Boots, the High Street pharmacy and retail chain, has been sold in an $8.9bn (£6.7bn) deal to the holding company of Canada’s billionaire Weston family. Wittington Investments confirmed it had agreed to buy Boots on Wednesday from US private equity firm Sycamore Partners. Sycamore had only owned the retailer for …

A deal has been announced which would see the £6.7bn sale of the 1,800 Boots stores across the UK and Ireland. Under the terms of the agreement, Canadian company Wittington Investments Limited, the holding company of the billionaire Weston family, will also acquire Boots Opticians and its No7 Beauty Company …

Five former Barclays traders sentenced in one of the biggest scandals of the financial crisis have had their convictions overturned following a long-running legal battle. Jay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef, Alex Pabon, Colin Bermingham were convicted following trials for manipulating the interest rates used for loans between banks. But …

Up to 2,500 Royal Mail employees could lose their jobs under an ‘organisational review’, the company has announced. The expected job losses will come at Royal Mail’s head office in Farringdon Road, London, and within support function roles by the end of 2027. Around 131,000 people are employed by the …

Royal Mail has announced plans to cut 2,500 head office and other supporting roles by the end of 2027 as it battles competition and falling demand for letter deliveries. The cuts at the postal service will represent about 2% of the 131,000-strong workforce. However, frontline postal workers – posties and …

Ministers are lining up advisers to assess the affordability of Heathrow’s £49bn third runway plan amid growing expectations that it will miss its 2035 completion deadline by four years. Sky News has learnt that the Department for Transport (DfT) has called in investment bankers to pitch for a role scrutinising …

Businesses in Watchet are concerned by the closure of the main road into Watchet. BBC News

Rank Group is to pay a £5m penalty after regulators identified a series of compliance issues within three of its casino operators, including duty of care to customers. The Gambling Commission said its investigation had revealed anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures at Grosvenor Casinos Limited, Grosvenor Casinos (GC) Limited …

Rising energy costs are already affecting households across Northern Ireland. The impact of the US-Israel war with Iran is one of the factors behind the increase. The letter from the EA to head teachers said that “recent geopolitical events are expected to have a substantial impact on energy costs across …

But how likely is the current froyo craze to survive? After all, it was huge in the 2010s but by the end of that decade was all but dead. Vhari Russell, founder of Food Marketing Experts, says: “Market over-saturation played a role in the initial disappearance of froyo, as well …

Jaguar has unveiled its new electric car – two years after the company’s controversial rebrand, and 12 months on from a major cyber attack that halted production.  The new Type 01 model, revealed at an event in New York on Tuesday, will be manufactured in the UK and can deliver …

JLR wound down production of its old Jaguar models in 2024 and 2025. The “woke” row, while it possibly made life briefly uncomfortable for the company’s leadership, did at least keep the Jaguar name in the public consciousness at a time when it was selling very few cars. “It brought …

It’s been less than 24 hours since the notification popped up on people’s phones, and there are a number of unanswered questions. It isn’t yet clear who is behind the message, what their motivation is, how many people received the notification or how many may be impacted Wilson, from the …

NHS supply lorry drivers are set for a series of strikes in a dispute over pay. Drivers employed by GXO in Tyne and Wear, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Kent, Warwickshire and Suffolk will stage five walkouts from October 13-15, 20-22, 27-29 and November 3-5 and 10-12, Unite said. Union members have rejected …

For those working behind the scenes, the merger of two historic studios has been described as a “disaster” by those on the ground. Actors and writers recently gathered at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles to oppose the deal, accusing regulators of failing to protect industry livelihoods. Criminal Minds star Kirsten …

Britain’s water regulator is lining up advisers to oversee the performance of troubled South East Water, days after the company sought to curb non-essential use by thousands of business customers. Sky News has learnt that Ofwat is expected to appoint Grant Thornton, the accountancy firm, to act as an independent …

English football chiefs have held fresh talks aimed at securing a landmark £180m-a-year deal to distribute some of the Premier League’s wealth to the rest of the professional game. Sky News has learnt that the chairs and chief executives of the Premier League, English Football League (EFL) and Independent Football …

On social media, dozens of people have posted about receiving the message – confused as to what it means. Although the apparent extortion message has been issued directly to customers, it is addressed to Asos’ data protection officer (DPO) and IT team. The message claims the unnamed hackers have “fully …

The Brunel Centre was once a thriving retail destination, attracting shoppers from far and wide. “It was incredible,” says town councillor Keith Ely, who remembers its opening in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, in 1973. Back then, centre:MK, a large destination shopping centre four miles away in Milton Keynes, did not exist, and …

Carl Walker, from Jersey Consumer Council, said credit card companies would need to be reminded of the change which had allowed more information to be shared. “The last time they were involved… Jersey was slamming the door shut, so they have switched off and turned their attention elsewhere,” he said. …