Business

Poundland’s owner is snubbing London to pursue a €4.5bn (£3.9bn) listing in Warsaw after months of deliberations about a flotation that would have further bolstered the ranks of listed retailers on the London stock market. Sky News has learnt that Pepco Group, which trades from more than 3,000 stores across 15 European markets, has decided

The FTSE-100 gambling group behind Paddy Power and Betfair is exploring a sale of Oddschecker, the odds comparison platform, following the withdrawal of one of its biggest rivals. Sky News has learnt that Flutter Entertainment is working with investment bankers on a potential disposal of Oddschecker, which has had several owners since it was set

The odds of a major revolt over the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) boss’s pay package have shortened after an influential advisory group recommended opposing it. Sky News has learnt that Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has urged investors to vote against LSEG’s remuneration report following its decision to hand chief executive David Schwimmer a 25%

The FTSE 100 has climbed above the 7,000 mark for the first time since the early days of the coronavirus crisis. London’s leading share index rose as industrial, banking and mining stocks made gains on growing optimism about economies reopening and recovering across the world. The FTSE 100 was last above the 7,000 mark in

China’s economic growth slowed at the start of this year as its post-pandemic rebound began to level off, official figures showed. GDP grew by just 0.6% in the first quarter, missing expectations of a 1.5% increase and down from 3.2% in the last three months of 2020. But the figures also showed that the world’s

A care worker has told Sky News his treatment at the hands of his employer, when he said he didn’t want to take the COVID-19 vaccine, made him feel “worthless”. It comes as the government has launched a consultation over whether it should be mandated for staff caring for elderly people in homes to be

MusicMagpie will on Friday become the latest online platform to confirm plans for a public listing when it swoops onto London’s junior stock market. Sky News has learnt that the ‘recommerce’ site, which specialises in reselling used consumer technology such as smartphones and games consoles, is to publish details of a placing and proposed admission

Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest investment groups, is in talks to provide hundreds of millions of pounds of funding to the owner of the Stanlow oil refinery as it tries to navigate through a financial crunch. Sky News has learnt that Apollo has been in discussions with Essar Oil UK for several

Marks and Spencer has launched legal action against Aldi over a claim that the discount supermarket is infringing the trademark of its Colin the Caterpillar cake. M&S has lodged an intellectual property claim with the High Court this week relating to its rival’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar product. It argues that the similarity of the Aldi

Peel Hunt, one of the City’s leading independent investment banks, is exploring a return to the public markets 20 years after it was taken private. Sky News has learnt that Peel Hunt’s management, led by chief executive Steven Fine, has appointed Evercore to advise it on a process that could lead to an initial public

Deliveroo has revealed that order numbers more than doubled over the last year – but warned its rapid growth will slow as lockdowns ease. The takeaway delivery platform – whose shares slumped on its much-anticipated stock market debut last month – said orders in the first quarter were up by 114% year-on-year. But the company

Supermarket chain Asda has said that it will restructure its bakeries, putting at risk more than 1,200 jobs across the UK. The decision comes as customers change their buying habits for baked goods, Asda said in a statement. Britain’s third-biggest supermarket is considering sending pre-baked goods out to its supermarkets from a central location rather

The chief executive of THG, the online beauty retailer, is to hand a £100m stake in the company to a new charitable foundation – establishing him as one of Britain’s biggest individual philanthropists. Sky News has learnt that Matthew Moulding will announce the pledge alongside THG’s full-year results and first-quarter trading update on Thursday, according

Hundreds of British Gas engineers lost their jobs on Wednesday as a bitter row between the company and its staff deepened. The engineers had refused to sign up to new contracts that would force them to work longer hours, after being told to accept tougher conditions or lose their jobs. Hundreds more engineers have already

Britain’s biggest aerospace employers, including Rolls-Royce Holdings and Airbus, have urged the business secretary to step into the crisis engulfing the steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta amid fears of a global shortage of specialist materials. Sky News has learnt that the industry association ADS has written to Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, to highlight its members’

Newquay has the most in-demand property market in the UK right now, according to data from a property website. The Cornish town has been named the hottest sellers’ market, with 82% of all properties put up for sale this year already sold, according to figures from Rightmove. It is followed by Newton-Le-Willows in Merseyside, where