Business

Flybe, the regional airline which collapsed into administration last month, is to be wound down after attempts to find a rescuer for the business were abandoned. Sky News has learnt that Interpath Advisory, the insolvency practitioner, has terminated talks with potential buyers, which were reported to have included Air France-KLM and the German carrier Lufthansa.

Ofgem has revealed that the end of forced installation of controversial energy prepayment meters only extends until the end of March. The watchdog said the date, that household energy suppliers had agreed to, also included a temporary halt to remote transfers for customers currently on smart meters. The government had suggested last week that the

Airbus and Rolls-Royce have secured contracts to support a record order for new planes by Air India. The order, for 220 Boeing and 250 Airbus aircraft over several years, will benefit both Airbus and engine supplier Rolls-Royce in the UK, the government said. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said the wings, designed by

Ford has announced that 1,300 jobs, a fifth of the workforce, is being cut from its UK business as part of a Europe-wide overhaul. The majority of the UK losses will be at the Ford site in Dunton, Essex – its UK headquarters and technical centre. Up to 1,000 jobs are to be axed at

Lilt is being axed after nearly 50 years and will be rebranded as Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit. The drink is famous for offering a “totally tropical taste”, with one well-known 1988 advert showing the “Lilt man” delivering cans on a sun-kissed beach. “The Lilt ladies”, played by two Jamaican women, became the face of the

Europe’s biggest privately owned cinema operator has lined up financial backing from its new shareholders to help assemble a takeover tilt at Cineworld, its stricken rival. Sky News has learnt that funds managed by Barings and Farallon Capital Management have agreed to provide capital to Vue International to support strategic acquisitions. City sources said that

The crisis engulfing MJ Hudson, the stricken asset management services provider, will deepen on Monday when it discloses that its auditor has resigned. Sky News has learnt that the London-listed company will announce that EY has quit less than 18 months after being appointed. The timing of EY’s resignation, coming so soon after its appointment,

Castore, the British sportswear brand backed by Sir Andy Murray, is in talks with investors about a $200m fundraising as it intensifies its battle with global rivals Adidas and Nike. Sky News has learnt that the Manchester-based business, which was founded by Liverpudlian brothers Phil and Tom Beahon, is working with bankers on plans to

Wilfred Frost stands in for Ian King this week and discusses the UK avoiding a recession by the thinnest of margins. He also talks to Auto Trader’s commercial director Ian Plummer about figures suggesting the current global economic difficulties are now hitting the used car market. And with The Brit Awards celebrating the best of

The Premier League is closing in on a commercial deal with Electronic Arts (EA), the video-games maker, that would be worth close to £500m – one of the largest such agreements ever struck by English football’s top flight. Sky News has learnt that the 20 Premier League clubs were briefed at a meeting on Friday

The economy narrowly avoided recession in the second half of last year, according to early official figures, despite growth going into a sharp reverse in December partly due to the impact of strikes and lack of Premier League football. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that output between October and December was flat at

Takeaway delivery platform Deliveroo has announced it is to cut roughly 350 jobs, equivalent to about 9% of the company workforce. Roles across the global Deliveroo business will be impacted, founder and chief executive Will Shu told staff, but it is understood that UK employees will be worst hit by the losses. The majority of

Tens of thousands of rail workers may return to picket lines after their union rejected revised pay offers to avert more walkouts. The RMT union had been deliberating over a 5% pay rise, backdated to January last year, along with a 4% hike for 2023. Train operators and Network Rail called it their “best and

The company behind many popular consumer brands including Marmite and Magnum ice creams has said it expects price growth to ease later this year but not find a reverse gear. As the cost of living crisis continues to harm household spending power, Unilever forecast a €1.5bn (£1.3bn) impact from inflation during the first half of

Fixating on the short-term damage caused by Brexit is a “fake conversation”, the new Business and Trade Secretary has said, adding that it will “take time” for the shape of Britain’s new economic arrangements to become clear. In her first broadcast interview since business was added to her job brief, Kemi Badenoch told Sky News

The boss of the UK’s largest gas supplier, Norway’s Equinor, has warned it will be difficult to further increase output after ramping up production last year to help fill the void in Europe’s stocks amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. Anders Opedal said that natural gas demand will have to be lower across the continent to