Business

A lawyer representing people affected by a “second Post Office IT scandal” has said they “must not” have “a long, hard battle ahead for exoneration and compensation”. A report today found it is “a reasonable likelihood” that Capture software “created shortfalls” for sub-postmasters prior to the Horizon scandal. The system, which was the predecessor to

A lawyer representing people affected by a “second Post Office IT scandal” has said they “must not” have “a long, hard battle ahead for exoneration and compensation”. A report today found it is “a reasonable likelihood” that Capture software “created shortfalls” for sub-postmasters prior to the Horizon scandal. The system, which was the predecessor to

Mike Ashley’s sprawling retail empire Frasers Group has revealed a takeover bid for Mulberry, the struggling luxury brand, claiming it wants to save the company from a potential Debenhams-style collapse. Frasers, which already owns 37% of Mulberry’s shares, said it had made a non-binding approach for the stock it does not already hold. Its 130p-per-share

The UK’s biggest steelworks will cease production today after more than 100 years, leading to thousands of job losses across South Wales. Blast Furnace 4 – the final furnace operating at Tata Steel’s plant in Port Talbot – will be fully shut down at about 5pm, with the last steel made late on Monday evening.

Carlyle, the American investment giant, has become the latest global fund to weigh an investment in Thames Water as the stricken utility races to avoid being nationalised. Sky News has learnt that Carlyle, which has roughly $435bn in assets under management, is at the very preliminary stages of assessing whether an investment in Thames Water

A former owner of Missguided, the youth fashion brand, is in talks to buy Kurt Geiger, the upmarket shoe and accessories retailer. Sky News has learnt that Alteri Investors, which was backed by the global private equity giant Apollo Management when it launched a decade ago, is among a number of parties in discussions about

The private equity giant which owns a stake in rugby’s Six Nations Championship is weighing a bid for a stake in one of Britain’s biggest online travel agents. Sky News has learnt that CVC Capital Partners is among the suitors considering making an offer to become a partial owner of Loveholidays. The travel company, which

One of the UK’s largest water companies is considering shipping supplies from Norway to the UK. Southern Water said the idea was a “last-resort contingency measure” in case of extreme droughts in the early 2030s. Up to 45 million litres per day could be brought to the UK in tankers under the proposals. The Financial

Boeing and union negotiators will meet later in a fresh bid to end strikes by workers that have hammered plane production, exacerbating the fallout from the company’s safety crisis. The company, which is bidding to revive its fortunes under a new chief executive, has more than 32,000 staff refusing to work. They walked out of

For the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine two and a half years ago, the UK has begun to sanction tankers carrying Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe and around the world. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has announced it is using new powers to sanction five LNG tankers and two companies

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has revealed a further £500m investment in its Halewood plant on Merseyside to bolster future production of all-electric cars at the site. The country’s largest automotive manufacturer, which revealed plans in 2023 to produce the first emission-free model at Halewood in early 2025, is now targeting a timeframe later that year.

Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates has threatened legal action if financial redress for victims doesn’t come soon. Sir Alan, speaking after accepting a knighthood for services to justice, told Sky News: “If we need to fundraise for a court case, we will.” In a letter sent to hundreds of former sub postmasters last week,

The owner of the London Stock Exchange is hunting a buyer for its stake in Euroclear, the financial markets infrastructure provider, in a deal which could generate proceeds of about £500m. Sky News has learnt that London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has hired bankers at JP Morgan to offload its interest of just below 5%

A Fujitsu boss has told the Horizon IT inquiry he raised “serious concerns” about the “behaviour” of the Post Office investigations team earlier this year. More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted and received criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015, as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon IT system made it appear as though money was missing at

The Caucasus Mountain range in Georgia is one of the great sights in the south of Europe. Towering peaks, higher than any in the Alps, rise up from green meadows and grassy hills covered in wildflowers. Winding roads thread through deep valleys, overlooked by ornate Orthodox churches and monasteries. But when I visited recently, I

The owners of some of London’s most prominent restaurants are in talks to buy the UK operations of TGI Fridays, the casual dining chain whose parent company collapsed into administration last week. Sky News has learnt that Breal Capital and Calveton, which acquired D&D London – owner of the German Gymnasium and Quaglino’s restaurants –

Rachel Reeves will pledge there will be “no return” to austerity under a Labour government as it continues to come under criticism in the row over donations. The chancellor will say that her first budget, due on 30 October, will “rebuild Britain” and deliver the change people voted for at the election which awarded Labour

Trinny Woodall, the prominent entrepreneur, has secured a £15m financing boost as part of plans to expand her beauty empire. Sky News has learnt that Trinny London, which was founded in 2017, has struck a deal with Aurelius Finance Company, a private debt provider, to provide working capital to it. Industry sources said the agreement

The boss of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, will attend the new government’s flagship investment summit next month amid suggestions that it is struggling to attract large numbers of high-calibre international business figures. Sky News has learnt that Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chairman and chief executive, will attend the October 14 gathering, which will be

A British hypersonic aviation pioneer is this weekend closing in on a £20m rescue deal that will see a Gulf-based sovereign fund becoming its biggest shareholder. Sky News has learnt that Reaction Engines is racing to finalise a two-part financing that will include leading shareholders extending loans to the company before providing a further equity