Business

Some of BP’s largest shareholders have urged it to approach Charles Woodburn, the BAE Systems chief executive, about becoming the FTSE-100 oil behemoth’s next boss. Sky News has learnt that several large investors believe that BP should target the appointment of an external candidate as its CEO for the first time in its 114-year history.

The chairman of NatWest bank has come under fire after he claimed it is not “that difficult” for people to get on the property ladder in the UK. Sir Howard Davies said that while some found it hard to “start the process”, aspiring homeowners “have to save and that is the way it always used

The chief executive of McDonald’s has revealed the company has suffered a “meaningful business impact” following controversy surrounding the Israel-Hamas war. Chris Kempczinski said the fast-food giant had been negatively affected in both Middle Eastern markets and “some outside the region” following calls for a boycott of the chain. It comes after a row in

One of the largest supermarket chains in France is refusing to sell PepsiCo products on the grounds they have become too expensive to stock. A spokesperson for Carrefour said the move would apply to its 9,000+ store network across France, Spain, Italy and Belgium. The chain said it had deployed signs in-store that blamed “unacceptable

Imported foods may be labelled when they do not meet welfare standards, as the government considers measures to help shoppers “buy British”. Environment Secretary Steve Barclay is set to announce plans to change labelling on goods to clarify if it is produced to the highest standards, as part of sweeping reform to support farmers. Mr

Parachuted in to turn around a failing giant of the British high street, Robert McDonald was part of Woolworths’s last roll of the dice. The new finance director said he was excited to join an “iconic” brand when he began work in early November 2008, but just three weeks later the company would sink into

Price cuts to lure shoppers helped supermarkets rake in record revenues ahead of Christmas, according to industry data. Kantar Wordpanel, which tracks sales and prices among chains, said £13.7bn passed through tills or via websites over the four weeks to 24 December. It took average household grocery spending to an all-time high of £477 across

A string of banks and building societies are likely to follow the UK’s largest lender in cutting mortgage rates in the coming weeks, experts have said. It comes after Halifax reduced its rates by up to 0.83% on Tuesday, including a two-year deal of 4.68% with a £999 fee. Lloyds Banking Group, which owns Halifax,

Two of the world’s largest container ship operators have extended diversions from the Red Sea following an attack on a vessel at the weekend that has been blamed for a renewed oil price volatility. Maersk had suspended, on Sunday, sailings near or via the Suez Canal after one of its giant carriers, the Maersk Hangzou,

More than 230 independent vape shops opened across the UK last year, new figures have revealed. It represents a sharp increase from the 61 new stores which opened in 2022, and a net fall of 23 in 2021, according to a survey of retail areas by the Local Data Company (LDC). The rise comes amid

Philip Jansen, the outgoing BT Group boss, has been approached about becoming the next chairman of WPP, the FTSE-100 marketing services giant. Sky News has learnt that Mr Jansen, who is to step down from the telecoms company in the spring, is one of a number of prospective candidates to have been sounded out in

A British buyout firm is hoping to triumph in a two-way battle for Princes Foods, one of Britain’s biggest tinned produce manufacturers. Sky News understands that Epiris wants to secure a deal to buy Princes within days. Epiris has been bidding against Italy’s Newlat in recent weeks, with both said to remain in the running.

If you crack open a bottle of something – be it wine, water or soft drinks – over the festive season, there’s a good chance the glass came from the Encirc factory in Cheshire. Here, on the banks of the River Mersey, you will find one of the world’s largest glass factories. They take sand

Campaigners say hundreds of neglected historic buildings across the UK should be put to new uses to help meet the country’s net zero emissions targets. Eighteen buildings in Greater Manchester have been added to the Buildings at Risk register run by the campaign group SAVE Britain’s Heritage. They join more than 1,000 buildings nationwide which

The finance chief of The Daily Telegraph’s parent company is to leave amid a government-commissioned probe into the newspaper’s takeover by a state-backed Abu Dhabi investment vehicle. Sky News has learnt that Cormac O’Shea, who has been Telegraph Media Group’s (TMG) chief financial officer since the autumn of 2021, is likely to step down in

The cost of shipping goods has again grown significantly as freight giants continue to avoid the key Red Sea route and unions expand protections for mariners. Freight prices rose 80% in the past week, having already gone up nearly 50% the week before. The most widely used measure of freight cost, the Shanghai Containerised Freight

House prices are expected to remain static or fall again next year after a drop of 1.8% since the end of 2022, according to one of the UK’s largest mortgage lenders. Nationwide building society has said a rapid rebound in prices is “unlikely” in 2024 after the fall recorded from December 2022 to 2023. “It

House prices in Huddersfield grew at the fastest rate in the UK in the last year – despite a nationwide downturn – according to a report. MIt was one of the locations bucking the national trend, according to the Halifax House Price Trends report, as homes in the West Yorkshire town went for 8.7% more

Almost a third of people in the UK are living in mouldy or damp homes, according to new research by a campaign group. A survey by Warm This Winter, a coalition of 50 charities, has found 29% of people experience mould frequently or occasionally. That statistic includes an estimated 3.4 million people who are pregnant

Apple has won the right to import two of its most popular smartwatches into the United States, after the appeals court paused a previous ban on imports. The tech giant was ordered in October to stop importing and selling Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches, following a complaint from medical-monitoring technology company Masimo that it