Business

Ofgem has said it will cut bills for around 15 million households by up to £95 after reducing its cap on energy bills to the lowest level yet. The price cap has been set at £1,042 per year for an average household and will come into force from October, Ofgem said. It is an £84

The chancellor has warned there is hardship ahead for many people as the furlough scheme winds down over the next few months. Rishi Sunak told Sky News that ending the scheme was “one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make in this job”. He added: “If you look at it from start to

Businesses have demanded a “no surprises” approach to the handling of local coronavirus lockdowns following complaints of mixed messages and a lack of communication. The CBI, which represents 190,000 UK firms, said those caught up in renewed COVID-19 restrictions to date in places such as Leicester had rated the implementation as “mixed at best” to

The Bank of England has said the UK is still set for a record economic slump due to COVID-19 as it left the interest rate unchanged at 0.1% . The central bank’s nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to hold rates as it said it expected Britain’s economy to take longer to get back

Moves to slash red tape and hand automatic planning permission to some homes – and projects like schools and hospitals – are being unveiled by Boris Johnson. A radical blueprint hailed as a “once-in-a-generation reform” is being published by the government with the aim of sweeping away “slow and complex” planning laws. The shake-up, a

WH Smith is looking to cut up to 1,500 jobs after the high street retailer said its recovery from the COVID-19 lockdown remained slow. With other firms also threatening redundancies, including PizzaExpress, DW Sports and Hays Travel, it brings the total number to almost 6,000 so far this week alone. WH Smith said it was

Tech retailer Dixons Carphone is to cut 800 jobs as it changes the way its stores are managed. The company, which owns Currys PC World, has already started to consult with the affected staff, as it begins to remove roles from its stores. Retail managers, assistant managers and team leader roles will be cut at

PizzaExpress has said it could close around 67 of its UK restaurants, putting up to 1,100 jobs at risk. The chain, which also revealed it has put itself up for sale, blamed the move on the “significantly more challenging environment” caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Highlighting the “current unprecedented backdrop” of COVID-19, bosses believe the

Boeing could have to put new flight control software in its troubled 737 MAX aircraft to address safety concerns. That is among four proposals made by the US Federal Aviation Administration following an 18-month review into the planes. The review was prompted by two crashes – in March last year an Ethiopian Airlines plane came

Hays Travel is to cut up to 878 jobs from a workforce of 4,500, the firm has announced. Owners John and Irene Hays blamed the government’s advice against all non-essential travel to Spain and the changes to furlough conditions, saying these two things had left them with “no choice”. They said: “We are devastated that

The departing boss of Standard Life Aberdeen is to become the stopgap chairman of Britain’s audit regulator as ministers seek a heavyweight figure to push through far-reaching reforms of the profession. Sky News has learnt that the government is preparing to name Keith Skeoch as interim chair of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) following the

Britain’s biggest listed shopping centre-owner is preparing to ask shareholders for hundreds of millions of pounds to improve its chances of surviving the coronavirus pandemic. Sky News has learnt that Hammerson, which owns the Bullring in Birmingham and London’s Brent Cross mall, is drawing up plans for a rights issue that could raise more than

British Airways pilots have voted to accept a deal that will include job losses and pay cuts to avoid a larger number of redundancies, their union has announced.  The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) said there will be around 270 compulsory redundancies and temporary pay cuts starting at 20% and reducing to 8% over two

The younger son of tycoon Rupert Murdoch has resigned from the board of News Corporation, the media empire which his father founded. James Murdoch, 47, cited “disagreements over certain editorial content” published by its news outlets and “other strategic decisions”. The nature of the disagreements and the news outlets have not been disclosed. In January,

More than half of the workforce at Byron, the upmarket burger chain, will this weekend join the army of hospitality industry employees being made redundant because of the COVID-19 crisis. Sky News has learnt that only 20 of Byron’s 51 restaurants will transfer to its new owner, Calveton UK – with just 550 of its

Delaying a further relaxation of lockdown restrictions in England a day before they were due to come into effect has been branded “a hammer blow” by the business community. The postponement means the venues such as bowling alleys and casinos, which were due to reopen on Saturday 1 August will have to wait at least