Business

The first “blank cheque” company to list in London after an overhaul aimed at helping the City compete with rival financial centres is in talks to merge with a privately owned drugs group developing treatments for chronic diseases. Sky News has learnt that Hambro Perks Acquisition Company (HPAC) is in advanced negotiations about a deal,

After Flybe went into administration on Saturday, many travellers will be out of pocket having bought tickets, while others are stranded in their outbound destination. Flybe has told its passengers to “not travel to the airport” unless they have arranged alternative flights with another airline. What are passengers’ rights if your flight is cancelled? Flybe

Flybe has ceased trading and all its scheduled flights have been cancelled, with hundreds of jobs lost. The airline has gone into administration less than a year after returning to the skies following a previous collapse. Sky News understands that 277 of Flybe’s 321 staff have been made redundant. The remaining 44 have been retained.

Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, is closing in on a multibillion pound deal with Britain’s biggest housebuilders to help resolve the national cladding crisis exposed by the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster. Sky News has learnt that major companies including Barratt Developments and Persimmon are preparing for the imminent signing of a legally binding contract

Asda is facing the prospect of strike action unless it makes significant concessions on its self-styled “efficiency” plans that have placed thousands of jobs at risk, a union source has told Sky News. GMB representatives met late on Thursday – hours after Asda revealed a set of proposals that mainly involved moving away from some

Asda’s owners have revealed a planned shake-up that places hundreds of jobs at risk and will see thousands moved to lower-paid roles. The UK’s third-largest grocery chain by market share said its changes were the result of an “efficiency” drive but they were met with stinging criticism by the GMB union. The company has proposed

Royal Mail’s parent firm has raised its estimate for the cost of industrial action so far to £200m and claimed that up to 12,500 union members have worked on strike days. International Distributions Services (IDS) said 18 days of walkouts at Royal Mail helped push the division to a £295m operating loss in the first

A London-based estate agent chaired by the former Sainsbury’s chief Justin King is on the brink of a deal to buy rival Marsh & Parsons. Sky News has learnt that Dexters, which is privately owned, has been in talks for weeks with LSL Property Services, Marsh & Parsons’ London-listed parent company. Sources said a deal

Gambling firm In Touch Games has been fined millions by a regulator for “social responsibility and money laundering failings”. The Gambling Commission said the company, which operates a number of online sites including bonusboss.co.uk, had been given a £6.1m penalty, its third fine related to oversight failures. The issues at In Touch Games, the watchdog

Liverpool and Manchester United supporters will temporarily set aside their historical enmity this week by uniting to demand tougher ownership rules for English football clubs. Sky News understands that the Reds’ and Red Devils’ biggest fan representative groups will issue a rare joint statement to urge ministers to include a beefed-up test for club owners

Thousands of pensioners left facing an uncertain retirement by the collapse of Sir Philip Green’s high street empire are on the verge of a funding deal backed by one of Britain’s biggest insurers. Sky News has learnt that the trustees of the Arcadia Group pension scheme are close to striking a binding deal with Aviva

Twitter is being sued by the Crown Estate amid allegations of unpaid rent at its London headquarters. The Crown Estate, which manages a property portfolio belonging to the monarchy, filed a case at the High Court last week. Twitter’s office is based near Piccadilly Circus in central London – but reports have suggested that the

Some households with smart meters could be eligible for discounts if they cut their use of electricity between 5 and 6pm today. The National Grid ESO (electricity system operator) is, for the first time, activating the “demand flexibility service (DFS)” – which allows it to access additional flexibility when national demand is at its highest

The bank executive who helped to transform Virgin Money into one of Britain’s biggest high street lenders has landed a role at the helm of a British-based digital wealth manager. Sky News understands that Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia will on Monday be unveiled as chair of Moneyfarm. Dame Jayne-Anne’s appointment will ignite speculation that Moneyfarm, which

Grant Shapps has launched a crackdown on energy suppliers, following reports some are not doing enough to support vulnerable customers amid the cost of living crisis. The Business and Energy Secretary has written a letter to energy suppliers, telling them to stop the practice of forced fitting prepayment meters as the answer to families struggling

The outgoing chief executive of Rightmove is among a pack of contenders to become the next boss of Future, the Marie Claire and Wallpaper publisher. Sky News has learnt that Peter Brooks-Johnson, who will leave the property portal in March, has been shortlisted to succeed Zillah Byng-Thorne, the media group’s veteran chief. Mr Brooks-Johnson is

The Treasury is close to agreeing a £300m aid package for the UK’s second-biggest steel producer in a move aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and averting the loss of thousands of industrial jobs across northern England. Sky News has learnt that Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has been advised by officials to approve a request

Google workers in the UK and Ireland face uncertainty after its parent company Alphabet announced 12,000 jobs are to be axed globally. The Silicon Valley giant employs more than 5,000 staff in both countries, but the company would not be drawn on how the mass redundancies would impact them. The “difficult news” about the job

Cost-conscious shoppers curbed spending over the Christmas period adding to the woes of retailers, official figures show. Retail sales unexpectedly fell by 1% in December, the second month of decline, according to the Office for National Statistics. It was far worse than the 0.5% rise predicted by economists. Cost of living latest – Inflation likely

Lloyds Pharmacy is to pull out of 237 in-store Sainsbury’s branches, potentially putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk and exposing the financial pressure on UK pharmacies at the height of the NHS crisis. Lloyds Pharmacy, which bought Sainsbury’s 280-strong pharmacy network in 2015 in a deal worth £125m, said it would close the branches