Business

One of the UK’s biggest floorings retailers is just one step away from a collapse that would place 1,852 jobs at risk. Cash-strapped Carpetright confirmed it had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators. The loss-making firm said in a statement however that it was still working towards a reprieve. Parent firm Nestware Holdings

The FTSE 100 mining giant Rio Tinto is wargaming its biggest takeover swoop for years after the collapse of rival BHP’s £39bn (£24.7bn) bid for Anglo American. Sky News has learnt that Rio, which is listed in London and Sydney, is studying a refreshed list of potentially industry-reshaping takeover targets including Teck Resources, the Canadian

Post Office chief executive Nick Read is stepping back from the role temporarily to prepare for the next stage of the Horizon scandal inquiry. Mr Read, who succeeded the heavily-criticised Paula Vennells after she stepped down in 2019, told staff in a note that he wanted to give his “entire attention” to the stage of

Card payments at major high street shops like Asda, Sainsbury’s, and petrol stations across the UK appear to have crashed this morning. Many social media users are reporting being unable to pay for their shopping and petrol. “I’ve just been turned away at Sainsbury’s as they can’t accept card payments,” said Vanessa Meehan, in Twickenham.

Passengers are entitled to compensation for a flight cancelled due to airline staff illness, the UK’s highest court has ruled. “Tens of thousands” of claims made annually could potentially be affected, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday afternoon. The case was brought against British Airways (BA) by a couple whose flight was cancelled due to

The new environment secretary has summoned the bosses of most of Britain’s water companies for urgent talks amid signs that Labour will take a tougher approach to regulating the industry. Sky News has learnt that Steve Reed will hold talks with executives from all 16 of the suppliers in England and Wales, including Thames Water,

Water companies in England and Wales have been told they will not be allowed to impose the hikes to bills they have demanded, the industry regulator has said in an interim verdict on their business plans for the next five years. Ofwat declared that it was minded to slash, by a third, the combined increases

The UK has launched a multi-billion pound national wealth fund to power green invest and infrastructure development in an effort to grow the economy. So far £7.3bn in state funds has been allocated so investments can be made “immediately” in areas such as ports, manufacturing and renewable energy. The move is part of Labour’s plans

Crisis-hit Thames Water has warned its cash is at risk of running dry by the end May next year due to a lack of new investment, forcing it to prepare a plan for its lenders. The country’s biggest water company, which serves almost a quarter of the population, previously said it had £2.4bn of liquidity

The first big announcement of Gordon Brown’s chancellorship was, arguably, the single biggest decision and the single biggest moment of his entire time in office. In a wood-panelled room on Whitehall a few days after being elected, Mr Brown announced that he was making the Bank of England independent – to the shock of many

Boeing has secured a new plea deal to resolve a fresh US criminal investigation linked to two fatal 737 MAX crashes that will see the planemaker admit a fraud charge. An official at the US Department of Justice (DoJ) revealed overnight that Boeing would pay a £243.6m (£190.1m) fine and invest at least $455m over

The founder of Revolut is to cash in part of his multibillion dollar stake in the company as part of a $500m (£391m) share sale. Sky News has learnt that Nik Storonsky, who is the fintech giant’s chief executive, plans to offload stock worth tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in the secondary

One of the advertising gurus who helped propel Margaret Thatcher to power is weighing the formation of a consortium to bid for The Daily Telegraph. Sky News has learnt that Lord Saatchi, the Conservative peer, has been discussing the option of launching an offer for the right-leaning newspapers ahead of a deadline later this month.

Having turned the political map red, Labour’s priority is steering the economy into the black. Sir Keir Starmer’s programme for government may be modest, but the means to deliver it are not. A new prime minister and, in Rachel Reeves, the first female chancellor, have a tough economic inheritance. Follow general election fallout live Stagnant

A housebuilder owned by the investment firm Elliott Advisors has tabled a secret takeover offer for Crest Nicholson, its London-listed rival. Sky News has learnt that Avant Homes, which is run by former Persimmon chief Jeff Fairburn, made an all-share proposal to the board of Crest last month. The bid, which City sources said had

Forget the UK general election. The poll that financial markets will be watching most closely over the next few days is the second round parliamentary ‘run-off’ in France this Sunday. The French poll is unpredictable, to say the least. The first round of voting last week raised the prospect of a hung parliament and prompted

Cineworld is drawing up plans to axe dozens of British cinemas as part of a radical restructuring that would also include extensive rent cuts. Sky News has learnt that the company, which until last year was listed on the London Stock Exchange, is considering closing about a quarter of its roughly-100 British multiplexes. Cineworld also

A former chair of the Post Office has told the Horizon IT scandal inquiry that in-house lawyers advised him against sharing a report he commissioned on the accounting system. Tim Parker, who held the role for almost seven years from October 2015, said he regretted taking the advice the findings of the review by Jonathan

Fraud groups take billions of dollars a year out of the music industry through fake streams, a streaming technology company has warned. At least 10% of all song streams are fraudulent, and this takes between $2bn and $3bn (£1.6bn and £2.4bn) out of the global music industry each year according to Beatdapp, the streaming fraud

Financial markets are giving their first reaction to the early evidence of a record-breaking win for Labour in the general election. A respected exit poll by Ipsos, carried out for broadcasters including Sky News, was the first to put an estimate on the size of the majority expected for Sir Keir Starmer’s party. The 170