Pandemic impact: Another 100,000 UK businesses tumble into financial distress April 22, 2021 Almost 100,000 more UK businesses have tumbled into financial distress in the past three months as the impact of the pandemic continued to weigh on firms, according to new research published this morning. The latest quarter Red Flag Alert report by insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor found that around 723,000 businesses were in “significant financial distress” [...]
Government plan leaves international travel restart ‘in jeopardy’ April 22, 2021 The “lack of clarity” in the government’s recent Global Travel Taskforce report leaves the reopening of international travel on 17 May “in jeopardy”, MPs have said. The Transport Select Committee has this morning said that the government’s framework for restarting travel lacks the necessary detail to actually facilitate such a process. And where such detail [...]
BA inks deal with £60 PCR test firm in boost to summer holiday plans April 21, 2021 Exclusive: BA inks deal provide £60 PCR tests in boost to summer holiday plans
World’s airlines face losses of nearly $50bn in 2021, IATA warns April 21, 2021 Global aviation body the International Air Transport Association (IATA) today warned that the world’s airlines could be facing combined losses of $47.7bn (£34.3bn) in 2021 due to Covid-19. Planes remain grounded around the world as travel restrictions continue to limit flying to a mere fraction of pre-pandemic levels. Although such a loss is a huge [...]
Going underground (again): Tube journeys up 40 per cent as hospitality reopens April 21, 2021 The number of people taking public transport in London surged back to levels not seen since October last week as punters flocked back to pubs, bars, and shops as they reopened. In total, there were about 1.4m Tube journeys made on 16 April, up from around 1m a week before – an increase of 40 [...]
Buzzbike CEO: Urban bike ownership will be dead in a decade April 21, 2021 It’s been a long-held belief that to make cities greener, more people need to own a bike. That’s not true; I’m of the firm belief that in fact, we’re witnessing the end of bike ownership in urban areas. At the peak of COVID last spring, Boris Johnson stood in his daily briefing and declared we [...]
Virgin Atlantic boss expects to fly full fleet by October April 21, 2021 Virgin Atlantic is eyeing October or November this year to be back flying its full fleet, its chief executive said today. The comment forecasts the end of the pandemic crisis for airlines, as the majority of flights have been grounded for over a year. “We are by no means out of this situation, we will [...]
Kier Group plans to raise up to £240m to ease debt pile April 21, 2021 Kier Group has said it plans to raise up to £240m by offering new shares as it looks to ease its debt burden. The construction firm said the proposed raise, which it plans to launch in the coming weeks, will help to bolster the group’s balance sheet by reducing net debt. The construction firm has [...]
The hidden impact of Brexit: Supply chains are failing UK trade and construction firms April 20, 2021 Since the reopening of the construction sector in the summer of 2020, confidence has been sky high, with last month’s the highest on record since 2014. According to figures from IHS Markit/CIPS, the growth of output had grown in line with increased commercial, domestic and civil engineering projects. These works have largely come in the form of restarting delayed projects, critically [...]
BA looks set to recover from pandemic, so why are its 40-something pilots giving up their gold-plated pensions? April 20, 2021 In turbulent times, when the future of a company is being called into question, it is not uncommon for staff to transfer out of their employer’s defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, if they have one. Although seen as “gold-plated”, some DB scheme members worry about their scheme falling to the pension lifeboat fund, and that [...]