Business

The amount of money borrowed by consumers rose to a five-year high in June as inflation and interest rate pressure hit households, Bank of England figures show. Net consumer credit rose to the highest since April 2018 – £1.7bn was borrowed last month, following a £500m decrease in lending in May. The increase came as

BT, the FTSE 100 telecoms provider, has announced its new chief executive, the first woman to hold the post. It comes after Sky News reported earlier this month that a formal search had begun to replace current boss Philip Jansen as he weighed up a number of job opportunities in the US. The company said

Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders will this week launch a multimillion pound campaign aimed at illustrating the range of support they are providing to cash-strapped customers as the industry faces its most intense scrutiny in years. Sky News understands that a £5m advertising blitz paid for by participating banks will urge customers to ‘reach out’ if

Nigel Farage has launched a website to tackle de-banking following the fallout from the closure of his account with Coutts. The former UKIP and Brexit Party leader sparked a crisis at the prestigious bank’s parent company NatWest after complaining he had been excluded over his political views. It led to the chief executives of both

An activist fund manager has been building a stake in Dr Martens, the globally renowned bootmaker which has seen its valuation slump amid supply chain bottlenecks and a slowdown in US sales. Sky News has learnt that Sparta Capital has quietly accumulated stock worth tens of millions of pounds in London-listed Dr Martens, and has

Mortgage payers are now in the minority in the UK. Data from the census reveals that there are more people renting, and more people owning their homes outright, than there are people still paying off their mortgage. Within the EU just three countries – Germany, Austria and Denmark – have more renters as a share

There has been a surge in the number of people seeking breathing space from their debts while corporate insolvencies are running at levels not seen for 13 years, according to official figures. The Insolvency Service data covering England and Wales during the second quarter of the year showed 6,342 companies were registered as insolvent in

NatWest has reported a better-than-expected surge in half-year profits as the taxpayer-backed lender reels from the Nigel Farage de-banking debacle. At the end of a week in which its chief executive Dame Alison Rose was forced to quit for her own role in the row, the bank revealed £3.6bn in pre-tax profits – up from

Coutts chief executive Peter Flavel will stand down over his handling of Nigel Farage’s accounts. In a statement from the new NatWest chief executive, it was announced that Mr Flavel had stepped down by mutual consent and with immediate effect. “We have fallen below the bank’s high standards of personal service”, Mr Flavel said. “As

The parent company of British Gas has revealed half-year profits for its UK household supply arm that are up by almost 900%. Centrica said that underlying earnings at British Gas rose to £969m compared to the £98 million achieved a year earlier. It said that the bulk of the growth, however, was not down to

The Federal Reserve – the US central bank known as the Fed – has recommenced its programme of interest rate increases. The rate has been increased by 0.25 percentage points in an effort to further bring down inflation. The Fed had decided to hold interest rates last month, after 10 consecutive rises, as inflation fell

NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose has stepped down as chief executive effective immediately after she admitted to being the source of an inaccurate story about Nigel Farage’s bank account. Her four-year tenure as chief executive has ended in ignominy over her admission that she had discussed Mr Farage’s bank details with a BBC journalist. Howard

NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose has admitted she made a “serious error of judgement” when she discussed Nigel Farage’s Coutts bank accounts with the BBC business editor Simon Jack. Last week Dame Alison apologised to the former UKIP leader for the closure of his accounts and ordered an immediate review of the processes followed by

The company behind many popular consumer brands including Marmite and Magnum ice creams has revealed a surge in profits, as the UK’s competition regulator seeks evidence on whether shoppers are getting a raw deal at the tills. Unilever, which also includes brands such as Domestos and Hellmann’s in its stable, reported a 20% rise in

The BBC has issued an apology to Nigel Farage over a story on the closure of his Coutts bank account, “which turned out not to be accurate”. In a statement, the broadcaster said: “Because of this evidence, we have since changed the headline and the copy on the original online article about his bank account

Bank chiefs have been summoned by City Minister Andrew Griffith to discuss how customers can be protected from being “de-banked” after Coutts terminated its relationship with Nigel Farage. Mr Griffith is expected to write to the bosses of 19 banks, building societies and digital challengers warning that the government will “take all action necessary” to

The veteran chief executive of M&C Saatchi, the top London advertising agency, is to step down, marking the latest phase of a leadership overhaul at the group. Sky News has learnt that Moray MacLennan, who has worked for M&C since it was founded in 1995, is to retire from the company in the coming months. M&C

Takeaways and betting shops could be converted into homes more easily as the government launches a review of extensions, conversions and renovations. In proposals to be formally announced on Monday, new freedoms to enlarge existing homes will also be outlined. The idea is to make it easier to “build upwards and outwards, with new extensions

Jeremy Clarkson has warned some bottles of his Hawkstone Cider might explode. The former Top Gear presenter, who owns the craft drink brand, warned there had been a “massive cock-up” in a sweary Twitter update. He wrote: “If the cap has the code L3160, open it underwater, pour it away and get in touch for

The four biggest UK supermarkets have doubled their profit margins on fuel since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, analysis has revealed. Research from the RAC of wholesale and retail prices showed Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – supermarkets that dominate the UK fuel market – had increased their margins from 4.7p per litre prior