Author: SKYNEWS

The TV retail consultant known as ‘Mary Queen of Shops’ has called on the government to block a proposed London stock market listing by Shein.Mary Portas, who undertook a review of UK high streets for the coalition government led by David Cameron, was speaking as an online petition by the Say No to Shein campaign neared its target of 35,000 signatures. The Chinese-founded fast fashion firm is expected to seek a £50bn valuation in an initial public offering (IPO) late this summer or in the early autumn.Money latest:Pound flies after inflation news – and it’s good for Brits abroad Image:…

An arm of BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, is plotting a bid to acquire a big stake in a major contractor to Thames Water even as the UK’s largest water utility hovers close to collapse.Sky News has learnt that BlackRock’s private markets division is among the remaining bidders for Lanes Group, which is based in Leeds. City insiders said an unspecified number of other suitors were also in the process.Money latest: Mortgage blow as rate cut forecasts rewrittenLanes Group is said to be valued at up to £350m, according to banking sources. BlackRock has begun to play an increasingly…

Tomcraft, the German DJ best known for his 2002 hit Loneliness, has died aged 49. The family of Thomas Bruckner shared the news on his official social media pages, writing: “With a heavy heart, we need to inform you that yesterday our beloved father and husband has passed away. “We’ll forever carry you in our hearts and love you until we’re reunited again.”They did not disclose a cause of death.Producers and DJs soon flooded the comments with tributes. Among them was Italian DJ Benny Benassi, who said: “I’m so sorry. We were Ministry of Sound artists in the same period. Loneliness…

Much is known about JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, not least his past criticism of the Republican presidential candidate, his tough working class upbringing and his time in the US Marine Corps.What the business world is more interested in, though, is the Ohio senator’s previous career in venture capital and his views on commerce – and what they might mean in the event of Trump returning to the White House. In particular, Mr Vance has been strongly supportive of cryptocurrency, raising hopes in the sector that a second Trump administration could be positive for the asset class.Money latest: Mortgage…

As part of the Cheap Eats series in our Money blog, we ask top chefs to pick their favourite affordable places to eat out where they live.Here, we speak to Mark Birchall, chef-patron at two Michelin-starred Moor Hall in West Lancashire, and Andrew Sheridan, of 8 By Andrew Sheridan in Liverpool. Here are their recommendations for places to get a meal for two on Merseyside for less than £40…MARKSwan fish and chip restaurant, Southport. It’s fresh fish, nice chips, lovely pies! A great one to visit on a family day out – kids all love it too.For a cheap burger, Five…

A deal to buy The Body Shop has come closer to being agreed, the administrators have announced. The high street cosmetics chain went into administration in February with the closure of 75 shops and the loss of 489 jobs. Money latest: Blow for mortgage holders as rate cut predictions rewrittenBut a team managed by former Molton Brown chief executive Charles Denton is now officially lined up to complete a rescue takeover deal as administrators said they agreed to an “exclusivity agreement” after “a competitive bidding process”.The agreement has been entered into by a consortium led by investment platform Aurea group.…

Maya Jama and Stormzy have announced they are breaking up. TV presenter Jama, 29, and rapper Stormzy, 30, met when they were 20 and 21 and spent five years together from 2014 to 2019. After a separation, they got back together in August 2023 – but have now decided to call it quits.Jama announced the news on Instgram, saying they had “spent this past year trying our best to make it work”.She said she was making the announcement publicly “for the sake of clarity and, more importantly, to allow us the space and grace that’s needed for us both to be…

One of Britain’s biggest petfood manufacturers is in talks to add another independent producer to its stable of brands.Sky News understands that Capvest, the owner of Inspired Pet Nutrition (IPN), is orchestrating a bid for Butchers Petcare. Other bidders are also understood to have bid for Butchers, although IPN is seen as the most obvious buyer given its existing scale in the UK petfood market.IPN already owns brands including Wagg and Harringtons, while Jollyes, a petfood retailer, was recently sold to TDR Capital, the private equity firm.Butchers was founded by Graham Baker, the son of a livestock farmer, in 1987,…

Minnie Driver says the death of her parents gave her a new sense of appreciation for the life she has.The British-American actress says when her father, Ronnie Driver, died 15 years ago and her mother, Gaynor Churchward, died three years ago, she felt her “life had stopped in some way” and she believed “there wasn’t any way to recover”. Speaking to Sky News, Driver says these huge “personal disasters” paved a new way of thinking for the actress. Image: Minnie Driver as Queen Elizabeth I in The Serpent Queen. Pic: Starz/Lionsgate “Something happens when there is a great schism in…

There is nothing in today’s inflation data that will cause the nine policymakers who decide UK interest rates to panic.The overall CPI inflation rate stayed steady at 2% – bang on the Bank’s target. Core and services inflation – other measures of the prices in the inflation “basket” which the Monetary Policy Committee focus on – were also unchanged. Money latest: Number of people claiming non-dom status risesSo in a sense, the story is the same one as last month: the era of double-digit inflation does appear to be receding into the rear-view mirror, even if the pain of higher…