Business

One of the world’s largest real estate investors is in advanced talks with a London-listed group about a £1bn logistics deal – weeks after the duo were embroiled in a public bidding war for another industrial property group. Sky News has learnt that Blackstone, the American private equity behemoth, is nearing an agreement to sell…

An Irish start-up is hoping to have the UK’s first food drone delivery pilot scheme operating in 2026, subject to regulatory approval. With a fleet of specially designed 23kg quadcopters, Manna Aero has carried out more than 200,000 food delivery flights in west Dublin, Espoo in Finland and Texas. As the company aims to expand,…

The private equity firm Exponent is among a pack of suitors weighing a takeover of the UK arm of ADT, one of Britain’s biggest suppliers of residential security systems. Sky News has learnt that Exponent, which has owned companies including Ambassador Theatre Group, Big Bus Tours and the publisher of the Racing Post newspaper, is…

Legal & General (L&G) is plotting a swoop on the workplace pensions provider owned by NatWest Group, the FTSE-100 lender, as its chief executive seeks to grow its share of the UK retirement market. Sky News has learnt that L&G is among a handful of suitors which have expressed an interest in acquiring Cushon from…

Donald Trump has announced the US will impose an additional 100% tariff on China imports, accusing it of taking an “extraordinarily aggressive position” on trade. In a post to his Truth Social platform on Friday, the US president said Beijing had sent an “extremely hostile letter to the world” and imposed “large-scale export controls on…

Google has warned the UK against imposing “onerous” and costly regulations after the competition watchdog ruled it had “strategic market status” for its search services. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said legal tests had been met to designate Google with the status in general search and search advertising services due to “substantial and entrenched…

A major survey has shed some light on the best places to buy second-hand tech. A major survey has shed some light on the best places to buy second-hand tech. Which? – who we’ve teamed up with to tell you some do’s and don’ts later in this post – asked 2,495 people to share their…

Post Office IT scandal compensation schemes are to be improved and victims’ legal advice to be funded , according to the government which may create an independent body to handle similar miscarriages of justice in future. The announcements were made as part of the official response to the damning conclusions of the first volume of…

The long-standing private equity backers of The Alchemist, the well-known town centre cocktail bar chain, are calling time on their ownership of the business. Sky News has learnt that Palatine, which has owned The Alchemist since 2015, is working with advisers on an auction of the company. The Alchemist, which has withstood a tough economic…

Customers of five water firms are facing higher than expected rises to their inflation-busting bills after the companies disputed limits imposed by the industry regulator. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was called in to review Ofwat’s determinations on what Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, South East Water, Southern Water, and Wessex Water could charge customers…