Business

Boris Johnson has ordered ministers to come up with plans to cut more than 90,000 civil service jobs in order to free up billions of pounds for tax cuts. During an away-day with cabinet ministers in Stoke-on-Trent, the prime minister asked them to report back within a month on how they can reduce the size

Be in no doubt, today’s GDP figures are bad news indeed. Bad news as they show the economy is shrinking sooner than expected, down 0.1% in March. But bad news too, in terms of what it heralds for the rest of the year. All the signs and predictions were already that the worst is set

The UK economy contracted by 0.1% in March, as surging inflation took a toll on demand to offset the boost that had been expected from the end of COVID restrictions. The monthly figure compares to no growth in February and 0.7% growth in January, while the quarterly figure (between January and March) showed a growth

Chelsea FC is close to unveiling a £20m-a-year sponsorship deal with a fast-growing cryptocurrency group – despite a temporary ban on the club striking lucrative new partnerships while it operates under government supervision. Sky News can reveal that the Blues have agreed a shirt-sleeve contract with WhaleFin, a digital asset platform owned by Singapore-based Amber

The world’s largest car-maker has warned that its operating earnings could fall by a fifth this year due to “unprecedented increases in materials and logistics costs”. Toyota said operating profit will fall from almost 3trn yen (£18.6bn) in the previous year to 2.4trn yen (£14.9bn) in the current fiscal year, well below analysts’ expectations. The

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is set to buy Twitter, has said he would reverse the platform’s “foolish” ban on former US president Donald Trump if his acquisition goes through. The tech tycoon said: “Permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for accounts that are bots or spam, scam accounts. I do think it

The soaring cost of living has seen consumers “put the brakes” on their shopping habits, new figures show. The latest retail monitoring from BRC-KPMG revealed sales dipped in April after a sharp downturn in consumer confidence. And separate figures from Barclaycard showed credit card spending on retail and eating out slowed last month as people

Convenience retailer McColl’s has been formally bought out of administration by its existing trading partner Morrisons in a deal that saves all its 16,000 jobs and its stores. The news was announced hours after Sky News reported that the supermarket chain had won a race with petrol station powerhouse EG Group for a rescue. Moments

Britain has announced fresh sanctions targeting £1.7bn worth of trade with Russia in a bid to “further weaken Putin’s war machine”. They include sharply higher tariffs on £1.4bn worth of imports from Russia and bans on exports to the country that are worth £250m a year. The measures, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Trade

Morrisons has tabled a last-gasp bid to wrest McColl’s Retail Group from the clutches of its Asda-owning rivals just hours before administrators are formally appointed to oversee its sale. Sky News can reveal that Morrisons has lodged an improved offer with McColl’s lenders that would see them repaid immediately in full, satisfying their principal demand.

Plans to revive struggling town centres will form a key part of the Queen’s Speech next week as the prime minister tries to move on after his party’s poor local election performance. Boris Johnson will say on Tuesday that he wants to rid high streets of derelict shopfronts and restore “neighbourhood pride”, with councils given

Two companies behind large swathes of London’s West End are in advanced talks about a £3.5bn merger that would unite world-famous tourist destinations, including Covent Garden and Chinatown under common ownership. Sky News has learnt that Capital & Counties Properties – also known as Capco – and Shaftesbury are in detailed discussions about an all-share

A consortium led by LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and backed by Clearlake Capital has signed a purchase agreement to buy Chelsea Football Club. Chelsea confirmed that terms had been agreed for the new ownership group led by Mr Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss to acquire the club in a

The billionaire brothers behind one of Britain’s biggest fuel retailing empires are close to sealing a last-ditch swoop on McColl’s Retail Group that could lead to thousands of job losses. Sky News has learnt that EG Group was putting the finishing touches on Friday to a takeover of McColl’s through a pre-pack administration that would

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, has been warned it must do more to help struggling pork producers or risk “the destruction of the UK pig sector”. The chairman of the National Pig Association (NPA) Rob Mutimer used an open letter to the Tesco boss Ken Murphy to argue that the company was uniquely positioned,

McColl’s Retail Group, one of Britain’s biggest convenience store chains, is on the brink of collapse, putting thousands of high street jobs at risk. Sky News has learnt that McColl’s, which has an extensive national partnership with the supermarket giant Morrisons, could call in administrators as early as Friday. The company’s imminent collapse is expected

The Bank of England is expected to increase its base interest rate to the highest level in 13 years in a bid to tackle inflation. It is predicted to rise to 1% amid soaring food, energy and fuel prices that saw inflation hit a 30-year high of 7% in March. The base rate is the

The American private equity firm financing the preferred bid to buy Chelsea Football Club will take a reduced stake in the Blues under a restructured deal that it wants to finalise within days. Sky News has learnt that Clearlake Capital is expected to own approximately 60% of Chelsea’s shares if the consortium spearheaded by Todd

The Pride of Kent, a P&O ferry, has failed its reinspection by authorities. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said: “The Pride of Kent remains under detention after failing to pass its reinspection today. We will reinspect when requested to do so by P&O Ferries. “There are no further inspections of P&O Ferries at the

A spike in oil and gas prices triggered by the Ukraine war could see energy giants enjoying unexpected, additional profits of £11.6bn this year from North Sea operations alone, new analysis predicts. Greenpeace and Oil Change International project that energy firms could see the money they make just from their North Sea fossil fuel operations