Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will receive up to £9,000 in one-off grants to help them through England’s new coronavirus restrictions, the chancellor has said. The grants were part of a package of measures announced by Rishi Sunak totalling £4.6bn to help struggling firms after the latest measures came into force. Advertisement
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Boris Johnson has announced a new national lockdown for England – with people instructed to “stay at home” as they did during last March’s first shutdown. The prime minister revealed the action in an eight-minute TV address on Monday night, after being told that COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly in every part of the country
The FTSE 100 has rallied sharply on the first day of trading this year as hopes over the impact of vaccine roll-outs trumped fears over more lockdowns. London’s leading share index was up by as much as 3% or more than 200 points, pulled higher by commodity giants such as Fresnillo and Glencore which tend
The marketing services tycoon Sir Martin Sorrell will this week swoop to make two US additions worth more than $200m (£146m) to his digital advertising empire. Sky News understands that S4 Capital – founded by Sir Martin in the wake of his departure from WPP Group – will announce on Monday that it is buying
The Post Office will this week outline plans to hand two board seats to serving postmasters as it seeks to draw a line under the IT scandal which saw managers wrongly sent to prison. Sky News has learnt that the government-owned company will announce on Monday that a committee of independent businesspeople is being set
Bitcoin has topped $30,000 for the first time, extending a rally that saw its value climb by 300% in 2020. The cryptocurrency rose to as high as $31,824 early on Saturday – just two weeks after passing the $20,000 mark. Its rise has been attributed to traders increasingly betting on it becoming a mainstream payment
Lord Sugar, the Amstrad founder and star of The Apprentice, is fuelling a landlord-led revolt against a rescue deal for Caffe Nero, the struggling chain of coffee shops. Sky News has learnt that Amsprop Investments, the peer’s private commercial property group, is among seven parties which have lodged a legal challenge aimed at blocking Caffe
The dismantling of Sir Philip Green’s high street empire is about to accelerate after the appointment of agents to oversee the sale of the tycoon’s former flagship Topshop store. Sky News has learnt that administrators to Redcastle (214 Oxford Street) Limited, which owns the central London property next to Oxford Circus station have appointed Eastdil
Business owners across the country are waiting to see what the first day outside the customs union and single market holds for them. While some are optimistic about the change in trading rules from New Year’s Day, others say it’s led them to regret their Brexit vote. At Birmingham Wholesale Market, hundreds of crates of
The FTSE 100 has clocked up its worst year since the 2008 financial crisis – underperforming against global rivals that have bounced back following a coronavirus sell-off earlier in the year. London’s leading share index closed at 6460.5 in a shortened closing session on New Year’s Eve, 14.3% down over the course of 2020. It
Tesco, Pizza Hut and Superdrug are among 139 companies that have been named and shamed by the government for failing to pay the minimum wage. The employers short-changed more than 95,000 workers by a total of £6.7m during the period investigated between 2016 and 2018, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said.
One of Britain’s most prominent technology entrepreneurs is to be reunited with the backers of her biggest corporate success when she takes the helm of a cash shell that will target a £100m software industry takeover. Sky News has learnt that Vin Murria, who made her investors a fortune when she sold Advanced Computer Software
A Boeing 737-8 MAX was forced to make an unscheduled landing and have one engine shut down after it ran into issues. The Air Canada service from Arizona to Montreal was diverted shortly after take-off on 22 December. In a statement, the airline said the only people on board were three crew members who received
Boeing 737 MAX aircraft have resumed passenger flights in the US for the first time since a 20-month safety ban was lifted last month. American Airlines flight 718, carrying around 100 passengers, landed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday after departing from Miami earlier in the day. The airline and plane manufacturer Boeing have
Islington in north London has seen the fastest house price growth in 2020, with the average property up by 13.4% to £727,922. The figures from Halifax also show that, at the other end of the table, the average house price in Paisley, west of Glasgow, fell by 1.7% to £138,036. Outside London, the biggest movers
The owner of Uswitch is close to unveiling a takeover of Confused.com in a deal that would unite two of Britain’s biggest online price comparison sites. Sky News has learnt that a division of ZPG – which also owns the property portal Zoopla – could announce the purchase of Confused.com from Admiral Group, the London-listed