Business

An online crafts retailer which saw sales boom during COVID-19 lockdowns is exploring a cut-price sale. Sky News understands that Lovecrafts, which is chaired by the media veteran Sir Peter Bazalgette, is working with Interpath Advisory on a sale. Founded in 2012, Lovecrafts is backed by leading growth investors including Highland Ventures, Balderton Capital and

Drivers are being warned that fuel prices are on the rise again amid rising oil costs and suggestions that motorists are still getting a raw deal. The AA declared on Tuesday that a 10-week run of falling pump prices had come to an end. The motoring group said that while average costs were still locked

Britain’s fourth-biggest household energy supplier is lining up bankers to explore options including bringing in a new investor or a sale, 15 years after it launched in a bid to challenge the industry’s oligopoly. Sky News has learnt that OVO Group, which was founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick, is close to hiring Rothschild to assist with

Microsoft has regained the title of the world’s most valuable public company just days after it was overtaken by one of its rivals. Computer chip maker Nvidia lost its hold on the top spot after its shares slipped by 3.5% in the US on Thursday, leaving the company valued at $3.2trn (£2.5trn). Microsoft’s shares also

Inflation falling back to 2%, the magic number as far as the Bank of England and the increasingly desperate Conservative election campaign are concerned, is unequivocally welcome news. It has been a long road down from the peak of 11.1% in October 2022 and a great deal of hardship has been felt along the way.

Self-driving cars are safer than those driven by humans, except when it is dusk, dawn, or the vehicle is turning, according to a new study. Autonomous vehicles are involved in fewer accidents than cars driven by humans, researchers from the University of Central Florida have found. However, although the research generally showed self-driving cars to

Tesla Cybertruck buyers have been reporting delivery delays due to an issue with the vehicle’s windscreen wipers. Tesla’s Cybertruck is a stainless steel electric vehicle that costs between $57,390 (£45,170) and $96,390 (£75,870). Owners pre-order it directly from Tesla and then wait for it to be delivered. Over the weekend, however, buyers waiting for their

Jaguar Land Rover is to invest more than £1m to help police tackle car thefts in the UK as part of ongoing efforts to reassure its luxury vehicle owners.  The cash will be used to support police operations in hotspots, as well as fund intelligence gathering and target ports used by criminal gangs to smuggle

Tesla shareholders have approved Elon Musk’s multi-billion-dollar pay package. The package is now worth $44bn (£34bn). The package was once as much as $56bn (£44bn) but has declined in value in tandem with Tesla’s stock. The proposal passed despite opposition from some large institutional investors and proxy firms. Onstage at the annual shareholder meeting in

Denmark’s food agency has recalled three South Korean spicy instant ramen noodle products – warning consumers they are so hot they might cause “acute poisoning”. The Samyang Foods products being withdrawn are Samyang Buldak 3x Spicy & Hot Chicken, 2x Spicy & Hot Chicken and Hot Chicken Stew. The agency issued the warning on Tuesday

The BBC’s content arm is among the suitors vying to buy the television production company which owns the rights to The Gruffalo. Sky News has learnt that BBC Studios is participating in a sale process for Magic Light Pictures, which has won three BAFTAs and secured a quartet of Oscar nominations. The auction is being

Administrators to The Body Shop are aiming to clinch a sale of the stricken cosmetics retailer by the end of the month, even as its former owner veers away from making an offer for it. Sky News has learnt that FRP Advisory, which was appointed to handle the chain’s insolvency in January, has asked for

The world has a new second most valuable public company – the AI microchip maker Nvidia. Riding the artificial intelligence (AI) boom – Nvidia’s share price has risen to the extent that it’s now worth more than $3trn (£2.34trn) and overtaken Apple. Only Microsoft is a more valuable company listed on a stock exchange, while

Since 1992 the Premier League has been funnelling previously unimagined wealth to the elite players, coaches and clubs of English football.  For almost as long as it has existed, however, those running the league have battled to maintain the commercial and competitive balance on which its success is based. Competition is its essence, predictability a

A member of Liechtenstein’s royal family is joining the ranks of backers of Octopus Energy, the £7.2bn utility which has become one of Britain’s most valuable companies. Sky News has learnt that Lightrock, which is chaired by Prince Max Von Liechtenstein but based in London, is acquiring an undisclosed stake in the UK’s second-largest domestic

The headquarters of Toyota Motor has been visited in Japan as part of an investigation into official safety certifications that is affecting models across five major carmakers in the country. Hours after Toyota’s embattled chairman issued an apology for cheating tests on seven models, officials from Japan’s transport ministry descended on the offices in Toyota

Shein, the online fashion behemoth, is on the verge of taking a huge stride towards a London flotation that would value it at about £50bn and rank among the most significant – and contentious – deals in the UK’s capital markets for years. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Shein, which was founded in China

Tesla shareholders have been urged to vote against plans to pay its chief executive Elon Musk up to $56bn (£44bn). The compensation package, if approved, would be the biggest ever for a chief executive in the US. However, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has warned the amount is “excessive” and said it would

Can a lender end your fixed-rate deal early? This was the crux of a question asked by Money blog reader Michelle from Kent… “I bought my first flat in April 2023 with a two-year fixed-rate mortgage. I got the deal with the help of a broker, who has now contacted me saying my deal is

The British supercar maker McLaren Group has bolstered its board with a trio of appointments including the former boss of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Sky News can reveal that Torsten Muller-Otvos was recruited as a non-executive director of the Surrey-based company earlier this month. Chaired by the former Diageo chief Paul Walsh, McLaren has also recruited