Business

Ryanair’s chief executive has told Sky News the UK should scrap its “bizarre” rules governing foreign travel, saying they are holding the country’s economy back. Michael O’Leary was speaking as the airline revealed 14 new routes from London airports for the looming winter season. Ryanair said its investment decision was based on expectations that demand

A former adviser to Boris Johnson is drawing up plans to list a new infrastructure investment company tied to his ambition to lead a consolidation drive in Britain’s vast corporate pensions sector. Sky News has learnt that Edi Truell’s Pension SuperFund (PSF) is pursuing the flotation of a long-term assets vehicle that could, over time,

The Chinese government has banned under-18s from playing online games for more than an hour a day, and then only between 8pm and 9pm on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. The ban will be enforced by online gaming companies which are now required to strictly enforce rules requiring users to register accounts with their

J Sainsbury, Britain’s second-biggest supermarket chain, is in advanced talks to sell its banking arm nearly a year after kicking off an auction of the division. Sky News has learnt that the grocer is nearing an agreement to sell Sainsbury’s Bank to Centerbridge Partners, a US-based private equity firm. The discussions are said to be

Business groups have been left “frustrated” after the business secretary rejected requests to loosen Brexit immigration rules to ease the supply chain crisis, telling companies to hire UK-based workers instead. Businesses across multiple sectors are struggling to meet customer demand as a consequence of labour shortages, particularly in haulage where there is a shortfall of

The price of toys will spike this Christmas as the cost of delays and shortages hit shoppers’ pockets, according the boss of a British toy company. As businesses try to recover some of the expense of shipping items to the UK, which has soared in the COVID-19 pandemic, parents might have to fork out even

Thousands of cash points have disappeared during the pandemic with many not being replaced, new data shows. Around 8,000 ATMs have been switched off in the past 18 months, according to research by consumer group, Which? – equating to a fall of around 13%. The vast majority of cash machines were put out of action

The UK food and drink sector has called for a temporary visa class to be established for urgently required workers, such as lorry drivers. A new cross-industry report has urged the government to institute a so-called COVID-19 Recovery Visa that would last for 12 months, in order to help alleviate the workforce shortages that are

The spending limit for contactless payments will increase to £100 from 15 October, the government has said. Currently, contactless spending is capped at £45, allowing shoppers to pay by tapping their card and without entering a PIN. The decision to raise the limit was made by the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority following a

Labour shortages at meat processing plants have resulted in a surplus of 70,000 pigs on farms, the industry’s trade body has warned. The surplus is growing by 15,000 a week and farmers are weeks away from having to destroy perfectly healthy pigs, according to Zoe Davies, chief executive of the National Pig Association. It is

Virgin Money, one of Britain’s biggest retail banks, is to close its charitable giving arm in a cost-cutting move that risks a backlash from fundraisers across the country. Sky News has learnt that the company plans to announce next week that it has decided to close Virgin Money Giving, 12 years after it was set

UK car production fell to its lowest July level in 65 years last month thanks to the global chip shortage and the “pingdemic”, industry figures show. Just 53,438 vehicles rolled off production lines in Britain, down by 37.6% on last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It represented the worst

The UK’s competition watchdog has warned PCR test providers to “immediately review their practices” or face enforcement action if they treat customers unfairly. In an open letter, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warns companies within the sector that their actions could breach consumer protection law and suggests the Department of Health and Social Care

Takeaway delivery platform Just Eat has announced plans to create more than 1,000 customer service roles at its new office near Sunderland. The company, which is part of the Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway group, is bringing work in-house that was previously outsourced to third party operators in Bulgaria and the Philippines. It said it had

McDonald’s has been forced to pull milkshakes and bottled drinks from its menu due to supply chain issues, it said in a statement on Monday night. The fast food chain, which operates some 1,300 restaurants across the UK, has become the latest victim of supply chain disruptions that are currently roiling England, Scotland, and Wales.

The government has given UK firms an extra year to comply with post-Brexit product safety marking rules after pressure from business groups. Companies had faced a 1 January 2022 deadline to switch from Europe’s CE mark to the new UK conformity assessed (UKCA) standard for most products but this will be pushed back to 2023.