Business

The boss of P&O Ferries has flatly rejected the government’s final plea to halt the process of making nearly 800 of its workers redundant. In a letter to transport minister Grant Shapps on Tuesday, the company said the process was in its final stages with most workers already accepting severance offers, and changing course now

Babcock International Group, the FTSE-250 government contractor, is in talks to offload the bulk of its emergency aviation services division, which counts Britain’s Air Ambulance fleet among its operations. Sky News has learnt that Babcock is in advanced negotiations with Ancala Partners, a London-based infrastructure investor, about acquiring a substantial chunk of the business it

A second P&O ferry, the Pride of Kent, is being detained after it failed safety checks by authorities amid the backlash over the company’s decision to replace 800 seafarers with lower-paid crew. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) made the revelation as a new crewmember aboard a P&O vessel told Sky News there was an

Ministers and the Premier League will be presented with a preferred bid for Chelsea Football Club in three weeks’ time, paving the way for a change of ownership to take place by the end of next month. Sky News has learnt that a letter sent to the four remaining contenders to buy the Blues over

Sycamore Partners, the US- based private equity group, has tabled a £250m offer for the London-listed fashion chain Ted Baker. Sky News has learnt that a proposal valuing Ted Baker at 130p-a-share was submitted in writing in the last few days. It was unclear this weekend whether it had been formally rejected, although City sources

The four contenders vying to buy Chelsea Football Club will submit final bids on April 11, paving the way for a prospective new owner to seek government permission to take over from Roman Abramovich by the end of next month. Sky News has learnt that the remaining contenders have been notified by Raine Group, the

Hundreds of people have demonstrated against P&O Ferries’ sacking of 800 staff at ports across the UK, with some chanting: “P&O, shame on you.” Protesters carrying banners and placards gathered in Dover, Liverpool, and Hull as part of what they called the “fight for justice” for the seafarers dismissed without notice earlier this month. The

A P&O ferry has been detained in Larne, Northern Ireland, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The agency said the ship, the European Causeway, was held “due to failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training”. In a statement it said: “The vessel will remain under detention until all these issues are resolved

The owners of the Chicago Cubs are drafting in a heavyweight investment bank as they attempt to salvage their bid to buy Chelsea Football Club. Sky News has learnt that the Ricketts family and Ken Griffin, the Citadel hedge fund billionaire, are in talks to appoint Lazard to advise on their offer for the Stamford

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said the boss of P&O Ferries should quit for his “brazen, breathtaking arrogance” in admitting “breaking the law” in sacking staff. The cabinet minister also said he would change the law to force a U-turn and prevent the ferry operator paying below minimum wage to its crews. It comes after

A string of bidders for Chelsea Football Club including the former US ambassador to the UK have been eliminated from the £3bn auction of last season’s Champions League winners as the hunt intensifies to find Roman Abramovich’s successor as owner. Sky News has learnt that a number of bidders including Woody Johnson, owner of the

Rishi Sunak has defended his spring statement amid much criticism as he argued the UK is recovering from its biggest shock in 300 years. The chancellor said he knows families are struggling with the rising cost of living and that is “why I announced a tax plan which delivers the biggest net cut in personal

Budgets – and let’s make no bones about it, today’s Spring Statement was significant enough to qualify as a budget – tend to follow a time-honoured pattern. The chancellor unveils his measures, makes a big noise about them in the House of Commons, and then – sometimes over a few hours, sometimes over a few

The annual rate of inflation has hit 6.2% as the chancellor prepares to outline how he will help households with soaring living costs in his Spring Statement 2022. The consumer prices index (CPI) increased in February from 5.5% in January and remains at the highest level in 30 years, according to the Office for National

A change in the law signed off by former Conservative minister Chris Grayling cleared the way for P&O Ferries to legally sack 800 staff last week without telling the government, a leading maritime lawyer has told Sky News. Legislation to protect employees in the UK was amended by Mr Grayling in 2018 so that the

The UK supply arm of Russia’s state-owned gas firm Gazprom is expected to be placed under taxpayer control within days as customers attempt to flee the firm in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine. Gazprom Energy supplies over a fifth of gas used by commercial and public sector customers in the UK including companies like