Business

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said the UK economy is heading for a “soft landing” but reiterated its message to Jeremy Hunt that he should not have cut national insurance at the last two fiscal events. In its annual check-up on the state of Britain’s economy, the Washington-based Fund also warned of a black

The rate of price rises has dropped to 2.3% in April – the lowest in nearly three years and closer to the Bank of England’s target, according to official data. Inflation is at a low not seen since July 2021, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Money latest: Do Sunak and Hunt deserve any

The government is set to offer “skills boot camps” in an attempt to get people on benefits back into work and to fill job roles previously held by foreign workers. In a speech on Tuesday, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride will promise job training for sectors experiencing shortages, such as social care, hospitality and

Traders are facing increased costs and more paperwork due to Brexit border controls, according to a new report from the independent public spending watchdog. The government is estimated to have spent £4.7bn so far but some of that spending was not necessary, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. Despite the UK voting to leave

Getir, the grocery delivery app which this month confirmed plans to exit the UK, has an outstanding debt to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club running to millions of pounds. Sky News understands that Turkey-based Getir, whose three-year training kit sponsorship deal with Spurs expired at the end of the Premier League season on Sunday, owes close

Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has told Sky News that Britain is ready for a change of government after scolding the Conservatives over their handling of the economy and immigration after Brexit. While insisting his petrochemicals conglomerate INEOS is apolitical, Sir Jim backed Brexit and spent last weekend with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at Manchester

Marks & Spencer’s website and app has not been working for several hours, with a message telling shoppers “you can’t shop with us right now”. “We’re working hard to be back online as soon as possible,” it adds. All the menus and images have disappeared apart from one showing a model in a green jacket.

Bosses at Revolut, Britain’s biggest fintech, are drawing up plans to allow employees to cash in with a sale of stock valued at hundreds of millions of pounds. Sky News has learnt that the banking and payments services provider is lining up investment bankers to coordinate a secondary share sale worth in the region of

The Post Office scandal inquiry has said it will “urgently” review dozens of new documents it has received from former chief executive Paula Vennells. The inquiry heard her legal team had conducted further searches ahead of her appearance next week and found 50 additional documents that had previously not been shared. A spokesperson for the

The Body Shop’s administrators are to launch an auction of the chain after concluding that an alternative restructuring of one of Britain’s best-known high street retailers was not viable. Sky News has learnt that FRP Advisory, which has been overseeing the collapsed business since January, is to begin formally sounding out potential buyers in the

Prosecutions of sub postmasters by the Department for Work and Pensions could be “tainted” as Sky News reveals officials worked with now discredited Post Office investigators to secure convictions. Around 100 prosecutions of Post Office staff were led by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between 2001 and 2006. It is understood that these

London City Airport will on Thursday name its first permanent female chief executive as it targets approval of an expansion plan that would create nearly 1,500 jobs. Sky News understands that the Docklands airport has told staff that Alison FitzGerald, who has been co-CEO since January alongside finance chief Wilma Allen, has landed the role.

The owner of Royal Mail has said it is “minded” to accept a revised takeover bid by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. The latest offer from Mr Kretinsky’s investment firm EP Group values the Royal Mail parent company International Distribution Services (IDS) at £3.5bn. An earlier offer had been rejected last month as being too low.

Representatives of Thames Water’s multinational syndicate of shareholders are poised to quit as directors of its corporate entities after refusing to inject the billions of pounds of funding required to bail it out. Sky News has learnt that a number of board members at companies connected to Kemble Water Finance, Thames’s parent, are expected to

Landlords have been accused of “holding parliament hostage” with the threat of selling up to stop tenants’ rights from being strengthened. A fresh row erupted on the eve of the controversial Renters Reform Bill coming to the House of Lords for its second reading, as one landlord group warned of a supply crisis in the

You may like your smashed avocado on toast but a new report has revealed climate change is having a “terrible impact” on the popular fruit. The superfood, which is high in fibre and healthy fats, guzzles vast amounts of water as it grows, making it especially vulnerable in a hotter, drier world. The fruit boomed

The prospects for an interest rate cut next month have not been helped by the latest wage growth figures which have come in higher than expected. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed regular wage growth, excluding the effects of bonuses, was 6% higher over the three months to March compared with a

Young homebuyers are being forced to gamble with their retirement prospects by taking on ultra-long mortgages, according to a former pensions minister. Sir Steve Webb described data – supplied by the Financial Conduct Authority to the Bank of England – as “shocking”. It suggests that more than one million new mortgages have been issued over

The major backer of Pinewood Studios is among the suitors vying to buy Village Hotels, one of Britain’s biggest mid-market hotel chains. Sky News understands that Aermont, which specialises in real estate-backed investments, submitted an offer last week for Village Hotels, which is owned by KSL Capital Partners. City sources said that KSL was seeking

Henry Birch, the former boss of Rank Group, is among the candidates vying to run Entain, the FTSE-100 owner of Ladbrokes. Sky News has learnt that Mr Birch is one of a small number of candidates being considered by Entain to replace Jette Nygaard-Andersen as its permanent chief executive. The recruitment process comes at a