Business

Bentley will end production of its “iconic” 12-cylinder petrol engine in April next year. More than 100,000 W12s have been built at the firm’s factory in Crewe, Cheshire over the past 20 years. The British luxury car manufacturer announced on Wednesday it will halt production of the famed W12 engine, launched in 2003, as it

Bills will rise by an estimated £500 a year despite an expected reduction in Ofgem’s household energy cap, analysts expect. The energy regulator will cap the amount households pay on electricity and gas bills each year at £3,294 from 1 April, Cornwall Insights has forecast – a drop from the previous cap of £4,279 effective

The boss of one of the UK’s largest fish and chips chains has told Sky News that industry prices are stabilising but yet to reach their peak. James Lipscombe, chief executive of The Chesterford Group which runs 38 takeaways and restaurants under several brands, spoke of a mammoth effort to maintain sales volumes as the

Charging customers higher electricity prices has helped the UK wing of the French state-owned energy giant turn a profit. While an overall loss was recorded at EDF (Électricité de France) earnings rose at its UK operations, it said in its 2022 annual results. Core profits in the UK electricity-producing entity hit £1.12bn, up from a

An estimated 91.2% of card payments last year were contactless, according to data covering spending when the technology was available. Analysis of habits by debit and credit card users at Barclays showed face-to-face or in-store spending using contactless was up from 82.6% achieved the previous year. The bank credited much of the “tap and go”

Ford has announced that 1,300 jobs, a fifth of the workforce, is being cut from its UK business as part of a Europe-wide overhaul. The majority of the UK losses will be at the Ford site in Dunton, Essex – its UK headquarters and technical centre. Up to 1,000 jobs are to be axed at

Britain’s biggest luxury yacht-builder is being sold to new private equity backers 15 years after it last changed hands. Sky News has learnt that Princess Yachts, which is based in Plymouth, is being sold to KPS Capital Partners, a US-headquartered investor which specialises in owning manufacturing businesses. Sources said a deal could be struck as

The UK communications regulator has launched an investigation into broadband and phone bill price rises as research suggested many customers are unaware providers can increase costs. The review, to be carried out by Ofcom (the Office of Communications), will focus on mid-contract price increases as the watchdog said it was worried about uncertainty faced by

Google published an online advert for its new AI chatbot Bard in which it delivered an inaccurate answer. The company unveiled its much-anticipated rival to ChatGPT this week, and has launched a marketing blitz to prepare the public for its full rollout in the coming weeks. A promotional tweet with a short GIF describes Bard

Google looks set to unveil how it plans to rival the wildly successful ChatGPT AI, possibly within days. The technology giant has scheduled a 40-minute event for Wednesday 8 February, when it will reveal how it is “reimagining how people search for, explore and interact with information”. “Join us to learn how we’re opening up

Elon Musk did not deceive his investors when he tweeted in 2018 that he had the funding to take Tesla private, a jury has found. Investors had sought to sue the SpaceX owner for billions of dollars because his tweet caused Tesla’s shares to soar, only to crash 10 days later when it became clear

Three of Silicon Valley’s largest companies posted disappointing financial results on Thursday, compounding concerns about a slowdown in the tech sector. Recession fears have hit both corporate and consumer spending globally, leading to the likes of Apple, Alphabet and Amazon all signalling a tough recovery from the highs of 2021. Alphabet, the parent company of

India’s richest man has seen his personal wealth shrink by billions in less than a week. Gautam Adani, head of the conglomerate Adani Enterprises, has suffered his seven publicly listed companies losing at least $100bn (£81bn). On 25 January, US-based short seller firm Hindenburg Research published a 100-page report on the Adani Group accusing it

A British vehicle maker is part of a consortium that has been awarded £6.6m in government funding to make the world’s first self-driving, hydrogen-powered heavy goods vehicle for Asda to trial. Glasgow-based Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS) is developing two prototype HGVs as part of a group which includes supermarket giant Asda. The third member of

House prices have declined for the fifth month in a row, falling 0.6% in January, according to one of the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders. The five month fall makes it the longest period of consecutive falls since February 2009, according to economic research company Pantheon Macroeconomics. House price data from Nationwide building society showed the

The number of new mortgages approved has dropped for the fourth month in a row, to a low not seen since the early days of the pandemic. Mortgage approvals fell to 35,600 in December, the lowest number since May 2020 and down from 46,200 in November, according to data from the Bank of England. The

JD Sports is contacting customers who have been affected by a cyber attack that may have exposed their personal details. The incident impacted 10 million people who placed orders between November 2018 and October 2020. Customer names, delivery, billing, email addresses, phone numbers, and the last four digits of bank cards were potentially exposed. It

Ian King speaks to the CEO of the London Technology Club about why it’s a challenging time for global investment in the sector. Plus, hear from the chief executive of Airtel Africa about how population growth is expected to affect business. And more on the bakery chain that’s promising the most lavish doughnuts London’s ever

ASOS, the online fashion retailer, has drafted in a leading company doctor amid pressure from its lenders about the state of its balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that Scott Millar, a senior managing director at the professional services firm Ankura, has been appointed by ASOS to join its finance department. A source close to

UK car production fell to its lowest level since 1956 last year, according to industry figures showing that the global shortage of parts continued to drag on performance. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had already reported how the sale of new vehicles in 2022 was severely damaged by the lack of key