BrewDog millionaire launches Dragons' Den-style TV show

British Gas sending reminder to 100,000 households about £2,000 cash boost

British Gas is sending out 100,000 letters to households in the UK who could be missing out on receiving a £2,000 relief payment to help with their energy bills.

The energy supplier is providing the money in bill grants to households in England, Wales and Scotland that are either in energy debt or facing financial hardship.

Recipients of the Energy Support Fund could see up to £2,000 of energy debt erased, depending on individual circumstances.

You do not need to be a British Gas customer to apply, but you need to be a prepayment meter customer with an energy debt of at least £50, or a direct debit customer with a debt of £250 or more.

To see more information on eligibility, click here.

Weather bomb hitting UK should see wholesale electricity prices tumble

The weather bomb hitting the UK this week is expected to reduce wholesale energy costs.

It will reverse a trend seen this week where milder, breezeless weather caused wind farm output to fall close to zero - which had ramped up costs to almost seven times the average price before the pandemic.

Storm Eowyn is set to bring relief on this front when it arrives tomorrow - though it is also predicted to cause major disruption in other sectors.

There will be gusts of up to 90mph and wind power is forecast to surge 40-fold from 0.4GW to 16GW by Friday morning.

BrewDog founder launches Dragons' Den-style TV show with X Factor ambitions

The founder of BrewDog is launching his own reality TV show that will see entrepreneurs battle it out for a £2m investment.

House of Unicorns is set to air later this year and will see founders, business leaders and entrepreneurs compete over six weeks for a chance to win the money.

James Watt, who stepped down as BrewDog CEO last year, will be the show's lead judge and will decide on the recipient of half the £2m prize pot, with the other half decided by public vote.

House of Unicorns will rival the BBC's Dragons' Den, which once turned down Mr Watt as a competitor in 2009.

The show's website says its ambition "doesn't end with one season or one market". 

"Just as The X Factor has become a global franchise that turns unknown singers into global icons, we want House of Unicorns to become the stage where under-the-radar startups transform into world-renowned companies."

In the world of business, a "unicorn" is a startup company valued at over $1bn (£812m). It's estimated the UK has around 88 unicorn businesses.

The busiest airports of 2024 revealed

The busiest airport last year was Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in the US, a survey has revealed.

Planes with capacity to seat 62.7 million people passed through the Georgia-based hub between 1 January and 31 December last year, according to the flight database OAG Aviation.

It also held the busiest airport in the world top spot in 2023 and 2019.

In second place was Dubai International Airport, which saw planes carrying up to 60.2 million people pass through, and in third place it was Tokyo International Airport. 

Meanwhile, London's Heathrow Airport was ranked number four with 51,553,190 aeroplane seats landing on the runway throughout the year. 

Stock market responding to Trump's return - while there's bad news for Primark

The start of the Trump 2.0 era has been positive for stock markets globally so far, unless they're in Asia with exposure to China.

The "will he, won't he" key question over trade tariffs has dominated sentiment so far this week.

The FTSE 100 hit a record high on Friday amid a growing anticipation that more UK interest rate cuts are on the way on the back of weak retail sales data for December.

That momentum for values continued past the inauguration until yesterday, when a pause for breath was taken.

The index was 0.3% down at 8,517 in early Thursday dealing.

Among the stock market fallers was AB Foods - the owner of Primark.

ABF reported a 6% decline in comparable sales across its UK and Ireland Primark business over the quarter covering Christmas.

It said that while sales over the festive season itself were strong, they did not make up for a poor autumn that was knocked, ABF said, by weak consumer confidence and warm weather.

ABF shares were 1.5% lower at the open.

That decline was probably best explained by the company's decision to downgrade annual Primark sales growth guidance.

Investment companies call on chancellor to ditch inheritance tax raid on pensions

Investment companies have called on the chancellor to ditch budget plans to apply inheritance tax on undrawn pensions.

A letter penned by the chief executives of AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor and Quilter, which collectively manage £430bn of investments for UK customers, says there is "concern" about the proposals put forward by Rachel Reeves.

They warn that bringing all pensions into estates for inheritance tax will "lead to substantial delays paying money to beneficiaries on death and cause distress for bereaved families".

Pointing to justice ministry data, which shows the number of probate cases taking over a year to be granted has risen by 134% in the past three years, the bosses argue the chancellor's proposals will "worsen" this statistic.

They add legal representatives tasked with collecting information across multiple pension schemes will face a "greater burden" and in due course this will "compound an already difficult situation" for grieving families.

"Rather than pressing ahead with this flawed and potentially damaging approach, we urge the government to reconsider the proposals and work with the pensions industry to agree a simpler method," the letter reads.

Currently the value of most individuals' undrawn pensions is not subject to inheritance tax on death. 

But from April 2027, any unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will be brought into the inheritance tax net under plans put forward by Reeves - but it's not entirely clear how this will work in practice.

Trump threatens tariffs - what does that mean?

Trump has threatened China with a 10% tariff on its imports and warned that duties could also be imposed on the EU.

It's an "unsettling time" if you cover trade, our economics and date editor Ed Conway says, and if Trump were to increase tariffs it would "change the big picture as we know it".

Conway says economists are mostly guessing at what the numbers are going to be at the moment and "this is a new world for the global economy".

Thousands paying 'outrageous' traffic fines in London that should not be issued, AA says

The AA says thousands of drivers have paid "outrageous" fines it claims should not have been issued.

Analysis from the motoring group looked at rulings from London Tribunals' traffic adjudicators, finding at least six councils had handed out £130 fines over restrictions and enforcement cameras that lacked up-to-date paperwork.

Data from London Councils - representing 32 borough councils and the City of London - also showed 56% of appeals made against bus lane fines were either upheld or not contested in the last financial year.

For appeals against moving traffic offences, like stopping in a yellow box when not allowed, that figure was 35%.

Combined, the AA says nearly 7,300 cases have had successful appeals.

In response, the Department for Transport said: "Local authorities are responsible for local traffic measures and they should make sure penalties for the use of bus lanes are fair and proportionate."

The department also said a revamp of Traffic Management Orders - which govern local road restrictions - is now being proposed.

British passports to be available on smartphones

British passports will be available on smartphones by 2027 under new government proposals.

The plan, announced by technology minister Peter Kyle, will allow UK citizens to store their passports in a digital "wallet" on their phones. It would only be for domestic use at first, but could eventually be used for international travel.

The digital wallet will also contain an e-driving licence, launching this year, and universal credit accounts, veteran IDs and marriage and birth certificates.

Finland was the first country to test out digital passports for its citizens two years ago. The trial was launched in partnership with Finnair, the Finnish police and airport operator Finavia.

-SKY NEWS