Business

GB News, the right-leaning current affairs broadcaster, is in talks to raise tens of millions of pounds even as it contends with a string of probes by Ofcom, the media regulator. Sky News has learnt that GB News’ parent company, All Perspectives Limited, is targeting a fundraising worth in the region of £30m in the

Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI could face investigation by the UK’s competition regulator. The tech giant is a major investor and strengthened ties following the chatbot’s wildly successful launch in November 2022, committing another $10bn (£7.9bn) earlier this year. It is reported to own a 49% stake in the company, which is at

The UK’s average two-year mortgage rate has dipped below 6% for the first time in nearly six months. The rate now sits at 5.99%, falling from 6.01% the day before, according to Moneyfactscompare.co.uk. The last time the rate was below 6% was on 16 June 2023, when it dropped to 5.98%. The highest it has

Vodafone, EE, Three and O2 are facing a “£3bn-plus” class action claim that alleges they used their market dominance to overcharge on up to 28.2 million UK mobile phone contracts. The four largest network operators are accused of penalising loyal customers – meaning they paid more than new customers for the same services. Many contracts

New family visa rules could leave British citizens with a foreign partner facing greater restrictions on who they can live with than migrant workers, according to leading immigration researchers. Under new rules announced by Home Secretary James Cleverly, the minimum income for British citizens who want to live with family members in the UK is

“The last thing I do before going to sleep at night is check the trains to see whether they’re running on time and then the first thing I do in the morning, before I reach for a cup of tea, is pick my phone up and check again. And then you can still get to

The Bank of England has said that UK households and businesses have been “resilient” in the face of rising interest rates – but repeated previous warnings that the full effect of higher interest rates was yet to come through. Unveiling its latest Financial Stability Report – which is published twice yearly – the Bank said

One of Britain’s biggest tenpin bowling venue operators will this week disclose that it has become the latest London-listed companies to recommend a private equity-backed takeover. Sky News has learnt that Ten Entertainment, which trades from about 50 venues across the UK, is to recommend an offer from Trive Capital, a US-based buyout firm. A

Thames Water has revealed an 18% rise in pollution incidents during the first half of its financial year. The country’s largest household supplier reported 257 category one – the most serious – to category 3 pollutions over the six months to the end of September. It said that action to prevent these incidents was a

Israeli authorities are investigating claims some investors may have known in advance about the Hamas plan to attack Israel on 7 October and used that information to make hundreds of millions of pounds. Research by US law professors Robert Jackson Jr and Joshua Mitts, from New York University and Columbia University respectively, found significant short-selling

The government will announce a package of measures today aimed at reducing record levels of legal migration, Sky News understands. Home Secretary James Cleverly is expected to tell the Commons on Monday that the minimum salary requirement for a skilled foreign worker will be significantly hiked, from £26,200 to a figure over £35,000. It is

The CBI faces a deadline next September to refinance millions of pounds of funding put in place to avert its collapse during the autumn. Sky News has learnt that a seven-figure facility put in place with banks will expire at the end of the third quarter next year. While the size of the facility is

An Abu Dhabi state-backed vehicle has moved closer to taking full control of The Daily Telegraph just hours after the launch of a regulatory probe that prevents it from removing key journalists from their posts. Sky News has learnt that RedBird IMI has given the newspaper’s board and the government notice of its intention to

Green desert. To my left, the waves of sand are broken by sparse scrubby trees. To my right, the towering skyscrapers of Dubai. But beneath my feet, a solar power station on top of a school. The petrostate is changing. Kings’ School Al Barsha provides some evidence, where 3,000 pupils study here beneath two megawatts

The CBI is urging members to swallow a further rise in fees even as the lobby group battles to regain its former standing among political and business leaders. Sky News understands that CBI members will be asked at its annual meeting next week to approve a 5% rise in their subscription costs. It comes less

The government is to prohibit the removal or transfer of key Daily Telegraph journalists during a public interest probe into the newspaper’s prospective takeover by a state-backed Abu Dhabi investor. Sky News has learnt that Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, is preparing to make an interim enforcement order (IEO) that will impose a set of

The culture secretary has launched an investigation into the takeover of The Daily Telegraph by a state-backed Abu Dhabi-based fund. An inquiry by communications watchdog Ofcom and competition regulator the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been triggered by Lucy Frazer, confirming reporting by Sky News. Ms Frazer on Thursday issued a public interest intervention

The culture secretary will on Thursday launch a probe into the takeover of The Daily Telegraph by a state-backed Abu Dhabi-based fund. Sky News has learnt that Lucy Frazer plans to issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice (PIIN) that will trigger an inquiry by Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority into RedBird IMI’s prospective

Nottingham City Council has declared itself effectively bankrupt after issuing a section 114 notice. The Labour-run local authority confirmed the announcement on Wednesday, saying its chief financial officer had decided it “isn’t able to deliver a balanced budget for this year, which is a legal requirement”. As a result of the section 114 notice, all

ASLEF’s train drivers are to stage a number of strikes and overtime bans next month in their long-running dispute over pay. Union members at 16 train operating companies in England will walk out on different days between 2 and 8 December. Additionally, all members will refuse to work any overtime from 1 December to 9