Business

Monzo is in talks about a £300m-plus fundraising that would underpin its status as the most highly valued digital bank in Britain. Sky News has learnt that Monzo, which was founded in 2015 and now boasts 8.5m customers, is in detailed talks with a pack of blue-chip investment funds about a share sale expected to

Pizza Express is considering a surprise move to gatecrash a takeover of The Restaurant Group (TRG), the London-listed company which owns Wagamama. Sky News has learnt that Pizza Express is at the preliminary stages of evaluating whether to make a rival offer for TRG, which this month agreed to be bought by Apollo Global Management

UK carmakers have recorded their best September since 2020 – but warned growth is “under threat” from new Brexit export rules due to come into force within months. More than 88,200 vehicles rolled off factory lines in September, an increase of over 25,100 – almost 40% – compared to the same time last year, figures

The cap on bankers’ bonuses is to be abolished, the financial services regulatory body has announced.  From 31 October, EU rules that limit bonus payments to twice a banker’s salary will be removed, the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) said. The policy change was initially announced by former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in the infamous September mini-budget

Both Microsoft and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, have both reported higher than expected revenue in their latest quarterly results. Microsoft recorded revenue in the three months to the end of September of $56.5bn (£46.4bn), a 13% rise on the same period last year and better than the $54.5bn (£44.8bn) predicted by analysts. It credited the

The UK unemployment rate remains low, according to the latest official figures. The figure stood at 4.2% in the three months to August this year, after changes to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey method. Under the new means of assessing the labour market, there has been no change in the level of joblessness

The voluntary real living wage – paid by more than 14,000 companies in the UK – is to rise by 10% as low-paid workers continue to struggle with the cost of living. The Living Wage Foundation, which sets the rate, announced it would increase to £12 across the UK, except for in London where it

Except on rare occasions – last year’s post-Liz Truss mini-budget episode being one of them – the bond market rarely garners as much attention as other financial sectors. Yet these markets, where companies and governments come to borrow, are the foundations for the global economy. In particular, the value of government bonds – and hence

Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, has turned down an invitation to address the CBI’s annual conference, dealing a blow to the business lobbying group’s efforts to rebuild its reputation. Sky News understands that Ms Badenoch’s officials have informed the CBI that diary clashes in the run-up to next month’s autumn statement will prevent her from

Amid the fields of North Yorkshire, people who once eyed each other with enmity across rolls of razor wire are now walking side by side. A proposed and highly contested fracking site has become the source of clean, green, geothermal energy. In 2016, the North Yorkshire village of Kirby Misperton, like many others across Yorkshire

A fast-growing British semiconductor manufacturer is lining up a £200m funding injection from blue-chip backers including the asset management giant M&G. Sky News has learnt that Pragmatic Semiconductor, which produces low-cost microchips for use in products such as packaging and clothing, is close to finalising a substantial fundraising backed by Saudi Arabian money. City sources

Owning a classic car is a sensory experience. Purists say it’s the feel of the leather, the smell of the fuel, the growl of the engine that brings a classic car to life. But on an industrial estate in Newtown, mid-Wales, that growl is silenced. Three Ferrari Testa Rossas, a Maserati Ghibli and a Land

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has warned of a crackdown on “public sector waste” and focus on tackling debt after official figures showed weaker than expected borrowing last month. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing stood at £14.3bn last month, £1.6bn less than a year earlier. The figure was well down on

The cost of UK state borrowing is close to a 15-year high – levels seen only twice since the global financial crash. The amount the UK government has to pay – the yield – to borrow money for 10 years via its benchmark 10-year bonds – known as gilts – rose to more than 4.7%

A closely-watched barometer of consumer confidence is warning of “concern” for retailers ahead of Christmas, as official figures for September show a steep fall in sales. GfK’s latest Consumer Confidence Index suggested that the willingness of shoppers to spend, particularly on big-ticket items, had plunged since the end of the summer. The authors reported that