‘Prolonged disruption’ expected on GWR and LNER as cracks found on trains May 8, 2021 Hitachi trains have been taken off the network for companies like Great Western Railway (GWR) and the London North Eastern Railway (LNER), with significant disruptions now expected. The Department for Transport said in a statement today that cracks had been found in the chassis of some of the trains during routine safety checks. The department [...]
Travel green list: Brits can go to Portugal and Israel from 17 May May 8, 2021 Brits will be able to travel to destinations including Portugal and Israel from 17 May, transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced. He said that 12 countries, including the two above and as Gibraltar, would be on the government’s travel “green list”. Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, and Iceland make up the rest of the list, [...]
Aston Martin narrows losses as sales more than double May 6, 2021 Aston Martin has staged somewhat of a recovery in the first quarter, narrowing its losses as sales to dealers more than doubled. The carmaker posted a smaller first-quarter loss of £42.2m compared with the £110.1m posted in the same period last year. Coronavirus restrictions have hit Aston Martin’s sales hard and last year it asked [...]
Trainline posts £100m loss as sales drop through the floor May 6, 2021 Trainline has reported a huge £100m loss for the year as lockdown restrictions sent sales plummeting. The company reported an operating loss of £100m compared to an operating profit of £2m the previous year, as net ticket sales plummeted 79 per cent to £783m. The FTSE 250 firm’s revenue dropped 74 per cent from £261m [...]
Demand for food delivery helps Uber narrow losses in the first quarter May 5, 2021 Uber said it saw continued demand for its food delivery business in the first quarter but bookings in its ride-hailing division were flat on the previous quarter. The company delivered revenue of $2.9bn in the first quarter but took a $600m hit to account for a settlement relating to the classification of its UK drivers. [...]
Stockpile key battery metals to avoid ‘looming mismatch’, governments warned May 5, 2021 Governments around the world should consider strategically stockpiling metals critical for energy transition technologies to avoid the “looming mismatch” between their climate intentions and the availability of such materials. A new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) today said that countries should act now to shore up supplies of metals such as nickel, lithium, [...]
Travel finance start-up raises £10m to build up US operations May 5, 2021 A new fintech firm offering users the chance to split the cost of travel over 12 months has raised another £10m in funding, it was announced today. Start-up Fly Now Pay Later has now raised a total of £45m in funding following the close of its latest round, co-led by asset management firms Revenio Capital and [...]
Reopening of showrooms boosts new car sales in April May 5, 2021 The reopening of England’s car showrooms boosted sales of new vehicles in April, prompting the car industry to hail the “light at the end of the tunnel” after lockdown. In total, 141,583 new vehicles were registered last month, a thirty-fold jump on the same month a year ago, when the initial coronavirus lockdown all but [...]
Stellantis beats revenue expectations but warns chip shortage could slow it down May 5, 2021 Stellantis beat analyst forecasts for revenue in its first quarter as a new entity but warned that the global semiconductor shortage would slow down production in the second quarter. The car giant, which was formed by the mega-merger of Peugeot-owner PSA and Fiat Chrysler, said revenue came in a €37bn for the quarter, ahead of [...]
Airline passenger numbers creep higher as holidaymakers await green light May 5, 2021 Covid-19 passenger restrictions continued to squeeze airlines’ passenger numbers in April, a year on from the start of the pandemic, although there were some chinks of light for the sector. Ryanair said it flew 1m people last month, twice as many as it did in March, but still millions short of its normal capacity. Compared [...]