The coronavirus crisis meant the UK economy endured its deepest annual slump last year since the Great Frost in 1709, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said early estimates, subject to revision, showed that gross domestic product (GDP) tumbled by 9.9% in 2020. It was a consequence of large parts of
Business
Food exports to the European Union fell by as much as 60% at the start of the year as traders and officials struggled to adapt to post-Brexit arrangements, MPs have been told. Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), said changes since Britain’s trade deal with Europe came into force on
Royal Dutch Shell has revealed a new set of targets to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, with carbon intensity reductions to include third party oil and gas the company sells as products. The energy company, which has received criticism from institutional investors over the power behind its earlier climate ambitions, said a “comprehensive carbon
The chairman of a City accountancy firm has resigned following a backlash over remarks made to staff which dismissed concerns about COVID crisis fatigue. Bill Michael, the chairman of KPMG UK, reportedly told the online gathering involving hundreds of workers on Monday that they should stop “moaning” and “playing the victim card”. It was an
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has urged the EU not to pick a fight over post-Brexit access for financial services and accused it of demanding tougher standards of the UK than other countries. Brussels has been slow to grant “equivalence” status allowing UK firms access to the bloc in the way that has already
Heineken, the world’s second-largest brewer, is to cut 8,000 jobs including some in the UK under a scramble to save cash as the coronavirus crisis takes a toll on sales. The Dutch company, which counts Heineken lager and the Tiger and Sol brands among its stable of products, said an “EverGreen” plan would see it
Twitter has revealed that changes to the platform designed to combat misinformation ahead of the US election had resulted in a “small but measurable” hit to user numbers. The social media company made the disclosure as it published results showing better than expected quarterly sales and profits for the three months to the end of
Ocado has reported a leap in annual sales and core profitability as wider retail figures highlight the sharpest drop in business since May amid continuing coronavirus lockdowns. Ocado, best-known as an online grocer but also a provider of robotic warehouse technology, was the latest supermarket-style business to confirm a boost from its status as an
Bitcoin has jumped more than 10% to a record high after Tesla said it had invested $1.5bn (£1.09bn) in the cryptocurrency and would soon start accepting it as a form of payment for its cars and other products. The disclosure of the investment, in a regulatory filing, sent Bitcoin up by more than 12% to
Boohoo is to pay £25m for Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton in a deal set to catapult the fashion brands to an online-only future at the expense of thousands of high street jobs. The online fashion specialist, which has already snapped up the Debenhams name amid the COVID-19 bloodbath for physical retailers, said it was
Amazon and other major internet retailers could be hit with a new online sales tax to help the UK pay its debts after extensive borrowing during the pandemic. Treasury sources confirmed Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering targeting companies that have done well out of the pandemic to help pay back UK government debts built up
The volume of exports going through British ports to the EU fell by 68% last month compared with January last year, according to research. The Road Haulage Association’s chief executive Richard Burnett told The Observer that the organisation had also found 65-75% of vehicles arriving from the EU were returning to the bloc empty. This
Britain’s biggest banks will finalise plans for annual bonus payouts in the coming days, ahead of a results season that will lay bare billions of pounds of anticipated loan losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic. Sky News has learnt that the state-backed lender NatWest Group has informed the Treasury that it wants to hand out
Business leaders have welcomed changes to lockdown loans but say more support is needed to keep firms afloat over the coming months. On Friday night, Rishi Sunak announced that small businesses would be given more time to repay bounce-back loans under a “pay-as-you-grow” initiative. The chancellor said he was determined to give firms the “breathing
A private equity consortium has approached Aggreko, the FTSE-250 temporary power supplier, about a potential £2bn takeover deal. Sky News understands that TDR Capital, which is in the process of buying the British supermarket chain Asda, and I Squared Capital, an infrastructure fund, have tabled an indicative proposal to Aggreko’s board in recent days. The
Around 15 million families will see their energy bills rise by up to £96 after the regulator hiked the price cap. The return to pre-coronavirus levels is mainly as a result of increase in wholesale costs, according to Ofgem. For six months from 1 April the price cap will increase by £96 to £1,138 for