Magazine group points to restructuring bill but says it ‘remains profitable in the UK for another year’

Profits at Condé Nast’s UK arm slumped by more than a third last year, according to figures published shortly after the billionaire family that owns the luxury magazine group and titles from Vogue to GQ ruled out a sale.

The publisher, which enjoyed a bumper 2024 after booking £64m in proceeds from the sale of its UK headquarters Vogue House in London, saw pre-tax profits excluding exceptional items tumble 36% from £28m that year to nearly £18m last year.

The Tesla Roadster 2 drove up a curved ramp before using SpaceX rocket thrusters to fly, flip and land

Elon Musk has revealed Tesla’s latest model, which he claims will be the world’s first flying car, using technology from his aerospace company SpaceX to “basically fly like a rocket”.

The billionaire, who hosted a demonstration of the Tesla Roadster 2 at the SpaceX rocket development and testing facility in Texas, said the sports car could go from 0 to 60mph in a record time of less than a second and had thrusters.

Regulator for Great Britain weighs up reintroducing market stabilisation charge to prevent firms going bust

Energy suppliers could be forced to pay a charge to rivals if they lure customers with cheaper deals, as the industry regulator for Great Britain attempts to prevent suppliers going bust this winter.

Ofgem has published a consultation on a proposal to reintroduce the market stabilisation charge (MSC), which aims to prevent suppliers failing if there is customer exodus, as it frets over the impact of sharp swings in energy prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

Commercials once launched careers from Ridley Scott to Guy Ritchie, now automated production is cutting costs – and the chance to learn by doing

When Ridley Scott was awarded the UK’s highest accolade for a glittering career directing films from Alien and Blade Runner to Gladiator and The Martian, he reminded those attending the Bafta event eight years ago that making commercials had been his “film school”.

The advertising industry has long been a breeding ground for British film and TV talent who have gone on to make the jump to Hollywood productions, including Guy Ritchie, who started out making music videos and commercials, and Paddington in Peru director Dougal Wilson, whose credits include a number of John Lewis’s famous Christmas ads.

Questions raised over AI growth as ChatGPT maker forecasts this year’s revenue at $50bn, way below the $70bn signalled before

• Business live – latest updates

OpenAI has revealed that it is making about $20bn less in projected revenue than it had recently indicated to investors, raising questions about the break-neck growth rate in demand for AI.

The ChatGPT-maker company has told investors that its revenues for this year would reach $50bn (£37bn), a projection based on sales up to the end of September.

Postal service says cuts will focus on head office and ‘support function roles’

• Business live – latest updates

Royal Mail is to cut up to 2,500 jobs as the embattled company seeks to restructure its business amid intense competition and the continuing decline in letter deliveries.

The postal service, which has been fined a total of £37m since 2023 for missing delivery targets set by the regulator Ofcom, said the job cuts would focus on head office and “support function roles” with the restructure to be completed by the end of next year.

Exclusive: 10-year sponsorship extension at a 50% premium on last agreement crowns bonanza year for live venue

O2 has struck a record deal thought to be in the region of £200m to retain the naming rights to the London venue the O2 in the largest renewal of its kind in UK history.

The 10-year agreement will extend O2’s relationship until at least 2038. It cements the sponsorship as the second longest-running UK stadium naming rights deal after Arsenal’s partnership for the football club’s London ground,