Business

Virgin Orbit has begun drawing up detailed contingency plans for its insolvency days after halting its operations and furloughing its workforce. Sky News has learnt that the commercial space satellite venture founded by Sir Richard Branson‘s Virgin Group is working with Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) and Ducera, two restructuring firms, on fallback plans in the

UBS will take over Credit Suisse in a deal aimed at stemming what was fast becoming a global crisis of confidence. Credit Suisse, the 167-year-old embattled lender had been brought to the brink of financial calamity last week, despite securing a $54bn (£44bn) credit line from Switzerland’s central bank. The credit line was agreed in

The retail giant John Lewis may dilute its 100% employee ownership to raise fresh investment. The change to the partnership model would signal a major departure for the company, which runs the department store chain and Waitrose supermarkets. The firm warned of job cuts and told staff it will not hand out a bonus for

The British arm of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB UK) has handed out millions of pounds in employee bonuses just days after its insolvency was averted through a Bank of England-orchestrated rescue deal. Sky News has learnt that the payouts to staff including its senior executives were signed off by HSBC, SVB UK’s new owner, earlier

A tumultuous week in the markets ended on an uncertain note – suggesting fears remain after large losses from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The FTSE 100 (Financial Times Stock Exchange) index of the most valued companies on the London Stock Exchange started the day at around the 7,500 mark – better than all

Security guards at Heathrow Airport are to strike over Easter in a dispute over pay, with passengers warned they face “severe delays”. The Unite union said flights using Heathrow Airport will “experience severe delays and disruption this Easter” as the workers stage a 10-day walkout. More than 1,400 security guards employed by Heathrow Airports Ltd

Royal Mail has been referred to the industry regulator by a committee of MPs which has accused the company of failing in its duty to deliver letters six days a week and questioned whether its management is negligent. The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee declared that the company had “systematically failed to deliver”

The European Central Bank (ECB) has maintained its fight against inflation and imposed a large set of interest rate hikes despite financial market turmoil. Bank balance sheets have suffered because of the effect of interest rate increases, which have contributed to recent crises at Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. But the central bank –

Job losses are on the horizon at the John Lewis Partnership, which includes Waitrose and John Lewis shops, as the company posted an annual loss of £234m. No detail was given on the location or number of job cuts that will be made. “As we need to become more efficient and productive, that will have

The FTSE 100 and other major European stock markets have taken a beating as concern over the health of US banks crosses the Atlantic. London’s blue chip index lost £75bn in combined market value by the close after suffering its deepest fall, on a points basis, since the early days of the COVID crisis. Sentiment

The chancellor has announced the budget for 2023. The UK will now not enter a technical recession this year, the independent forecasters, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has said. Inflation will more than halve and reduce to 2.9% by the end of the year, the OBR expects. Here are the key points: • As

Tempting as it is to believe that the chaos with Silicon Valley Bank and its British arm are of interest only to members of the tech community and financial nerds, it has already had a very real bearing on all our lives. For evidence, look no further than the money markets, where investors bet on

A total of 220,000 working days were lost to strike action in January, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. In the first month of this year, strike action was taken by teachers, rail workers, driving examiners, bus drivers and NHS staff. The number is down on the 822,000 days lost to strikes

Rishi Sunak has said Jeremy Hunt will still be chancellor at the next election after criticism his number two did not have enough economic vision. The prime minister, for the first time, confirmed to Sky News that Mr Hunt will remain chancellor when the next general election comes around in January 2025. “Of course,” Mr

HSBC has bought the embattled UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB UK), securing the deposits of more than 3,000 customers worth £6.7bn. Confirming a story broken on Monday by Sky’s City editor Mark Kleinman, the Bank of England, which had been preparing to bring the bank into an insolvency process, said all depositors’ money

HSBC Holdings has emerged as a potential ‘white knight’ bidder for Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) UK as the government and regulators seek to avert the lender’s insolvency. Sky News has learnt that HSBC was on Sunday night exploring a bid for the British arm of the stricken technology-focused lender, joining a slew of smaller rivals

Britain’s biggest high street banks have been given a 24-hour deadline to rescue Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK) from collapse as the Bank of England prepares to place it into an insolvency process. Sky News has learnt that major UK lenders including Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group are among the parties to have been

The collapse of the UK branch of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is being mitigated by the Treasury and Bank of England, according to the Treasury. US regulators shut down the country’s 16th largest bank, in the biggest collapse of a financial institution since the 2008 financial crisis. SVB had failed after depositors – mostly technology

Thames Water is facing crunch talks over its finances amid mounting concerns about its ability to service a debt mountain which stands at more than £14bn. Sky News has learnt that Thames Water, which is privately owned and employs about 7,000 people, has in the last few weeks hired Rothschild, the investment bank, and the

The UK arm of Grant Thornton, the accountancy and professional services provider, is drawing up plans to invest millions of pounds in its Indian sister firm. Sky News understands that the top ten auditor has asked its more than 200 UK partners to vote on the proposal later this month. One source said the deal