Category: News

Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed legislation to nationalise British Steel after talks with Chinese owner Jingye collapsed, securing 2,700 jobs at Scunthorpe.

UK gilt yields surge to highest since 2008 as political uncertainty over Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership and Iran-fuelled inflation fears push borrowing costs to 5.13%.

Britain’s biggest chicken supplier 2Sisters has pushed through £70m of price rises to offset Labour’s National Insurance and minimum wage increases, as profits triple to £108m.

Greggs is opening its first shop outside the UK at Tenerife South Airport as the FTSE 250 bakery chain reports a 7.5% rise in sales to £800m in the first 19 weeks of 2026.

Used pure-electric car sales surged 32% to a record 86,943 in Q1, the SMMT reports, as soaring petrol prices and wider model choice tempt British motorists to switch.

Germany’s Eon has agreed to acquire Ovo’s retail arm in a deal valued at up to £600m, creating the UK’s largest energy supplier with 9.6 million customers and overtaking Octopus Energy.

Vauxhall will fit Chinese-made electric motors and batteries from Leapmotor in its new C-SUV from 2028, as Stellantis bets on a Beijing alliance to undercut surging Chinese EV rivals.

TG Jones, the rebranded former WH Smith high street chain, owes £15.8m to councils, suppliers and HMRC and could run out of cash by June, owner Modella warns.

The Ministry of Defence has spent £16.6m with Elon Musk’s Starlink over four years, funding satellite terminals for Ukrainian forces and British personnel — despite political friction with the SpaceX founder.

UK gilt yields breach 5% as Labour reels from local election defeat. City warns of fiscal reckoning if Starmer is replaced by a left-wing successor.

Santander will retire the 200-year-old TSB brand and merge the lender into its UK arm after a £2.9bn deal, targeting £400m of savings. What it means for customers, jobs and branches.

IAG, owner of British Airways, warns the Iran conflict will add €2bn to its fuel bill and dent 2026 profits, even as Q1 earnings jumped 77% to €351m.

UN FAO Food Price Index climbs 1.6% in April as Strait of Hormuz disruption, drought and biofuel demand push vegetable oil, cereal and meat prices higher. What it means for UK SMEs.

Grosvenor Group’s Mark Preston warns Iran war fertiliser shortages have pushed UK farm costs up 70% and will trigger a dramatic spike in global food prices next year.