Business

Metro Bank has set a quickfire timetable for rivals to snap up a substantial chunk of its mortgage book. Sky News understands that Metro Bank wants bidders to submit offers at the beginning of next month, with Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group all having an indicated an interest. News of the timetable comes

Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani has withdrawn from the process to buy Manchester United, Sky News understands. His offer, which valued United at more than £5bn, was believed to be the only bid for 100% of the club – that the Glazers announced last November could be sold. He and Ineos billionaire

NatWest Group is preparing to cancel millions of pounds in bonuses and share awards earmarked for its former chief executive following a probe into the closure of the former UKIP leader Nigel Farage’s bank accounts. Sky News has learnt that NatWest, in which the government remains the single-largest shareholder, wants to resolve the issue of

Luton Airport has admitted it does not know whose vehicles were damaged by a massive fire which ripped through one of its car parks three days ago. Passengers who left their cars at Terminal Car Park 2 say they have been “left in limbo” since Tuesday night’s blaze. The airport apologised to customers in a

UK wholesale gas prices have risen again and are now at their highest level since mid-February. Prices rose to nearly 135 pence a therm (a unit of heat used to measure gas) on Friday afternoon. It comes after gas costs hit a six-month high of nearly 123p a therm on Tuesday afternoon – a level

The chancellor has warned the British public he is preparing “for the worst” as he draws up his autumn statement. Jeremy Hunt told Sky News the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) official economic forecasts would be considerably worse than at the budget – a signal there may be spending cuts or possibly even tax rises

It is a list that includes the former HBOS banker Peter Cummings, the former Co-op Bank finance director Barry Tootell and the former Credit Suisse First Boston trader James Archer, son of the author and Conservative peer Lord Archer – and now it includes Jes Staley, the former Barclays chief executive. Banning someone from working

The former CEO of Barclays has been fined £1.8m after misleading regulators and the bank’s board about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Jes Staley has also been banned from holding senior management positions in the financial services industry. According to the Financial Conduct Authority, he “recklessly approved” a letter sent by Barclays to the FCA

British Airways (BA) has suspended flights to Tel Aviv – after Hamas said it had attacked the Israeli airport. It came after a BA flight was on approach to the airport when the captain made the decision to divert back to Heathrow. A spokesperson for Israel’s airports authority said rockets were flying around Tel Aviv

Next is close to underlining its status as Britain’s most prolific buyer of rival high street fashion chains by snapping up FatFace in a deal worth more than £100m. Sky News has learnt the FTSE-100 clothing giant is putting the finishing touches to an acquisition of FatFace, just three years after it was taken over

Lush, the UK-based cosmetics retailer, is facing a backlash from customers after a “boycott Israel” message was displayed on the window of one of its stores. The company, which has in the past faced criticism from the Jewish community for openly supporting the Palestinian cause, suggested in a statement that a member of staff had

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

There are a few ways one could report the latest economic growth forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The first way is to declare that Britain’s economy is heading for the buffers. Its economy will grow next year at the slowest rate in the G7 group of leading industrialised economies (0.6%). This is considerably

The rate of grocery inflation eased considerably over the past month, part-aided by a “jump in the amount of money spent on offers”, according to a closely-watched study. Kantar Worldpanel, which records supermarket sales and price data, said the annual rate of grocery inflation fell back to 11% over the four weeks to 1 October.

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