Business

The steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has sparked a row over the administration of one of his biggest British customers after launching an attempt to take control of it. Sky News has learnt that Mr Gupta’s GFG Alliance has acquired control of a Singapore-based company called Aartee Group Pte Limited which is an indirect shareholder in

Profits at 45% state-owned bank NatWest have risen to their highest since the global financial crash. The bank recorded profits of £5.1bn before tax in its 2022 full-year results, a high not seen since 2007 and an increase from the £3.8bn booked a year earlier. Also for the first time since the crash was the

Rail workers and nurses will strike again next month, while frontline Royal Mail workers are also threatening a new wave of strikes. Tens of thousands of RMT members will strike again beginning on 16 March after the union received “no new offers” from employers involved in the national rail dispute. The RMT revealed the start

Retail sales rose in January, surprising economists after a two month fall, according to official figures. Sales were expected to fall 0.3% according to a Reuters poll of economist forecasts, but data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed the numbers were better than the loss in December. But there was an overall fall

Centrica, the company that owns British Gas, has reported record profits for the 2022 financial year. Operating profits of £3.3bn were recorded at the company, up from £948m in 2021, and surpassing the previous highest ever yearly profit of £2.7bn, posted in 2012. Profit at the oil and gas producer has been helped by high

Ofgem has revealed that the end of forced installation of controversial energy prepayment meters only extends until the end of March. The watchdog said the date, that household energy suppliers had agreed to, also included a temporary halt to remote transfers for customers currently on smart meters. The government had suggested last week that the

Inflation has eased slightly to 10.1% from 10.5% the previous month as fuel price rises slowed. Decreased transport costs were one of the main drivers of the lower inflation rate, along with restaurants and hotels, as prices dropped in cafés and restaurants from the December Christmas period to January. The rate eased in January from

Ford has announced that 1,300 jobs, a fifth of the workforce, is being cut from its UK business as part of a Europe-wide overhaul. The majority of the UK losses will be at the Ford site in Dunton, Essex – its UK headquarters and technical centre. Up to 1,000 jobs are to be axed at

A union representing hundreds of workers at an Amazon warehouse has revealed plans for seven more strike days. The GMB union said its members in Coventry would now take further industrial action on 28 February, 2 March and between 13-17 March. It marked an escalation in their pay fight, which began with a 24-hour strike

The number of working days lost to strike action totalled 843,000 in December, bringing the total number of strike days from June to December 2022 to 2,471,000, the highest since 1989, official figures show. There were 4,129,000 days lost to strike action in 1989 due to industrial action by rail workers and coal miners, the

The crisis engulfing MJ Hudson, the stricken asset management services provider, will deepen on Monday when it discloses that its auditor has resigned. Sky News has learnt that the London-listed company will announce that EY has quit less than 18 months after being appointed. The timing of EY’s resignation, coming so soon after its appointment,

Hunter Boot, the royal warrant-holding footwear brand, is close to landing a multimillion-pound funding lifeline that could pave the way for an outright sale. Sky News has learnt that Hunter is nearing a deal that will see existing shareholders injecting £5m, with lenders contributing a further £2m. The financing, which is expected to be finalised

Castore, the British sportswear brand backed by Sir Andy Murray, is in talks with investors about a $200m fundraising as it intensifies its battle with global rivals Adidas and Nike. Sky News has learnt that the Manchester-based business, which was founded by Liverpudlian brothers Phil and Tom Beahon, is working with bankers on plans to

Wilfred Frost stands in for Ian King this week and discusses the UK avoiding a recession by the thinnest of margins. He also talks to Auto Trader’s commercial director Ian Plummer about figures suggesting the current global economic difficulties are now hitting the used car market. And with The Brit Awards celebrating the best of

The Premier League is closing in on a commercial deal with Electronic Arts (EA), the video-games maker, that would be worth close to £500m – one of the largest such agreements ever struck by English football’s top flight. Sky News has learnt that the 20 Premier League clubs were briefed at a meeting on Friday

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has not ruled out increasing pay offers to public sector workers, but warned that giving more money to teachers and nurses could entrench high inflation. Speaking as it was revealed the UK economy narrowly avoided recession in 2022, Mr Hunt also indicated he would resist pressure to cancel a planned cut to

Sales of used cars fell by 8.5% last year, according to industry figures highlighting a squeeze on stocks. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 6.9 million vehicles changed hands in 2022 – only slightly more than the sum achieved in COVID-hit 2020. The total was down from 7.5 million during the previous

Takeaway delivery platform Deliveroo has announced it is to cut roughly 350 jobs, equivalent to about 9% of the company workforce. Roles across the global Deliveroo business will be impacted, founder and chief executive Will Shu told staff, but it is understood that UK employees will be worst hit by the losses. The majority of

Around 7,000 jobs are to go at Disney – about 3.6% of the workforce – as a multi-billion dollar cost saving restructuring was announced by chief executive Bob Iger in his battle to improve the company’s finances. It was Mr Iger’s first quarterly results announcement since he retook control of the entertainment giant in late

The UK’s competition watchdog has moved a step closer to potentially blocking Microsoft’s planned $69bn (£56bn) takeover of Call of Duty gaming firm Activision. In a provisional ruling, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the proposed tie-up could lead to higher prices, fewer choices and less innovation for UK gamers. Activision responded by claiming