Business

The bosses of Britain’s biggest housebuilders will hold talks with the chancellor this week as they face a multibillion-pound bill in the form of several new levies. Sky News has learnt that the executives from companies including Barratt Developments, Fairview and Persimmon will meet Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday. The Home Builders Federation (HBF), the leading

BP has revealed it is to miss a key climate goal while announcing record annual profits. The London-based firm said its main measure, underlying replacement cost profit, came in at $27.7bn (£23bn) for 2022. That is more than double the previous year’s sum despite weaker oil and gas costs knocking its performance in the final

Administrators have selected a rival battery start-up based in Australia as preferred bidder for collapsed Britishvolt. EY confirmed on Monday morning that its team had chosen Recharge Industries – owned by US investment firm Scale Facilitation Partners – to acquire the “majority of the business and assets” of Britishvolt following its demise last month. The

The German automotive giant BMW is in talks with the government about a £75m funding package that would secure production of electric Minis at its Oxfordshire plant. Sky News has learnt that BMW is negotiating with officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) over a grant from Whitehall’s Automotive Transformation Fund.

Elon Musk did not deceive his investors when he tweeted in 2018 that he had the funding to take Tesla private, a jury has found. Investors had sought to sue the SpaceX owner for billions of dollars because his tweet caused Tesla’s shares to soar, only to crash 10 days later when it became clear

A current employee in British Gas’s debt recovery team has told Sky News that staff feel pressured to force the installation of prepayment energy meters on customers in debt. The employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he had seen an increase in the number of indebted customers since the cost of living crisis began,

London’s FTSE 100 Index has reached an all-time high at 7905 earlier this afternoon. The Financial Times Stock Exchange index of the 100 most valuable companies on the London stock exchange beat the previous record of 7,903.5 set in May 2018. It comes as central banks – including the Bank of England and the US

The energy regulator Ofgem has asked suppliers to suspend the forced installation of prepayment meters and review their processes for dealing with customers who have fallen into arrears. Sky News understands the regulator made the request on Thursday after it was revealed that debt collectors working for British Gas had forced their way into the

British Gas has been hit with allegations its debt collectors broke into the homes of vulnerable customers to fit prepayment meters, after an undercover investigation by The Times.  Here’s what we know so far about the claims, the evidence and the investigations that have been launched. Image: Pic: The Times What is British Gas accused

Shell has announced annual profits of $39.9bn (£32.2bn), doubling from a year earlier and far exceeding the previous record of $31bn in 2008. The London-listed company also posted record fourth-quarter earnings of $9.8bn (£7.9bn). The profits – which were even higher than the $38.17bn (£30.8bn) analysts had expected – came thanks to bumper gas prices

The head of markets at the National Grid Electricity System Operator has told Sky News that its new energy saving scheme “is likely how we’re all going to operate in the future.” The new Demand Flexibility Service, which allows consumers to volunteer to use less electricity at times of peak demand to help avoid blackouts,

The US central bank has slowed the pace of interest rate hikes further but indicated more rises are likely despite official figures suggesting price pressures have peaked in the world’s largest economy. The Federal Reserve revealed its verdict hours before counterparts in the UK and Europe reveal their next moves in the battle against inflation

Corporate insolvencies have reached their highest level since the aftermath of the great financial crisis, official figures show. There were 22,109 insolvencies in 2022, the highest figure since 2009 and an increase of 57% from 2021, when 14,059 businesses went bust. Businesses are reeling from the end of the pandemic support packages, which provided a

Shop prices have yet to reach their peak – despite record highs seen in January, it has been warned. Prices are now 8% higher than they were last January, up from 7.3% in December and above the three-month average of 7.5%, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index. Overall food inflation rose

Hunter Boot, the royal warrant-holding footwear manufacturer, is racing to secure millions of pounds of working capital as it progresses parallel talks about a sale. Sky News has learnt that Hunter’s owners have received several proposals from parties including Gordon Brothers, a specialist in financing often-troubled retailers, to provide around £8m in financing to the

Arrival, the UK start-up focusing on development of commercial electric vehicles, has revealed that it is to cut its workforce by half as it focuses on incentives to build its operations in the United States. The company said the layoffs, part of a plan to significantly reduce costs, would leave it with 800 employees globally.