Business

Sir Martin Sorrell’s construction of a second global marketing services empire will take another step forward on Wednesday with the acquisition of a Los Angeles-based agency serving clients including Adidas, BMW and Google. Sky News understands that S4 Capital will announce to the London Stock Exchange that it has agreed a merger between Cashmere and

Business groups have criticised plans for a National Insurance hike as a drag on jobs growth just as firms seek to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. The 1.25 percentage point increase in NI contributions is intended to pay for reform of the social care system. But the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said it would

Restaurant spending edged higher for the first time since the start of the pandemic in August according data from Barclaycard pointing to a bumper month for the consumer economy. The figures showed overall consumer spending was ahead by 15.4% compared to the same period in 2019 before the coronavirus crisis – thanks to “socialising, shopping

A leading business lobby group has warned the government that the crisis resulting from the shortage of workers in key jobs could take up to two years to resolve, damaging the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The CBI said the impact was widespread – beyond the well-publicised 100,000 shortfall in HGV drivers which has

Luke Johnson, one of Britain’s best-known leisure entrepreneurs, is adding to his collection of e-commerce businesses by snapping up a leading online retailer of musical instruments. Sky News understands that Risk Capital Partners, Mr Johnson’s investment vehicle, has agreed to buy GAK, which trades from a flagship store in Brighton, West Sussex. The terms of

Almost 50 stores per day closed down across the UK during the first half of the year, research suggests. Some 8,739 outlets went out of business across high streets, retail parks and shopping centres between January and June, figures from the Local Data Company suggest. But 3,488 opened during the same period, resulting a net

Street markets and pub marquees could become permanent features for the hospitality industry, under an extension of the pandemic regulations planned by the government. Additional seating for cafes and restaurants would also be part of a new government consultation, with hospitality venues forced to increase outdoor capacity earlier in the year in an effort to

Manchester United Football Club is closing in on the appointment of an internal successor to Ed Woodward, its long-standing boss. Sky News has learnt that the club’s New York-listed parent company could announce within weeks that Richard Arnold, Manchester United’s group managing director, will take over from Mr Woodward. One insider said that a statement

Retail giant Ikea says at least 1,000 of its product lines have been disrupted by the shortage of lorry drivers. It is the latest company to be caught up in the supply chain chaos currently affecting the UK. The firm said in a statement that a “perfect storm of issues, including the disruption of global

Price rises for consumers are “inevitable” as a consequence of the HGV driver shortage, the boss of Iceland has warned. Almost 50,000 drivers have left the road in the last two years, leaving retailers, suppliers, and hauliers competing for a diminished pool to supply clients. The scramble for supplies has led to sharp increases in

The recruitment industry has warned that the end of the furlough scheme this month is unlikely to put much of a dent in the UK’s record number of job vacancies, in the short term at least. The latest jobs recovery tracker from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) showed there were 1.66 million jobs on

Ryanair said it flew 11.1 million passengers in August – three-quarters of the number it carried on the same month in 2019 before the pandemic. It was an increase of 59% from August last year – when Europe’s largest airline flew 7 million people – and the highest monthly traffic number since December 2019. In

Wizz Air is to require all its flights crews to be vaccinated against coronavirus by December, but is yet to clarify if those who refuse face dismissal. The Hungary-based airline, which serves 11 UK airports including Birmingham and Luton, said the decision was taken on health and safety grounds and to ensure the “smooth” operation

Wetherspoons has become the latest well-known business to experience supply shortages, with some of its beers not available. A spokesman said the pub chain’s supply problems with Carling and Coors were the knock-on effect from industrial action by delivery drivers working for another brewer, and apologised to customers. It is the latest company to be

Rising wages and huge demand for HGV drivers has led to unprecedented numbers of people seeking training for licences, according to Britain’s largest private driver training company. Hughes Driver Training, based in Leicestershire, told Sky News it’s sending around 100 for HGV Class I and II testing per week, including many sent directly by haulage

Ryanair’s chief executive has told Sky News the UK should scrap its “bizarre” rules governing foreign travel, saying they are holding the country’s economy back. Michael O’Leary was speaking as the airline revealed 14 new routes from London airports for the looming winter season. Ryanair said its investment decision was based on expectations that demand

The Chinese government has banned under-18s from playing online games for more than an hour a day, and then only between 8pm and 9pm on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. The ban will be enforced by online gaming companies which are now required to strictly enforce rules requiring users to register accounts with their

Business groups have been left “frustrated” after the business secretary rejected requests to loosen Brexit immigration rules to ease the supply chain crisis, telling companies to hire UK-based workers instead. Businesses across multiple sectors are struggling to meet customer demand as a consequence of labour shortages, particularly in haulage where there is a shortfall of

Thousands of cash points have disappeared during the pandemic with many not being replaced, new data shows. Around 8,000 ATMs have been switched off in the past 18 months, according to research by consumer group, Which? – equating to a fall of around 13%. The vast majority of cash machines were put out of action

The price of toys will spike this Christmas as the cost of delays and shortages hit shoppers’ pockets, according the boss of a British toy company. As businesses try to recover some of the expense of shipping items to the UK, which has soared in the COVID-19 pandemic, parents might have to fork out even