Business

A US car dealership giant with a market value of over $7bn was the mystery bidder which made an offer last month for Pendragon, its British peer. Sky News has learnt that Lithia Motors, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, tabled a 29p-per-share bid valuing Pendragon at about £460m. City sources said

A record number of jobs are being advertised, with big increases for actors, entertainers, driving instructors and dancers, according to recruiters. Vacancies for water and waste roles such as sewerage plant operatives have also increased, which recruiters said could be related to the prolonged dry weather and fears of droughts. There were 1.85 million job

The UK’s economy contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to latest estimates. In June, GDP fell by 0.6%, services fell by 0.5%, manufacturing by 1.6% and construction by 1.4%, the Office for National Statistics said. The large drop in June was partly caused by the large reduction in services spending as coronavirus test

Around 5% of businesses with 250 or more employees have offered a one-off cost-of-living payment to their workers in the last three months. The figure comes from the Office for National Statistics’ Business Insights report, which also says the rate was just 1% among smaller firms. It comes despite many businesses struggling with their own

The Treasury is to name a quartet of new directors to the Bank of England’s governing body as debate rages about the central bank’s remit under a new Conservative prime minister. Sky News has learnt that Nadhim Zahawi, the chancellor, has signed off the appointments of four new members of the Court of the Bank

Crisis talks will take place between energy sector bosses and the government tomorrow after the price cap was forecast to hit more than £4,200 in January. Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng will ask gas and electricity company executives to submit a breakdown of expected profits and payouts as well as investment plans

Royal Mail workers are set to stage four days of strikes in the coming weeks in a dispute over pay. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said over 115,000 staff will form the biggest strike of the summer so far to demand a “dignified, proper pay rise”. Walkouts will take place on Friday 26 and Wednesday

An eight-day strike at the UK’s biggest container port will go ahead after talks between bosses and unions broke down. More than 1,900 members of Unite will strike from Sunday 21 August until Monday 29 August, unhappy with the 7% pay rise offered by Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company following a 1.4% increase last year.

Campaigners have demanded a 25p cut in fuel prices to help reduce the cost of living. FairFuelUK said fuel duty should be cut by 20 to 25p per litre in a similar manner to cuts seen in Europe. The campaign organisation said the price of a barrel of Brent Oil was now below £80 a

Just over half of councils in England have started making payments to COVID-hit businesses from a £1.5bn support package – almost 18 months after it was launched. Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors were given a business rates holiday due to the pandemic, but those outside these sectors were told they could not

Arcadia Group’s pension schemes are closing in on a deal to offload retirement funding promises made by the retail empire, owned by Sir Philip Green, prior to its collapse two years ago. Sky News has learnt that the trustees of its executive and staff schemes are in detailed discussions with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), the

Some families are up to £1,600 a year worse off because of the cost of living crisis – even after government help is taken into account. The poorest in society are suffering three major blows to their income in the year to October 2022, according to a report commissioned by former prime minister Gordon Brown.

The high street giant Next is in talks to take a big stake in Joules, the struggling fashion and lifestyle products chain. Sky News has learnt that Next has been negotiating for several weeks to acquire up to 25% of the smaller London-listed retailer. City sources said this weekend that the discussions were not certain

Workers at the UK’s biggest container port will go on strike for more than a week later this month in a dispute over pay. More than 1,900 members of Unite union at Felixstowe will strike for eight days from Sunday 21 August until Monday 29 August. The union said that employer Felixstowe Dock and Railway

The US hiring boom continued last month, as employers added 528,000 jobs – more than double the number expected. The government data showed a labour market continuing to defy surging inflation and back-to-back quarters of contraction in GDP, which have raised fears of a recession. It marked the 19th consecutive month of payrolls expansion, and

Just a day after the Bank of England warned of a 15-month recession, there are signs in housing and recruitment that the slowdown is already well under way. Figures out on Friday showed that house prices fell in July (in monthly terms) for the first time in more than a year, with warnings that the

How does it feel running an energy intensive business in the age of soaring prices? “It’s like a train coming down the tracks and you know you can’t avoid it,” says Matthew Greene. He’s the managing director of Ercon Powder Coating, a second-generation family firm in Bilston in the West Midlands, one of hundreds of

Hope of a meaningful drop in global oil prices have been dashed after a major group of oil-producing nations, including Russia, agreed to increase volumes by a much lower rate than requested. The United States had called on the OPEC+ cartel to raise output by at least 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) to help ease

The UK’s service sector has grown at its slowest rate since February last year – when much of the country was still under COVID-19 restrictions. The monthly S&P Global/CIPS UK services PMI survey hit 52.6 in July, from 54.3 a month earlier. Anything above 50 is positive so it means the sector – which accounts

The “big four” supermarkets and several other retailers are failing to reduce petrol prices in line with falling wholesale costs, the RAC has warned. The roadside recovery firm said the wholesale cost of petrol has fallen by 20p since early June. However, UK retailers continued to increase their prices in June and only dropped their