Business

A portfolio of 19 life sciences company stakes accumulated by Neil Woodford, the former star fund manager, will be sold on Friday to an American buyer for just under £225m.

Airlines, transport and travel companies and car manufacturers are among the largest recipients of emergency funding under a Bank of England scheme that reveals the scale of the financial damage caused by coronavirus in the UK.

British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca says it now has capacity to deliver two billion doses of its potential coronavirus vaccine over the next two years.

British Airways (BA) has told staff its parent firm is burning through £178m of cash a week and the airline does not have "an absolute right to exist" as a row with unions intensifies.

The owner of the ASK Italian and Zizzi restaurant chains is exploring a sale of the company as Britain’s hospitality industry battles to survive the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The cost of the government's coronavirus policies has risen to £132.5bn, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has expanded its coronavirus bond-buying programme by €600bn to €1.35trn (£1.2trn) as the single currency area faces the worst recession in its history.

Lookers, the car dealership chain, plans to cut almost a fifth of its workforce under a cost-saving plan after the coronavirus crisis exacerbated a slump in sales.

Aston Martin Lagonda has announced plans to cut up to 500 jobs as the luxury carmaker gears up for a turnaround plan aimed at restoring profitability amid plunging sales.

The big four accountancy firms face having to pay their audit and consulting partners according to the profits their divisions make on a rolling five-year basis under detailed reforms being finalised by the profession's regulator.