Business

The energy supplier Ovo is plotting the sale of a stake in its software arm at a ‘unicorn’ valuation as part of efforts to strengthen the balance sheet of Britain’s fourth-largest residential gas and electricity group. Sky News has learnt that Ovo, which has just under four million retail customers, has appointed Arma Partners, the…

Harrods has warned its e-commerce customers that their personal data may have been taken in an IT systems breach. Information like customers’ names and contact details was taken after one of Harrods’ third-party provider systems was compromised, the luxury London department store said. Affected customers have been informed and reassured that the impacted data is…

Ovo has become the latest major energy supplier to disclose its failure to meet new capital adequacy rules imposed by the industry watchdog. Sky News has learnt that Ovo Energy is the second of the UK’s biggest gas and electricity companies to be in technical default of an Ofgem-imposed regime which came into effect in…

Cornwall’s Eden Project has revealed a doubling of losses and dwindling visitor numbers – as it also cut dozens of jobs. The attraction’s famous domes are home to thousands of plant species but it has recently seen a 10% drop in people through the gate. It blamed “more challenging trading conditions in South West tourism”…

There was some speculation, when it emerged that Nigel Farage was heading to Threadneedle Street to see the Bank of England governor, that he was about to “do a Trump”. You might recall, if you follow American politics, how the US president has been, for want of a better word, trolling the chairman of the…

Small firms reliant on the production-halted British car maker Jaguar Land Rover, “may have at best a week of cashflow left to support themselves” with “urgent” action needed to support businesses. Liam Byrne, the head of the influential Business and Trade Committee of MPs, wrote to Chancellor Rachel Reeves with the warning after meeting with…

Ebury, the payments company backed by Spanish banking giant Santander, is drawing up plans to revive a £2bn London flotation in the first half of next year. Sky News has learnt that Ebury’s board and its investment banking advisers have tentatively pencilled in the second quarter of 2026 to resurrect an initial public offering of…

A US vaccine firm has opened the first mRNA manufacturing plant in the UK, against a backdrop of increasing anti-jab rhetoric back home. The new facility outside Oxford is part of a £1bn investment in the UK by Moderna, which specialises in mRNA. The novel vaccine technology delivered some of the most effective and fastest-to-develop…

A former British Olympic medallist has raised millions of pounds for his digital advertising venture from a prolific backer of UK-based SMEs. Sky News understands that Navigator, which was founded by Steve Rowbotham, who won bronze at the Beijing Games in 2008, will this week announce a £4m funding injection from IW Capital. The deal…

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been urged to “reject the path of least resistance” and consider increasing taxes in the budget. The Institute for Government (IfG), a leading think tank, said Labour’s “rash” and “unrealistic” approach to tax has left the chancellor reaching for “piecemeal changes”. Politics Hub: Follow the latest political news The government has…