Business

This Easter, chocolate lovers will no doubt have noticed they had to pay more for their eggs. Now, the cost of chocolate could soar after changing climate patterns hit cocoa supplies in west Africa. Seasonal dusty winds from the Sahara have been severe in recent months, blocking out the sunlight needed for cocoa bean pods

Adnams, one of the most historic names in British brewing, is to explore an outright sale amid a funding squeeze across the industry which has triggered a growing wave of insolvencies. Sky News has learnt that Adnams has begun contacting prospective investors and buyers after hiring advisers earlier this year to shore up its finances.

The CBI, the business lobbying group, has negotiated an extension of its overdraft in a fresh move to shore up its balance sheet after a year in which it came close to collapse. Sky News has learnt that in recent weeks the CBI and a syndicate of high street lenders have agreed an increase in

More than £1m of unexplained transactions were transferred in to Post Office profit at the height of the Horizon scandal, leaked documents have showed. The papers seen by Sky News show a snapshot of transfers from a Post Office “miscellaneous client” suspense account over a four year period, up to 2014. A suspense account is

The chief executive of Thames Water has refused to rule out bill increases of up to 40% for customers as the troubled company tries to secure its future. It comes as the business, which serves nearly a quarter of the UK’s population, struggles with more than £15bn of debt and the huge interest payments required

Sam Bankman-Fried was breathlessly described as a wunderkind – a boy wonder transforming the world of finance. Renowned for his messy hair and unkempt appearance, he graced the covers of Forbes and Fortune, who pondered whether he could become the next Warren Buffett. The 32-year-old was the founder of FTX, which had quickly become the

The board of Thames Water was locked in crunch talks on Wednesday as shareholders prepare to dilute a pledge to inject funds into the company that would secure its survival. Sky News has learnt that the directors of Britain’s biggest water company met to discuss its financial future after months of talks involving debt and

Barclays has apologised after customers experienced difficulties with payments into and out of accounts, as well as with its app, telephone and online banking services. The problems began on Tuesday evening and continued into Wednesday morning before the bank said, just before 6am, everything was working as it should. Money latest – Eight things that

“The Welsh government need to realise that what they’re doing is damaging the industry.” That’s according to Sam Regan, owner and managing director of the Lemon Tree – a hotel and restaurant in Wrexham. The city has gained international attention in recent years as the home of the football club with the Hollywood star owners.

The collapse of the Baltimore bridge has trade implications, with the cost of rebuilding estimated to surpass $600m (£474.12m), experts have told Sky News. Local officials have said Baltimore port in Maryland, the United States – which sees more than a million shipping containers enter and exit every year – is closed for all maritime

Chocolate is among the products placing upwards pressure on grocery inflation in the run-up to Easter, according to closely-watched supermarket data. Kantar Worldpanel, which tracks pricing and market share, reported a further slowing in the pace of price growth across the sector over the four weeks to 17 March. It said the annual rate for

The London-listed leisure group Revolution Bars is plotting the closure of a quarter of its venues as it holds talks with investors about an emergency fundraising and puts itself up for sale. Sky News has learnt that Revolution, which owns Peach Pubs and the Revolucion de Cuba chain, is drawing up plans to axe roughly

Ofgem has launched a discussion on the energy price cap, floating options such as a cap based on things such as vulnerability and when energy is used. The price cap was introduced in January 2019 to prevent people on variable tariffs being ripped off. Initially it was changed a couple of times a year but

The owner’s of Gail’s, the chain of bakeries and coffee shops, are preparing to hire advisers for a sale that would value it at well over the £200m price tag at which it changed hands nearly three years ago. Sky News understands that Bain Capital Credit and EBITDA Investments, a fund backed by serial restaurant

Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor, is in talks about chairing the biggest remaining part of the Barclay family’s business empire, fuelling speculation that he will join a mass exodus of Conservative MPs at the general election. Sky News has learnt that Mr Zahawi, the MP for Stratford-on-Avon since 2010, is among the candidates to become