Business

The average house price continued to rise in March – but at a slower rate than the previous month, according to a closely-watched index. The Halifax House Price Index shows that average prices rose by 0.8% in March – following a 1.2% rise in February, with the typical UK property now costing £287,880. The annual

Nintendo will now fix faulty Joy-Con controllers for its Switch console for free after years of complaints. The Japanese gaming company has been criticised since shortly after the system launched in 2017 over a fault that saw its analogue sticks register movement when not being used. It was dubbed “Joy-Con drift” and can impact players

Full-size self-driving buses will hit the road next month in what is believed to be a world first. Stagecoach has announced the ground-breaking service over Scotland’s Forth Road Bridge will start on May 15. It will cover a 14-mile route between the Ferrytoll park and ride in Fife and the Edinburgh Park train and tram

One of Britain’s biggest online jewellery retailers has hired bankers to explore a sale after a string of unsolicited takeover approaches. Sky News understands that The Diamond Store, which was founded in 2006, has appointed finnCap Cavendish to oversee talks with prospective buyers. City sources said financial and strategic buyers were expected to look at

Tesla saw its sales rise by 36% in the first financial quarter, after two price cuts aimed at boosting demand. The electric car, SUV and heavy truck manufacturer said it delivered 422,875 vehicles worldwide between January and March – up from just over 310,000 a year ago. Over the same period it produced 44,808 vehicles

Tesla saw its sales rise by 36% in the first financial quarter, after two price cuts aimed at boosting demand. The electric car, SUV and heavy truck manufacturer said it delivered 422,875 vehicles worldwide between January and March – up from just over 310,000 a year ago. Over the same period it produced 440,808 vehicles

Three energy suppliers have lost a High Court challenge over the government’s handling of the sale of rival Bulb. Bulb was placed in special administration in November 2021 and, almost a year later, Octopus Energy announced it had reached a deal to buy the firm and take on its 1.6 million customers. It was later

The grocery chain Planet Organic has put insolvency practitioners on standby as it races to find new backers in a bid to secure its future. Sky News has learnt that the company filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on Thursday – a move which provides it with breathing space from creditors as it

Ian King is joined by Steve Scrimshaw, vice president of Siemens Energy UK & Ireland, to discuss the government’s plans to drive what it hopes will be a revolution in the UK’s energy sector. The chief executive and co-founder of BrewDog James Watt speaks to Ian about an investment competition being launched. And Jeremy de

UK car production was up 13.1% year-on-year in February, driven by an uplift in export numbers. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that 69,707 cars were made last month, with 81.2% of those destined for overseas markets. Almost 60% of those exported went to the European Union, by far the biggest market

Quantexa, a British data analytics company, is bucking the recent trend of technology company valuations by raising a new round of funding that will hand it coveted ‘unicorn’ status. Sky News has learnt that Quantexa has secured backing from a syndicate of investors including a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund. An industry source said the fundraising

TalkTalk, the broadband provider, has hired bankers to oversee a sale of its business-to-business division in a deal that analysts believe could fetch more than £200m. Sky News has learnt that the company, which is privately owned, is in the early stages of a process to sell TalkTalk Business Direct, which serves more than 80,000

Manchester United received a fresh Qatari bid overnight – as the battle to purchase the Premier League giants intensifies. Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani made the offer after asking for a deadline extension on Wednesday. He joins Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS, who made his own second formal bid for the club, and comes after

Britain’s competition watchdog has provisionally dropped concerns that Microsoft’s proposed takeover of Activision Blizzard would damage the UK console gaming market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month warned the £56.7bn deal could result in higher prices, fewer choices or less innovation for UK gamers. However, it said its latest findings have now indicated

Many verified Twitter users are set to lose their blue ticks at the beginning of next month. The social media platform has said that on 1 April it will start removing its “legacy” verified checkmarks. These cover most blue-tick accounts that are not government officials or organisations – meaning many musicians, actors, journalists, authors, among

Ziglu, a British cryptocurrency business, is exploring a cut-price sale nearly a year after agreeing an ultimately aborted takeover by Robinhood, the American fintech giant. Sky News has learnt that Ziglu, which offers crypto trading to thousands of customers, is in the process of hiring investment bankers to oversee a sale. City sources said the

Cenkos Securities and finnCap Group, the London-listed brokers, are in advanced talks to merge in an all-share deal that will create the City’s biggest dedicated investment bank serving small-cap growth companies. Sky News has learnt that Cenkos and finnCap are close to agreeing a tie-up. An announcement from both companies is likely as soon as

Professor Sir John Bell, the scientist who served as Boris Johnson’s COVID testing tsar, has quit the investment company which backs start-ups created from Oxford University’s academic research. Sky News has learnt that Prof Bell, who is regarded as one of the world’s leading medical scientists, stepped down as a non-executive director of Oxford Science

Ian King examines the latest inflation figures with Sky’s business correspondent, Gurpreet Narwan. Ian speaks to the chief executive of Openreach about government targets to deliver nationwide superfast broadband by 2030. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves joins Ian to chat about the economy and a very important chess match. He also discusses post-COVID recovery within the

The surprise increase in inflation will give policymakers pause for thought. Just days ago, inflation appeared to be coming down nicely and some were talking down the chances of another interest rate hike. However, February’s inflation data shows that the scale of the inflation challenge cannot be underestimated. Although economists – and the Bank of