Heathrow Airport: 1,300 flights disrupted as fire rages nearby amid all day closure - Daily Business Briefing

There are major issues at Heathrow Airport today. More than 1,300 flights are disrupted after a sub-station fire last night caused an outage at the airport.

Thousands of homes were affected, too, and more than 100 people were evacuated. 120 flights in the air at the time of incident were re-directed to other airports.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage across the airport due to a large fire at a nearby electrical substation. Whilst fire crews are responding to the incident, we do not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored.”

Government borrowing on the rise

UK Government borrowing rose to £10.7 billion last month. That's larger than forecast and the fourth-highest February figure on record.

Public sector net borrowing was £100 million more than in February 2024. It was also £4.2 billion more than had been forecast by the Government’s official forecaster.

End of an era for WH Smith and High Street

WH Smith is set to close another 10 stores, according to reports. Earlier this year it was announced that all 500 high street stores owned by the brand had been put up for sale.

Private equity firms Alteri, which owns Bensons for Beds, and Hobbycraft-owner Modella Capital are said to be interested.

The Fast fashion brand In The Style has been snapped up in a rescue deal after falling into administration. It has been bought by Alps Sourcing Limited – an entity linked to previous owner Baaj Capital. The deal will secure the future of 87 jobs.

The mayors of Liverpool and Manchester have agreed a deal with an American space firm to put north- west England in a “central role in the global space economy”.

Liverpool City Mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham signed the agreement with Axiom Space on Thursday. The move could potentially “unlock billions” of pounds for the region.

And the first major project for publicly owned Great British Energy is set to get underway. It'll fund solar panels on the roofs of hundreds of schools and hospitals. The idea is to save hundreds of millions of pounds on energy bills and free up cash to reinvest in frontline services.