Business

The investment firm which has agreed to buy WH Smith’s high street operations has been eliminated from the auction of Poundland, the struggling discounter. Sky News has learnt that Poundland’s owner, Pepco Group, has shortlisted two rival firms to buy Poundland, which needs a capital injection of more than £50m to aid a turnaround plan.

Doctors and teachers will be given a 4% pay rise after the government accepted recommendations from independent review bodies. The salary increases, announced by ministers on Thursday afternoon, are 2.8% above what the government had originally budgeted for. The 4% rise is just above the current rate of inflation, which increased from 2.6% in March

The Chancellor borrowed more than expected at the start of the new tax year, piling more pressure on the public finances ahead of next month’s spending review. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed estimated net borrowing of £20.2bn in April – higher than the £17.9bn forecast by economists and the fourth highest

Johnson Matthey, the London-listed industrial group, will on Thursday announce the sale of a unit involved in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as its board fends off pressure from an American activist investor. Sky News has learnt that Johnson Matthey will announce, as part of its full-year result, that it is selling its

A developer of AI-driven software used by the defence and intelligence communities and backed by a fund which employs the former defence secretary, Sir Ben Wallace, is racing to secure millions of pounds of new funding. Sky News has learnt that Adarga, which was founded in 2016, is in detailed talks with a prospective investor

Thames Water has “withdrawn” plans to pay senior bosses bonuses linked to the company securing a £3bn emergency loan, the environment secretary has said. Steve Reed confirmed the proposals had been dropped during an Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) committee session with MPs on Tuesday. The so-called retention plan would have amounted to 50%

The steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta is mounting a last-ditch bid to salvage his British operations after seeing an emergency plea for government support rejected. Sky News has learnt that Mr Gupta’s Liberty Speciality Steels UK (SSUK) arm is seeking to adjourn a winding-up petition scheduled to be heard in court on Wednesday. The petition is

There’s a trick to announcing trade agreements like the one unveiled by the prime minister on Monday: pluck out a big-sounding number and release it to the public with zero context in an effort to make this sound very impressive indeed. That’s what Donald Trump did last week when he was in Saudi Arabia and

The UK and the EU have agreed a new trade deal – five years after Brexit kicked in. Following six months of talks after Sir Keir Starmer promised a fresh deal when he became prime minister last July, the two sides have come to an agreement. Here are the details: eGates British passport holders will

The Italian-owned producer of some of Britain’s most popular food brands has hired bankers to prepare the ground for a London stock market float. Sky News has learnt that Newlat Food, which produces tinned fish and fruits, as well as a range of soft drinks, and sunflower oil under the Flora brand, is working with

A music video-streaming service whose shareholders include the U2 bassist Adam Clayton will this week announce that it has sealed a management buyout after months of talks. Sky News understands that the assets of MagicWorks, which trades as ROXi, have been sold to a new company called FastStream Interactive (FSI), with backing from two major

Adele, the Grammy award-winning artist, has joined the list of music superstars investing in Audoo, a music technology company which helps artists to receive fairer royalty payments. Sky News has learnt that the British musician and Adam Clayton, the U2 bassist, have injected money into Audoo as part of a £7m funding round. The pair

Quintessentially, the luxury concierge service founded by the Queen’s nephew, is in talks to find a buyer months after it warned of “material uncertainty” over its future. Sky News has learned that the company, which was set up by Sir Ben Elliot and his business partners in 1999, is working with advisers on a process

Anglian Water has been fined £1.4m for drinking water failures which affected around 1.3 million people. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) said the company used unapproved plastic-based products to externally coat pipework submerged in drinking water tanks at four different sites. The pipes were installed between 2016 and 2019 and remained until 2021. Anglian Water

Every week, our Money blog team interviews chefs from around the UK, hearing about their cheap food hacks and more. Today, we chat to Steven Smith, chef patron of Japanese restaurant KAJI in Manchester. I don’t think we should be looking at a minimum spend in restaurants… but maybe a deposit. No-shows have a much

The Treasury is preparing to kick off a search for a new boss of Britain’s prudential financial watchdog – one of the world’s key banking regulatory jobs. Sky News has learnt that officials are drawing up plans to advertise for a chief executive to replace Sam Woods at the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) next year.