Business

Nissan says it is to “pause” a production line at its Sunderland plant on Friday because of coronavirus disruption. The Japanese carmaker said delays to the shipping of parts from its European and global supply chain meant it would not produce Qashqai or electric Leaf models. It affects one of two production lines in operation

Next has pulled out of the bidding for TopShop as the auction of Sir Philip Green’s former high street empire enters its closing stages. Sky News has learnt that a consortium comprising Next and Davidson Kempner Capital Management, a US investment firm, have withdrawn from a process being run by Arcadia Group’s administrator. The surprise

Cineworld is facing a furious investor backlash next week over plans to hand its top executives more than £30m in share awards despite it receiving taxpayer funding to help it survive the pandemic. Sky News has learnt that three major advisory groups are recommending that the cinema operators’ shareholders vote against the adoption of a

Nine million people had borrowed more money during the coronavirus pandemic by the end of last year, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the figure in a series of updates on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and suggested the self-employed were among those most likely to have taken on

Freight traffic between Britain and the EU is down almost a third following the end of the Brexit transition, with new red tape and soaring transport costs prompting some small firms to suspend exports to the continent. Data seen by Sky News shows lorry freight passing between Britain and its major European trading partners since

TransferWise, the British-based payments group, has picked two of Wall Street’s biggest players to spearhead a bumper flotation that could be among the most prestigious in a bulging pipeline of London stock market debutants. Sky News has learnt that TransferWise has appointed Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as joint global co-ordinators for its long-awaited initial

Ladbrokes owner Entain has appointed Jette Nygaard-Andersen as the first female chief executive of a major listed British gambling group. The announcement, confirming a move first reported by Sky News, adds to the small number of women who are FTSE 100 bosses. They also include Severn Trent’s Liv Garfield, Whitbread’s Alison Brittain and Natwest chief

Over-50s holiday and insurance specialist Saga is to require customers to be fully vaccinated before boarding cruises, the company has announced. It also said it had pushed back the restart date for its travel business from April to May – to allow customers time to receive the jab. Holidaymakers will have to be vaccinated at

More than 800 plants have been seized after a tip-off about a “strong smell of cannabis” led to a raid on a building close to the Bank of England. City of London Police said it was the first find of its kind in the financial district – currently largely deserted because of the COVID-19 crisis.

Pressure is mounting on the UK and French governments to agree financial aid for Eurostar, the cross-Channel rail operator, as it fights for survival. The company admitted late last year that the continuing COVID-19 crisis, which has forced it to slash services from a normal level of more than 50 trains a day to just

Kwasi Kwarteng, the new business secretary, is lining up a senior Mastercard executive to join his department’s board, ending a months-long vacuum of senior private sector expertise among its directors. Sky News has learnt that Mr Kwarteng, who took on the Cabinet post earlier this month, is close to announcing the appointment of Ann Cairns

Burberry has warned of a significant hit to UK sales after a scheme allowing VAT-free shopping for overseas tourists was scrapped following the end of the Brexit transition period. The luxury fashion group, which is already counting the cost of the coronavirus pandemic on demand, said the change was likely to be felt after current

Britain’s biggest high street lender is to extricate itself from a syndicate of lenders to Virgin Active, the struggling gym chain set up by Sir Richard Branson’s business empire. Sky News has learnt that Lloyds Banking Group plans to auction its Virgin Active debt in the coming days as part of a review of its

Inflation rose to 0.6% last month as clothing prices edged higher following extended Black Friday discounting the month before. The consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation was up from 0.3% in November and a little higher than the expected figure of 0.5%. Clothes prices increased fractionally during December over a period when they usually

President-elect Joe Biden’s choice as US Treasury secretary has urged Congress to “act big” and ignore surging national debt in the face of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Janet Yellen, the former chair of the US central bank, made her remarks at a Senate finance committee hearing to confirm her appointment as the Trump administration nears

The UK high street is in the deep freeze and Superdry, the fashion retailer, emerged on Tuesday as one of the major casualties of coronavirus. The company, a stock market darling after it first went public in 2010, reported a half year pre-tax loss of £18.9m – up from £4.2m in the same period a