Middle-income families will also find it hard to cope with new energy cap in April, says thinktankThe number of households suffering from “fuel stress” – those spending at least 10% of their family budgets on energy bills – is set to treble to 6.3m ove…
Savills buoyed by surge in sales of £1m-plus homes in countryside
London-based estate agent raises profit forecasts amid Covid ‘race for space’ and warehouse boomCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA rush to buy £1m-plus homes in the countryside in the Covid-inspired “race for space” and the w…
US warns Russia over energy crisis, as UK consumer groups warn on fuel poverty – live
National Energy Action warns up to 1.5m more households could be plunged into fuel poverty next springAnalysts doubt Russia can pump more gas to EuropeOfgem CEO: price cap to rise sharply in April, promises reviewWholesale gas prices rise again but rem…
Second hedge fund pushes for change in leadership of GSK
Bluebell Capital takes stake in pharma giant and puts pressure on Emma WalmsleyGSK’s chief executive, Emma Walmsley, has come under pressure from a second activist hedge fund, Bluebell Capital Partners, which has taken a stake in the drugmaker to push …
Virgin Atlantic reports 600% surge in flight bookings to the US
Sales jump as US says it will allow fully vaccinated passengers from UK and some EU countries to enter from NovemberCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageVirgin Atlantic has reported a 600% surge in flight bookings to the US and B…
National Express in talks to buy rival Stagecoach
Coach operator’s takeover would value UK’s biggest bus company at about £445mNational Express is in talks to buy Stagecoach, the UK’s largest bus operator, in an all-share deal to create a business with a fleet of 36,000 buses and coaches.Stagecoach sh…
Private hospitals profit from NHS waiting lists as people without insurance pay out
As NHS waiting lists reach record levels, more and more patients are paying for ops out of their own pocketsBritons without health insurance on why they paid to go privateWhen Fabien needed to have a decayed tooth removed in May, his dentist told him t…
A year that changed the world – and medical companies’ fortunes
While Covid sent many firms to the wall, others prospered by spotting opportunities, from test kits to mask coatingsThe pandemic has taken a heavy toll on business, gutting high streets as familiar names fell into receivership. But for some less well-k…
Oxford Covid biotech firm plans £2.4bn flotation on LSE
Business founded in 2005 has won contracts to track global variants worth £144m from UK governmentOxford Nanopore, whose Covid-19 technology was snapped up by the UK government and used to track variants of the virus globally, has unveiled its plans to…
Long NHS waiting lists fuel return to profit at healthcare firm Spire
Half-year results come as company expects to benefit from ‘unprecedented’ demandThe private hospital operator Spire Healthcare has returned to profit amid strong demand from self-paying patients who are coming to its hospitals because of long NHS waiti…