Business

The investor trying to take control of Everton Football Club has pushed back its target date for completing the deal as it scrambles to raise hundreds of millions of pounds to fund it. Sky News has learnt that 777 Partners has told stakeholders including the Premier League and prospective lenders that it now expects its

China ramped up coal power capacity last year, according to new analysis, despite a pledge to “strictly control” the dirtiest fossil fuel. The country added 47.4 Gigawatts (GW) of new coal power in 2023, more than double the amount added by the rest of the world combined. It raises concerns that gains in clean power,

More than seven million people in the UK were struggling with bills and credit repayments in January, according to a financial watchdog. The number is down significantly on the 10.9 million people in the same position in January 2023. However, it’s still above the 5.8 million recorded in February 2020, before the pandemic and the

Post Office victims campaigner Alan Bates has told the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal that it was “pretty obvious” the organisation “were after me – one way or another”. Mr Bates was also described as “unmanageable” by a former senior figure at the organisation, documents disclosed at the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal

Barclays has launched a legal challenge over a ruling that it unfairly paid commission to a car finance broker, underlining growing anxiety among Britain’s biggest lenders about the potential scale of an industry-wide compensation bill. Sky News has learnt that Barclays is mounting a judicial review against the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) over a decision

Ted Baker is to shut 15 of its stores across the UK within weeks, the retailer’s administrators have announced. Around 245 staff will be made redundant. It comes after Sky News revealed that hundreds of jobs were at risk after the company behind the brand’s UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label Limited (NODL), collapsed last

Santander UK, Britain’s fifth-biggest high street bank, is cancelling its membership of a key lending standards body because of the duplication of regulatory standards to which the industry is required to adhere. Sky News has learnt that the Spanish-owned bank served notice last week of its intention to quit the Lending Standards Board, citing the

English cricket chiefs will next week take another step towards a radical revamp of the sport’s ownership structure by launching plans to sell stakes in The Hundred’s eight franchises. Sky News has learnt that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will interview bankers in the coming days as they prepare to raise funds by

Employees across the country have today been granted the legal right to request flexible working from the day they enter a new job. Previously, the right was only applicable if someone had worked for their employer for 26 weeks or more. The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 gained Royal Assent in July as Kevin Hollinrake,

Josie Dom, 53, was thrilled when she moved into her new home in October. She bought 30% of it through the shared ownership scheme as an affordable route to home ownership, even if it was only partial ownership. The idea is to help people who would not be able to buy a home outright get

The crisis enveloping Thames Water has deepened after its holding company announced it had been unable to meet debt repayments. Kemble Water said it missed an interest payment that was due on Tuesday. The firm said it had asked its lenders to take no immediate action so as to “provide a stable platform while all

Administrators to The Body Shop are drawing up plans to launch a further restructuring process in a bid to salvage a future for one of Britain’s best-known high street brands. Sky News has learnt that insolvency practitioners at FRP Advisory have outlined proposals to launch a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that would see The Body

House prices slipped by 1% in March following five consecutive months of growth, according to new figures from Halifax. The lender said affordability remained a challenge for potential buyers as recent declines in mortgage rates have stalled. It comes as financial markets become less optimistic about the timing and extent of interest rate cuts by

British billionaire Joe Lewis has avoided a jail sentence after admitting he orchestrated an insider trading scheme that helped those around him make millions. The former Tottenham Hotspur owner, who lives in the Bahamas, tipped off his girlfriend, friends, and two of his private pilots with inside information on four publicly-traded companies, which they used

The Dutch banking giant ING has been thrust into a pivotal role in determining the future of stricken Thames Water’s parent company amid growing expectations that lenders will agree a loan extension ahead of a repayment deadline this month. Sky News has learnt that ING is among the lenders due to be repaid £190m by

The Post Office’s IT helpdesk was instructing Fujitsu, the maker of faulty accounting software, to change sub-postmaster accounts more than a decade ago, according to leaked recordings. Two secret audio recordings with Post Office officials, obtained by Sky News, demonstrate how much the government-owned company knew about flaws with the Horizon IT programme, used by