered a “pingdemic” sales slump over the summer – and is now facing supply chain delays for its autumn and winter stock. The cut-price fashion retailer’s UK like-for-like sales were down by 24% compared to last year over a four-week period from mid-June though they have partly recovered since self-isolation rules

Boris Johnson is being urged to “level up” Britain by backing pay rises for workers, scrapping his proposed cut in Universal Credit and tackling child poverty. The challenge comes from TUC leader Frances O’Grady in a call to the government to protect workers from further pandemics, climate change and the tech revolution. In her TUC

One of Britain’s oldest bicycle manufacturers is being put up for sale amid a continuing surge in consumer interest in cycling. Sky News has learnt that the owners of Ribble, which was founded in 1897, have appointed advisers to prepare the company for an auction in the coming months. Stifel, the investment bank, has been

Up to 660,000 jobs – many in the UK’s industrial heartlands – are at risk unless Boris Johnson speeds up green investment and moving to “net zero” carbon dioxide emissions, according to a major study. Many of the areas where jobs are most under threat include the “red wall” constituencies won by the Conservatives from

The former auditor of Patisserie Valerie is facing a multimillion pound fine nearly three years after the cafe chain collapsed in one of Britain’s biggest recent accounting scandals. Sky News has learnt that Grant Thornton is in advanced discussions with the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) about a settlement that could be finalised as soon as

Northern Ireland could see “instability, uncertainty and unpredictability” if there is an attempt to renegotiate the post-Brexit agreement, the European Commission’s vice president has warned. Maros Sefcovic said the Northern Ireland Protocol must be “properly implemented”, but admitted both sides would have to compromise. His warning came after DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his

HGV driving tests will be relaxed to allow 50,000 more to be taken in an attempt to tackle the shortage of lorry drivers ahead of Christmas, the transport secretary has announced. Grant Shapps said that following a consultation, three changes will happen to speed up the process after the suspension of tests during the pandemic

Tens of thousands of businesses across the UK have called on Parliament to tackle soaring card fees which amounted to £46 per household last year. The companies argue that British businesses and consumers should be protected from the mounting cost of anti-competitive practices in card payments, which are adding to the price of goods and

Morrisons has warned it expects “industry-wide” price rises ahead and revealed some product shortages while reporting half-year results showing a 43% slump in profits. The UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain by market share said the price hikes were to be “driven by sustained recent commodity price increases and freight inflation, and the current shortage of HGV

Britain’s economic recovery is expected to slow over coming months thanks to staff shortages and supply chain disruption, according to a new forecast from a leading business group. Official figures show UK GDP grew by 4.8% in the second quarter but the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) predicts this will slow to 2.8% in the