Author: SKYNEWS

The Bank of England has revealed a major expansion of its presence in Leeds as part of efforts to spread its work outside London.The Bank said its current operation in the West Yorkshire city, which has 70 staff, would grow to 500 by 2027. It said this would be mainly achieved through new hiring and some voluntary relocations, adding it did not expect the shift to result in a rise in its overall number of employees.It employs just shy of 5,000 people currently which are spread nationally but most are based at the Bank in the City of London’s Threadneedle…

Ed Sheeran surprised a group of music students by giving an impromptu gig at their college.The four-time Grammy winner turned up at The Sheffield College as 19-year-old student Lol Bailey was performing the singer’s number one track Shape Of You in the college’s drama and music theatre. Sheeran performed the track as well as Castle On The Hill, before playing the acoustic guitar as the students freestyled rap lyrics on the microphone. Image: Pic: Sheffield Music Hub The 33-year-old musician laughed when a student rapped: “Came to the studio, the new day is waking, Ed Sheehan is here, my legs…

The Body Shop’s administrators are to launch an auction of the chain after concluding that an alternative restructuring of one of Britain’s best-known high street retailers was not viable.Sky News has learnt that FRP Advisory, which has been overseeing the collapsed business since January, is to begin formally sounding out potential buyers in the coming weeks. The move raises the prospect of new owners taking control of The Body Shop, which was founded nearly half a century ago.The chain now trades from roughly 100 stores following a shop closure and redundancy programme undertaken in recent months.Money latest: ‘Seismic shift’ for…

A group of social media influencers have been charged in relation to promoting an unauthorised investment scheme.The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) original cast member Lauren Goodger, 37, former Love Island star Biggs Chris, 32, and Celebrity Big Brother winner Scott Timlin, 36, also known as Scotty T, are among seven TV personalities alleged to have been paid to promote the scheme to their combined 4.5 million Instagram followers. The others charged by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) include former Love Islanders Rebecca Gormley, 26, Jamie Clayton, 32, and Eva Zapico, 25 and TOWIE member Yazmin Oukhellou, 30.The UK’s financial…

The owner of Royal Mail has said it is “minded” to accept a revised takeover bid by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. The latest offer from Mr Kretinsky’s investment firm EP Group values the Royal Mail parent company International Distribution Services (IDS) at £3.5bn. Money latest: UK economy in safe hands ‘whoever wins’ election, top bank chief saysMr Kretinsky’s firm already owns most of IDS as a 27.6% shareholder but wishes to buy the remaining shares.An earlier offer of £3.20 a share was rejected last month for being too low. But now he has offered £3.60 for each share. The day…

The UK’s largest consumer-owned wind farm is powering up in Scotland this month.Kirk Hill Wind Farm in South Ayrshire – part owned by more than 5,600 people and small firms – will have the potential to power around 20,000 households and businesses. The eight-turbine site, being pioneered by Ripple Energy, was funded via the £13.2m raised by members of the public and small businesses to build it in 2022.Not only will the owners be able to power their homes with up to 100% green energy, contributing to efforts to tackle climate change, but they are also expected to save thousands…

The window is closing to tackle public transport, bills and pollution in order to boost growth, improve lives and tackle climate change, the government’s official infrastructure adviser has warned.With much of British infrastructure ageing, decisions in the next five years will be critical in shaping the cheaper, greener and more secure future the public wants, the National Infrastructure Commission said in its annual review. It recognised progress in some areas, but criticised “significant deficiencies” in the UK’s infrastructure, including a failure to build reservoirs, too many homes being at risk of flooding, and under-investment in regional transport.It said people’s quality…

People as young as 18 will be able to get behind the controls of a train as part of a government proposal aimed at boosting staff. The plans were announced on Thursday as thousands of train passengers up and down the country have been facing delays and cancellations due to repeated strike action in recent months. The current age to be able to apply to become a train driver is 20.The government said “thousands of opportunities could open up for younger people as early as this summer”, if the proposal is approved.Read more:Train strikes: ‘Half a decade without a pay increase’Labour…

A former Post Office executive has said she was forced to block ex-boss Paula Vennells’ phone number after the ex-CEO called multiple times asking for help to avoid an independent inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal.Lesley Sewell, previously the company’s head of IT, told the Post Office inquiry on Thursday that former CEO Ms Vennells had reached out to her four times between 2020 and 2021. Ms Sewell said that she blocked Ms Vennells’ number due to discomfort with the contact.In her witness statement to the probe, Ms Sewell said that one of Ms Vennells’ emails referenced the need to…

The new British boss of Wefox, one of Europe’s biggest insurance technology companies, has warned investors that it could face collapse within months as it contends with a slew of regulatory and financial challenges.Sky News has learnt that Wefox believes it could become insolvent by the summer unless it can secure the sale of a number of its loss-making operations. The parlous state of the company, which was valued at $4.5bn (£3.6bn) in a funding round less than two years ago and whose lenders include Barclays and JP Morgan, makes it the latest giant of Europe’s tech scene to face…