Business

Tesco says it is creating 16,000 new permanent jobs as it sees “exceptional growth” in its online business. Most of the roles are expected to be filled by workers who joined on a temporary basis at the start of the pandemic but who now want to remain with the business for the longer term, the

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has bought some assets of DW Sports out of administration in a £37m deal, saving 922 jobs. The sports retailer and gyms group collapsed earlier this month after its income was wiped out during the coronavirus lockdown. Mr Ashley, the Sports Direct tycoon and Newcastle United owner, has acquired 40 leisure

Former customers of London Capital & Finance (LCF), one of Britain’s biggest recent financial mis-selling scandals, are preparing to challenge its administrators over the scale of fees being charged to handle the insolvency. Sky News understands that a number of creditors have been angered by the estimated £7.2m that Smith & Williamson intends to charge

The board of BT Group is preparing to defend it against takeover approaches from industry rivals and buyout firms after the suspension of its dividend prompted its shares to slump to their lowest level in more than a decade. Sky News has learnt that Britain’s biggest telecoms group, which now has a market capitalisation of

Violence and abuse against shop workers has doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a union representing retail staff. The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) says retail workers have been assaulted, threatened or abused at least once a week on average since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, compared to once a

Student travel firm STA has ceased trading in the UK, saying the coronavirus pandemic has brought its industry to a “standstill”. In a statement on its website, it said anyone with a live booking would receive “further communication in the coming days”. It said: “Unfortunately our travel experts are unable to assist you at this

Britain’s worst wheat harvest in 40 years is likely to cause a price hike in flour and bread, the industry has warned. Only about 40% of the usual amount of wheat crop was planted last October due to heavy rain, while crops being harvested now are very poor quality due to droughts earlier in the

Public debt has topped £2trn for the first time on record as spending soared to prop up the economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The figure at the end of July was £227.6bn higher than the same month last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Image: It is the first

Just one in six workers have gone back to work in cities this summer after companies and staff ignored government pleas to return, leaving economic activity deeply depressed and placing thousands of small businesses at risk of collapse. Figures compiled for Sky News reveal that worker footfall in Britain’s cities was just 17% of pre-lockdown

Mike Ashley’s retail empire, which includes House of Fraser, has warned of further store closures after profits slumped by a fifth. The Frasers Group, which also owns Sports Direct and Evans Cycles, said it had been “the most challenging year in the history of the company”, although it said there was now “a semblance of

President Trump has demanded that Americans boycott Goodyear after the tyre company banned staff from wearing political attire in the workplace. The US leader clearly saw the rule as an attack on his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) slogan as the country gears up for another bitterly divisive presidential election in November. As is customary,

Commuters face a 1.6% rise in rail fares next year – under a rule pegging the increase to the latest inflation figure. The Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure for July, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), is used to cap increases in regulated fares including season tickets on most commuter routes. It is

Pizza Express has revealed plans to close almost a fifth of its UK restaurants under a financial restructuring that places 1,100 jobs at risk. The casual dining chain said it hoped to redeploy some of the staff impacted by the company voluntary arrangement (CVA), first revealed by Sky News, which will also aim to reduce

Former chancellor Sajid Javid has a new job with Wall Street giant JP Morgan. The bank revealed on Monday that Mr Javid – who quit as chancellor earlier this year – has been hired as a senior adviser. Mr Javid is still an MP but will take up a post as a member of the

Ryanair has said it is cutting flight capacity by a fifth in September and October as travel restrictions to some European countries tighten. The Irish airline announced the move shortly before rival easyJet confirmed it was going ahead with previously-announced plans to close bases at London Stansted, Southend and Newcastle airports from 31 August –

More than £37bn worth of property sales were agreed in July – the busiest month for home buying for 10 years, according to property website Rightmove. The spike follows a suspension of the housing market during the coronavirus lockdown, but also coincides with the UK plunging into a recession. The chancellor also cut stamp duty