Business

Poundland will halt rent payments at hundreds of its shops if a restructuring of the ailing discount retailer is approved by creditors later this summer. Sky News has learnt that Poundland’s new owner, the investment firm Gordon Brothers, is proposing to halt all rent payments at so-called Category C shops across the country. According to…

An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had to return to Hong Kong mid-flight after a suspected technical issue. The passenger jet – the same type as the aircraft involved in last week’s tragedy in Ahmedabad – was bound for New Delhi but turned back after the pilot raised suspected an issue, an Air India spokesperson…

The makers of air fryers and other smart home appliances have new guidelines around what information they can collect from people’s homes. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) released the guidance today after an investigation by Which? revealed in December that some air fryers, smart TVs and smartwatches are collecting data on their owners. “In our…

The UK’s cost of living crisis hangover is facing fresh pressure from the Israel-Iran conflict and growing tensions across the Middle East. Whenever the region, particularly a major oil-producing country, is embroiled in some kind of fracas, the potential consequences are first seen in global oil prices. The Middle East accounts for a third of…

Estee Lauder’s son – a “cosmetics industry icon” who built the make-up brand into a global powerhouse – has died aged 92. Leonard Lauder joined his parents’ business in 1958 following a stint in the US Navy, working his way up the ranks to become president and chief executive. “For more than six decades, Mr…

The cost of rural crime in Wales is at its highest in more than a decade, a new report has revealed. Last year, rural crime cost an estimated £2.8m in Wales, according to insurance provider NFU Mutual. That’s an 18% increase on the previous year, with Wales the only UK nation to have seen a…

The high street lender Metro Bank has been approached about a private equity-backed takeover in a move that could lead to the disappearance of another company from the London Stock Exchange. Sky News has learnt that Metro Bank was approached in the last fortnight about an offer to take it private spearheaded by the financial…

Harrods is preparing to take legal action against the estate of its former owner, Mohamed al-Fayed, as the multimillion-pound legal bill for compensating his sexual abuse victims continues to escalate. Sky News has learnt that the Knightsbridge department store, which has been owned by a Qatari sovereign wealth fund since 2010, plans to file a…

The Middle East is the world’s foremost oil-producing region and a major centre for maritime trade. Its waterways are a critical thoroughfare for cargo ships transporting oil and container ships with goods and appliances on board. Flare-ups in the Middle East have a predictable impact on the oil price, causing it to spike as investors…

The owners of American Golf, Britain’s biggest specialist golf retailer, are teeing up a sale of the chain nearly seven years after rescuing the company. Sky News has learnt that Endless, the investment firm, is lining up advisers to oversee an auction. Sources said that Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) was expected to be formally appointed…