Business

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…

Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first billionaire footballer, according to a report. The Al Nassr and Portugal striker’s net worth has been estimated at $1.4bn (£1.04bn) by the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The valuation puts Ronaldo among a small group of billionaire athletes including basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, as well…

The Conservatives will abolish stamp duty if they win the next election, Kemi Badenoch has announced. Speaking to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, the Tory leader described stamp duty – the tax paid when a new home is purchased – as a “bad tax” and an “unconservative tax”. She said she had looked at…

Britain’s wealth gap is growing and it’s now practically impossible for a typical worker to save enough to become rich, according to a report. Analysis by The Resolution Foundation, a left-leaning think tank, found it would take average earners 52 years to accrue savings that would take them from the middle to the top of…

UK steel manufacturers are to be hit by another round of tariffs, even higher and more impactful than those levied by the US, representing “an existential threat” to the industry. The European Union (EU) is hiking the tax on steel it imports, with the tariff to be 50%, double the 25% currently levied by the…

A Barclays-backed payment acceptance company which processes billions of pounds each year for small businesses has recruited an industry veteran to become its chief executive. Sky News has learnt that Jason Lalor, a former boss of Square’s European operations, will head the joint venture between the UK bank and Brookfield Asset Management. Formerly known as…

Bitcoin is trading at all-time highs, surging beyond £93,000 for the first time. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has doubled in value over the past 12 months – buoyed by Donald Trump’s return to the White House. However, its 10% surge over the past week is down to one specific factor: the US government shutdown. Please…

A British e-commerce company which works with retailers including Aldi, Argos and John Lewis has struck a deal to sell itself to an American rival. Sky News understands that Virtualstock, which is chaired by the Moonpig founder Nick Jenkins, is being acquired by private equity-backed Logicbroker in a deal that could be announced as soon…