Business

Worse financial pain is to come, as many people have not yet felt the full impact of the increased cost of borrowing, the Bank of England has said in one of its latest health checks of the UK’s financial system. Higher interest rates, currently at 5.25% after a run of 14 hikes, have not yet

Santander UK has been approached to revive its financial crisis-era role as a white knight for failing British lenders as regulators seek to secure a quickfire private sector deal to shore up Metro Bank. Sky News has learnt that the Spanish-owned bank, NatWest Group and Lloyds Banking Group are among those approached by banking regulators

Wilko will shut the doors on its last remaining high street stores for the final time after the chain’s collapse. The 93-year-old retailer has been closing each of its 400 UK stores over the past month after collapsing into administration in August. Forty-one stores now remain but will close on Sunday. The shelves have already

The board of Metro Bank rejected a secret takeover approach last month from a rival British lender, just days before its share price crashed when it emerged that it was seeking hundreds of millions of pounds to shore up its finances. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Shawbrook has tabled several bid proposals to Metro

The UK is on course for the biggest tax rise in at least 50 years because of the freeze on personal thresholds and soaring inflation, according to new analysis. The Resolution Foundation said taxpayers are set to hand over about £40bn a year by 2028 – up from a forecast of £30bn at the time

One thing that quite often puzzles people who do not work in financial markets is their tendency to treat seemingly good news as bad. We got a classic example on Friday with news that US employers added 336,000 jobs in September. That was up from 227,000 in August (a figure itself revised higher from the

JD Wetherspoon has credited a surge in sales and reduction in costs for its first annual profit since the COVID pandemic. The value pub and hotel chain, which trades from 826 sites across the UK and Ireland, reported profit before tax for the year to the end of July of £42.6m. That compared to a

Metro Bank has kicked off talks about the sale of a £3bn chunk of its mortgage book as part of an increasingly urgent attempt to shore up its fragile balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that advisers to Metro Bank – which saw its shares plunge on Thursday after acknowledging that it was seeking to

The competition regulator is to investigate the dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in the UK’s cloud market. It follows a study by the telecoms watchdog Ofcom which “identified features that make it more difficult for UK businesses to switch and use multiple cloud suppliers”. Ofcom added: “We are particularly concerned about the position of the

Metro Bank, the high street lender, is drawing up plans to raise hundreds of millions of pounds of new capital in weeks in a bid to strengthen its troubled balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that Metro Bank – the first new lender to open on Britain’s high streets in over 100 years when it

Fuel retailers have dismissed claims that drivers are being overcharged following a surge in pump prices. Data released by the RAC on Wednesday showed an 8p per litre surge in the cost of diesel last month to a new average of 163.1p. Petrol prices rose by nearly 5p per litre to 157p. The motoring group

Superdry, the struggling London-listed fashion retailer, is close to striking a partnership with India’s biggest retailer that will release tens of millions of pounds to bolster its fragile balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that Superdry is in advanced talks with Reliance Brands, part of the vast Mumbai-headquartered conglomerate, about a new licensing joint venture.

Food prices have dropped for the first month in more than two years, according to an industry lobby group that says food inflation is now in single digits. The British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index found food inflation eased to an annual rate of 9.9% in September, which is down from 11.5% in August.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the petrochemicals billionaire, is contemplating buying a minority stake in Manchester United Football Club rather than seeking full control, in an effort to end a nearly 10 months-long process to resolve the club’s future ownership. Sky News has learnt Sir Jim’s Ineos Sports vehicle has proposed to the controlling Glazer family a

Water companies are making their case for a hike to annual household bills of up to £156 in the second half of the decade, to tackle challenges including shortages and sewage leaks. Industry body Water UK said the firms’ business plans, which have to be signed off by the regulator Ofwat, would see investment almost