Business

Foxtons has raided rival London estate agent Chestertons to poach its chief executive as it faces pressure from activist shareholders to sell the company. Sky News has learnt that Foxtons has decided to appoint Guy Gittins as its new boss, replacing Nic Budden, who has run the business for nearly eight years. Foxtons could announce

Hundreds of large privately-owned companies will escape tougher corporate governance requirements under watered-down government plans to reform the audit profession in the wake of scandals at Carillion and BHS. Sky News has learnt that ministers will this week publish their long-awaited response to a consultation on the future of auditors and boardroom governance. Insiders said

The consumer goods giant which owns a controlling stake in David Beckham’s portfolio of branded products is racing to finalise a £300m takeover of Ted Baker, the London-listed fashion retailer. Sky News has learnt that Authentic Brands Group (ABG), is the preferred bidder for Ted Baker and has indicated that it is willing to pay

EasyJet says it will cancel more than 200 flights over the next 10 days, putting half-term breaks at risk for thousands of travellers. The airline said that about 24 flights from London Gatwick would be affected each day between now and 6 June. A spokeswoman for the company said: “We are very sorry for the

Shell has said the chancellor’s windfall tax “creates uncertainty” about investing in oil and gas in the North Sea. The tax was announced by Rishi Sunak as part of a £21bn support package aimed at helping people cope with the rising cost of living. The measure will see oil and gas firms pay a 25%

One of the government’s most loyal ministers has warned that a windfall tax on oil and gas companies will not be “economically cost-free”. The tax was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak as part of a £21bn support package aimed at helping people cope with the rising cost of living. But Jacob Rees-Mogg, the minister for

The windfall tax announced by the chancellor will be “damaging” for the UK’s net zero plans and energy security, the Confederation of British Industry has said. Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief economist, said the tax “sends the wrong signal to the whole sector at the wrong time”, pointing to a “backdrop of rising business taxation”. Chancellor

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to bow to pressure to impose a windfall tax on energy companies when he sets out the government’s latest plan to tackle the cost of living crisis later. Although not confirmed, Treasury sources have also not denied reports that he will scrap the requirement to repay the £200 discount on

Volkswagen (VW) has reached a £193m settlement with UK drivers involved in a class action lawsuit over the so-called dieselgate scandal in 2015. The German carmaker, which had refused to compensate the owners of diesel models affected in the UK citing EU law, faced claims brought on behalf of 91,000 people by several legal firms.

Western countries who spent years “demonising oil and gas companies”, pushing for a rapid end to fossil fuel production and calling producers the “bad guys” are now reaping the consequences, the Qatari energy minister has told Sky News. In an exclusive interview, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said that the root causes of the recent increase in

The UK’s energy price cap is expected to rise in October to around £2,800, Ofgem’s chief executive says. The cap which applies until 31 September is currently £1,971 a year, which was itself a 54% or £693 rise from the previous cap six months earlier. Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley has told the Business, Energy

The cost of living crisis is causing “anxiety and uncertainty” for millions – but apps to help “feel a bit more in control” amid soaring prices can save you money, a consumer expert has told Sky News. Inflation reached 9% in April – its highest level in 40 years, further pushing up the cost of

The governor of the Bank of England has hit back at criticism that its decisions have contributed to the highest inflation in 40 years. Andrew Bailey said he “rejected” the argument made by a predecessor, in an interview with Sky News, that the Bank of England and other central banks including the Federal Reserve and

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for maximum sanctions against Russia and the end of all business and trade with Moscow at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In a typically targeted speech to business, political and public policy leaders made by videolink, the Ukrainian president called for the complete withdrawal from Russia of foreign companies

Europe’s reliance on Russian oil and gas is funding the rape and murder of Ukrainian children, an MP and member of the country’s delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos has told Sky News. Ivana Kylmpush-Tsintsadze, an MP and former minister, said Western states and companies need to end “business as usual” with Moscow,

KPMG UK is facing the latest in a litany of multimillion pound fines for failings in its supervision of the accounts of Rolls-Royce Holdings, the aircraft engine manufacturer. Sky News has learnt that the big four auditor could be hit with a roughly-£4.5m penalty as soon as this week over work dating back more than

The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) is launching a new scholarship scheme to encourage more British students from ethnic minorities to enter the farming sector. The RAU, one of the leading agricultural institutions in the UK, hopes the two undergraduate scholarships will increase diversity and equality in the industry – which is predominately made up of

A senior figure in Donald Trump’s Cabinet is plotting a £700m deal that would see one of Britain’s biggest digital-only banks being listed on the US stock market. Sky News has learnt that a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) set up by Wilbur Ross, who was President Trump’s commerce secretary between 2017 and 2021, is

Hundreds of staple grocery items had shot up in price by more than a fifth over the two years prior to the surge in food inflation caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to an investigation. As households get to grips with a growing cost of living crisis, the consumer group Which? said that shoppers

Britons must brace themselves for a “very unpleasant period”, with “considerable” interest rate hikes now needed to prevent a re-run of the 1970s, former Bank of England governor Mervyn King has warned. Lord King launched a coruscating attack on central banks including the Bank of England itself, saying they shared responsibility for the cost of