Business

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

The Co-op has warned of pressure on profits as it faces “unplanned supply chain challenges”. The group, which operates 2,500 food stores as well as a wholesale business supplying other retailers, became the latest business to acknowledge the impact of the strain on UK logistics as it reported half-year results. They showed an underlying loss

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

Ministers have drafted in a Wall Street banking behemoth to advise on the future of Channel 4 amid a growing battle over the public service broadcaster’s prospective privatisation. Sky News has learnt that Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, has approved the appointment of JP Morgan to provide corporate finance advice on Channel 4’s remit, ownership

The number of employees on UK payrolls recovered to pre-pandemic levels last month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. A rise of 241,000 in August took the total number to 29.1 million, around the same level as in February 2020. The ONS also said the number of job vacancies in the June-August period climbed

It is “not in the hands” of ministers to guarantee there will be enough lorries on the roads to deliver presents on time this Christmas, the transport secretary has told MPs. Grant Shapps made the comment as he faced questions in the House of Commons about the HGV staff shortage. He was asked by Labour

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

Halfords has become the latest big name company to report a hit to sales from supply chain disruption, warning its struggles may take time to overcome. The bikes-to-car parts and servicing retailer said like-for-like cycling sales were down by almost 23% in the 20 weeks to 20 August compared to the same period last year.

Sir Martin Sorrell’s construction of a second global marketing services empire will take another step forward on Wednesday with the acquisition of a Los Angeles-based agency serving clients including Adidas, BMW and Google. Sky News understands that S4 Capital will announce to the London Stock Exchange that it has agreed a merger between Cashmere and