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

Passengers due to travel with Flybe have been told not to go to the airport after the regional carrier ceased trading and all flights were cancelled. The airline has gone into administration less than a year after returning to the skies following a previous collapse. Ticket-holders were advised to check the Civil Aviation Authority website

Jeremy Hunt became chancellor because he was the most sensible candidate left standing in the wake of Liz Truss’s catastrophic mini-budget. Four months on, he’s earned praise for balancing the books but still had a blank space to fill in when it comes to growth – a crucial plank of economic policy in danger of

Ian King speaks to the CEO of the London Technology Club about why it’s a challenging time for global investment in the sector. Plus, hear from the chief executive of Airtel Africa about how population growth is expected to affect business. And more on the bakery chain that’s promising the most lavish doughnuts London’s ever

HS2 will end at Euston after reports the high-speed line could stop before reaching central London, the chancellor has confirmed. Jeremy Hunt said he did not see “any conceivable circumstance” the original plan would not be followed and that he was “incredibly proud” of the work going ahead. The endpoint of the line came into

Britain’s two biggest steelmakers would be required to guarantee thousands of jobs for a decade in return for £600m of government support to help decarbonise the industry. Sky News has learnt that Grant Shapps, the business secretary, has told Tata Steel and British Steel that they must safeguard UK-based jobs for ten years if they

Shares in listed companies controlled by one of the world’s richest men have lost $48bn (£39bn) in market value over three days after a report by a short seller that claimed he was behind the “largest con in corporate history”. Shares of Gautam Adani’s flagship Adani Enterprises sank by 20% on Friday alone after Wednesday’s

The Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley is to offload Britain’s biggest independent operator of high street slot machine venues. Sky News has learnt that the bank, which owns GameNation through a fund that it manages, has hired bankers to kick off an auction of the business. GameNation, which trades from 50 sites across the UK,

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

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has dismissed economic “gloom” in a major speech today as he promised to use “Brexit freedoms” to increase growth and productivity in the UK. Speaking at Bloomberg’s European headquarters in London, he attacked “declinism”, instead saying the country was “poised to play a leading role in Europe and across the world in

It’s hard to imagine the internet without Google. The tech giant has become so synonymous with searching the web that it has become a verb – we don’t look it up, we “Google it”. Google ended 2022 as it ends every year, as the most visited website in the world. Its estimated share of the

Liberty Steel UK has placed 440 jobs under threat through a series of actions to secure its future amid “unviable” market conditions. The company said high energy costs had combined with other uncompetitive factors such as cheap imports and it was vital its operations were “refocused”. Liberty, part of Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, said its

The Transport Select Committee heard from two sides in the national rail dispute, but the most important voice – the third rail – was not even in the room. Mick Whelan, of drivers’ unions Aslef, put the chances of resolution at zero (on a scale of one to 10) while Mick Lynch, of the RMT,

Rail union leaders have told MPs there is much left to agree if further national strikes are to be averted, with one accusing the government of “sabotage” in its negotiations. RMT leader Mick Lynch said in evidence to the transport committee his members were “a long way” off securing deals on the core pay issue.