The amount of new office developments starting has fallen to its lowest level since the financial crisis, with developers put off by high costs and more people working from home. Construction companies embarked on barely any new office projects over the spring and summer, according to CoStar, an analytics group. Between April and June, work…

On paper, Drax should be a knockout FTSE 250 stock. It presents itself as a sustainable energy business, helping Britain to reach its targets for net zero, and comes with a chunky dividend yield to boot. Yet a regulatory investigation has fed into broader concerns around its green credentials. The owner of Britain’s biggest power…

Fragile consumer confidence took a toll on retail sales last month amid nerves over Labour’s “painful” forthcoming budget and higher energy bills. Total retail sales rose by 1 per cent over the year to August, up from July’s 0.5 per cent increase but markedly down on the 4.1 per cent growth in the same period…

It could be a winter of discontent. Millions of people are braced for eye-watering energy bills. Some may choose not to heat their homes and others could refuse to pay, perhaps amid mass civil disobedience. And the government is rudderless — waiting for the Tory Party to crown a leader next month who will have…

A British-based nuclear company backed by Italy’s Agnelli family plans to raise nearly £900 million to advance a plan to build a fleet of small nuclear reactors in Britain. Newcleo, based in London, has an ambitious scheme to build one plant a year in the UK up to 2050 and eventually generate 4 gigawatts of…

Q. In 2000 I invested £3,500 in the Fidelity Moneybuilder Balanced Fund Isa (£134.61 was taken as a charge). Now, 24 years later, it is valued at £11,435. Investment performance in the year to May 2024 after charges was 1.92 per cent. Over the same 12 months I have paid a £90 service charge (it…