UK airports renew business rates relief calls as job losses loom July 13, 2020 The UK’s airports have renewed their calls for the government to scrap business rates as the near-complete collapse in passenger numbers due to the coronavirus pandemic continued. The Airport Operators Association (AOA) today appealed to ministers to give airports a year of business rates relief in line with those received by members of the hospitality, [...]
G4S shares surge as it revises up earnings forecast July 13, 2020 Shares in security firm G4S have jumped nine per cent after it said a strong June has “significantly” boosted first-half earnings. In a short update, the international company said its “underlying earnings for the first six months of 2020 will be significantly above market consensus”. G4S put this down to “a resilient trading performance during [...]
Transport for London trials thermal cameras to spot Covid symptoms July 13, 2020 Buses operated by Transport for London (TfL) are being scanned with thermal imaging cameras in a new trial aimed at spotting fevers on public transport, as the capital begins to return to life after months of lockdown. Thermal imaging cameras detect small changes in temperature from a distance using infrared technology, and are used to [...]
Let’s transform our coastal communities into the beating heart of a green industrial revolution July 13, 2020 Covid-19 is set to do long-term damage to the communities of the three million people who live along the UK coastline. These communities often felt neglected even before the outbreak, and now they are especially vulnerable. Coastal constituencies overwhelmingly voted Conservative in the 2019 election on the promise of a “levelling up” agenda. Yet they [...]
Heathrow calls for help as passenger numbers crash 95 per cent July 13, 2020 Heathrow airport has called on the government to act faster to protect the aviation industry as it said passenger numbers crashed 95 per cent in June compared to a year earlier. The airport again hit out at the government’s travel quarantine policy, saying it has already hit capacity and linking it to the grounding of [...]
Virgin Atlantic set to announce £1bn rescue deal July 12, 2020 Virgin Atlantic is reportedly finalising a £1bn rescue deal that would save thousands of aviation jobs in the UK. The airline, founded by Richard Branson, is finalising a deal to release tens of millions of pounds in credit-card cash that was being withheld. Sky News last night reported that Virgin was trying to resolve a [...]
Amazon-backed Tesla rival Rivian picks up $2.5bn in single round July 10, 2020 Rivian, an electric truck-making startup backed by Amazon and Ford, has raised $2.5bn in a fresh funding round led by T. Rowe Price. The new round takes the total investment in Rivian to at least $6bn, including a $1.3bn round in December also led by T. Rowe Price. Rivian’s latest funding round was supported by [...]
Ofcom fines Royal Mail £1.5m for missing delivery target July 10, 2020 Ofcom today fined Royal Mail £1.5m for failing to meet its regulatory first-class delivery target in 2018. The company is required by Ofcom to deliver at least 93 per cnet of its first-class post within one working day, but it fell to 91.5 per cent in 2018/19. The regulator said the postal service failed to [...]
Thames Clippers expands east with new pier at Barking Riverside July 10, 2020 River bus service Thames Clippers is expanding its service east with a new pier at Barking Riverside, City A.M. can reveal. The pier, which will be delivered in 2021, is the service’s 24th and marks a four km expansion to the east. Co-founder of Thames Clippers Sean Collins told City A.M. that he had approached [...]
UK quarantine ends for 59 countries July 10, 2020 Passengers from abroad landing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland no longer have to self-isolate for two weeks as the government relaxed quarantine rules. Travellers from 59 countries and 14 overseas British territories are now exempt from the ban, although people from the US – where cases are still spiking – and Canada must still [...]