Business

The average house price continued to rise in March – but at a slower rate than the previous month, according to a closely-watched index. The Halifax House Price Index shows that average prices rose by 0.8% in March – following a 1.2% rise in February, with the typical UK property now costing £287,880. The annual

Coach travellers will be asked to delay Channel crossings over Easter as ferry companies and the Port of Dover attempt to avoid a repeat of the shambolic delays that blighted the start of the school holidays last weekend. Thousands of holidaymakers, many of them children on school trips, faced delays of up to 18 hours

Most UK businesses expect sales to rise over the coming year, despite seeing no growth over the past three months, according to a new survey. The British Chambers of Commerce Quarterly Economic Survey is based on the responses of 5,200 mostly small and medium-sized companies. It said 52% of firms surveyed between 13 February and

TikTok has been fined £12.7m for breaches of data protection law, including using the personal data of children aged under 13 without parental consent. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office said the Chinese-owned video app had not done enough to check that its users were over 13 and it had also not done enough to remove

Virgin Orbit has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US after failing to secure the funding needed to recover from a January rocket failure. Virgin Orbit, which is 75% owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, lodged the filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware seeking a sale of

The surprise production cuts announced by OPEC+ at the weekend appear to have been motivated by a number of factors. The most obvious is that OPEC+ is clearly unhappy with the price at which oil has been trading. Brent crude has been below $90 a barrel since mid-November and, during the last few weeks, has

Oil prices are up almost 5% after Saudi Arabia and other major producers vowed to cut production. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, was up 4.85% early on Monday to $83.77 per barrel after it was announced that production would be cut by 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the

The private equity backer of Café Rouge’s parent company has joined a host of suitors hoping to dine out on Princes Foods, the company behind some of Britain’s most popular tinned foods. Sky News understands that Epiris, which counts restaurant operator Big Table and the auctioneer Bonhams among its investments, is among the parties weighing

Sir Richard Branson’s cruise-line venture is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in fresh funding even as the Virgin Group founder faces financial turbulence in other parts of his business empire. Sky News has learnt that Virgin Voyages is in the early stages of plans to raise a substantial sum of money from new and

Hundreds of thousands of small businesses could face “tough decisions” following changes to the energy support scheme, according to the Federation of Small Businesses. The Energy Bills Discount scheme has been introduced to provide UK businesses, charities and the public sector support with energy bills. This scheme for non-domestic energy users will see discounts provided

The British Beer and Pub Association is warning that the average energy bill for a pub will rise by £18,400 a year when the Energy Bill Relief Scheme ends. Landlords say this will put many pubs out of business. Warwick Heskins, 54, has been a publican for 23 years. In 2014 he took charge of

The entrepreneur behind one of Britain’s biggest privately-held IT services groups is close to sealing its first cybersecurity acquisition with a recommended offer to buy London-listed ECSC. Sky News understands that Daisy Group, which was founded by Matt Riley, is on the brink of an announcement to acquire the AIM-listed company. ECSC counts blue-chip businesses

The UK economy grew slightly in the last financial quarter, confirming the country avoided recession in the second half of last year. Office for National Statistics (ONS) revisions to economic data covering the fourth quarter of 2022 showed growth of 0.1%. The original estimate for gross domestic product (GDP) between October and November, released in

The government has frozen plans to accelerate the rise in the state pension age. Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride confirmed the move following newspaper reports that suggested the government was erring over the plans. The age at which the state pension is payable currently stands at 66, and by the end of 2028, it

UK car production was up 13.1% year-on-year in February, driven by an uplift in export numbers. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that 69,707 cars were made last month, with 81.2% of those destined for overseas markets. Almost 60% of those exported went to the European Union, by far the biggest market

The union representing Royal Mail’s frontline staff is on the verge on announcing new strike dates, Sky News understands, should a final push to end their long-running dispute fail. A Communication Workers Union (CWU) source said talks at the conciliation service Acas were scheduled for Thursday but fresh walkouts could be called the following day

High street retailer Next has outpaced its own increased profit guidance by £10m. Financial results for the year ending in January showed profit before tax hit £870m, more than the £860m that had been forecast. The high street giant and FTSE 100 constituent had increased its profit outlook in January as a result of far

The Bank of England governor has told MPs the regulator is currently in a period of “very heightened tension and alertness”. However, speaking to the Treasury Committee on Tuesday, Andrew Bailey said the country is not in a period comparable to the financial crash of 2018 – but that vigilance is needed. He said: “I

The increasing cost of sugar is driving food prices to record highs, new figures have revealed, amid warnings shop inflation is yet to peak. Shop prices are now 8.9% higher than they were a year ago, up from February’s 8.4% increase, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NielsenIQ index. Overall food inflation accelerated to 15%,

British Airways has been forced to cancel flights at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 over the Easter period due to strike action by security workers. The airline is expected to cancel up to 32 flights a day between 31 March and 9 April. A BA statement read: “Following Heathrow’s requirement for us to reduce the number of