Business

Dr Martens has reported another sharp fall in profits following a “challenging year” for the business. The struggling company said global pre-tax profits in the 12 months to March were £97m – a fall of almost 43% on the previous year. Revenue also dipped 12% to £877m – down from just over £1bn in 2022/23.

Daniel Kretinsky is on the cusp of becoming the new man in charge of the Royal Mail. The board of its parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), announced on Wednesday it had agreed to a takeover by Mr Kretinsky’s EP Group, which has valued the firm at £5.3bn. The deal must first be approved by

The owners of Royal Mail have agreed to a £3.6bn takeover bid by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. The company’s parent firm International Distribution Services (IDS) said its board of directors had approved the deal after a formal offer was made earlier this month. Mr Kretinsky’s EP Group already owns 27.6% of the business. Shareholders will

Rishi Sunak’s committee of business advisers refused to publicly back the government’s economic policy record on Tuesday amid an escalating row over Labour’s efforts to steal the Conservative Party’s traditional mantle as ‘the party of business’. Sky News contacted all 15 of the companies represented on the prime minister’s business council to see whether their

The rate of price rises in UK shops has returned to “normal levels”, according to new industry figures. Overall annual shop price inflation eased to 0.6% in May, down from 0.8% in April, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ said. The figure is the lowest since November 2021. Please use Chrome browser for a

Rishi Sunak will meet leading Conservative Party donors on Monday evening as he seeks to mobilise financial support for the surprisingly timed general election campaign he triggered last week. Sky News understands that the prime minister will have dinner with a small group of long-standing and more recent donors as the Tories target millions of

An Indian pharmaceutical group is closing in on a deal to snap up Nicotinell, the anti-smoking aid, from Haleon, its FTSE-100 parent company. Sky News has learnt that Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories could be within days of acquiring the brand and a number of lesser-known European products from Haleon. Sources said a deal was likely

One of Britain’s biggest housebuilders is exploring a £1bn takeover bid for Cala Group, a rival player in the sector which has been put up for sale. Sky News has learned that Persimmon, which has a market value of £4.74bn, is leaning towards submitting an offer for Cala ahead of a bid deadline next week.

In the 15-year scandal of the Post Office, this may be remembered as the day that hundreds of sub-postmasters, subject to the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history, were finally heard. In Westminster, the Post Office Offences Act was being rushed through parliament, included in the ‘wash-up’ triggered by the general election. Come

Pocket money is in decline, data shows – but kids are finding new ways to pay for their everyday “essentials”. Data from the NatWest pocket money index (looking at transactions from 308,000 children in the Rooster app), shared with our Money blog, shows only 30% of families now pay pocket money as part of a

Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has admitted to amending the legal document Royal Mail issued to would-be investors before it became publicly owned to remove mention of the flawed Horizon IT system. Data from the accounting software created by Fujitsu was used to prosecute more than 700 sub-postmasters for theft and false accounting. Many

The reason for the fall in the household energy price cap is pretty straightforward – wholesale electricity and gas prices have fallen since the price cap was last set in February this year. Wholesale gas and electricity prices make up by far the biggest proportion of the energy bills – £720 of the current £1,690

The average annual energy bill will be £506 cheaper than a year ago from July, the sector’s regulator has announced. The energy price cap – which limits what can be charged per unit of energy – is due to fall from the month after next. It means the average annual bill will be £1,568 a

Growth in the UK’s powerhouse services sector has cooled by more than expected to its weakest level in six months, according to a closely-watched survey of businesses. As campaigning got underway for a general election that is widely expected to be dominated by the economy, the S&P Global UK Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) suggested

The UK’s competition regulator has issued three tips for pet owners amid concerns they are paying too much on vet bills and are not given enough information about treatment options. It follows a March update of a review into the UK’s £5bn veterinary services industry by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which said pet

Plans for a multibillion pound mass market sale of the government’s stake in NatWest Group have been derailed by Rishi Sunak’s decision to call a summer general election. Sky News can reveal that a proposed retail offer of shares in the taxpayer-backed bank will be scuppered by the timing of the poll. The Treasury has

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

There is a “possibility” that G7 nations will support Ukraine’s war effort through the use of billions of dollars in loans linked to seized Russian assets, the US Treasury secretary has told Sky News. In a wide-ranging interview with Sky’s Wilfred Frost, Janet Yellen said she was hopeful of a “united front” on the issue

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