Stagecoach threatens legal action after rail franchise bids spurned by Chris Grayling April 14, 2019 Stagecoach is threatening legal action after the government spurned bids for three rail franchises in a row over pensions. Lawyers for the train and coach operator have written to the Department for Transport (DfT), which Chris Grayling leads, demanding answers as to why it was barred from bidding for the West Coast, South Eastern and [...]
Biggin Hill boss says Britain must become more competitive as Brexit causes private jet slump April 14, 2019 London's business aviation market is down 5.5 per cent on last year as uncertainty around Brexit continues to bite, a boss at one of London's busiest private jet airports has said. Robert Walters, business development director at London Biggin Hill Airport, said "the number one message" he was receiving from customers was that they needed [...]
Amey ‘makes fresh £300m bid’ for freedom from Birmingham roadworks contract April 14, 2019 Outsourcer Amey has offered £300m to Birmingham city council in a bid to free itself from a 25-year contract to repair roads in the city, according to reports. Read more: FRC investigates Grant Thornton audits of Interserve The struggling UK company has been trying to buy its way out of the troublesome contract for months, after [...]
Uber IPO: Six things you need to know April 13, 2019 After Uber unveiled its pitch to investors ahead of the company's initial public offering, here are six of the most significant things to know. Revenue is plateauing As Uber continue to prioritise growth over profits, the ride-hailing giant's revenue has plateaued. The firm reported an adjusted loss before interest and tax of $1.9bn for 2018, 15 per [...]
Thames Water outlines refund policy if Labour nationalise utilities April 13, 2019 Thames Water has told investors they will be able to demand a refund if Labour come into power and nationalise the utility after inserting a new clause into to its outstanding bonds. In a stock market document to the Irish Stock Exchange, the company outlined Labour's policies of renationalising water, among other utilities like gas and electricity, as [...]
Facebookers prepare to take the bus as National Express buys Californian shuttle stake April 12, 2019 The National Express Group has bought a majority stake in Californian shuttle service, WeDriveU, for $84.3m (£64.5m). The transport operator has purchased a 60 per cent share in the American company, which drives workers around Silicon Valley to their jobs at firms like Facebook, Tesla and Amazon. Read more: Indian airline Jet Airways grounds international flights [...]
London Oxford Street traffic brought to standstill by climate change protest April 12, 2019 Around 1,000 student strikers caused traffic chaos in central London today as part of a climate change demonstration. Read more: Working groups established to help finance sector deal with climate change The protesters blocked Oxford Street at the intersection with Regent Street as the third nationwide climate protest turned into a march. Queuing traffic spilled [...]
AA: A sustainable recovery of its own? April 12, 2019 | City Talk After a decent start to 2019, our head of markets kicks the tyres after these uninspiring results. There is certainly a great deal going on under the bonnet at AA (LSE:AA.), although by its own admission there remains much to be done. One measure of progress is the number of contract wins the company has [...]
Indian airline Jet Airways grounds all international flights as money woes grow April 12, 2019 Struggling Indian airline Jet Airways has reportedly cancelled all its international flights today, after it grounded 10 aircraft yesterday for financial reasons. The cash-strapped airline has cancelled all international flights, Indian media reports. Read more: Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal to stand down from board According to its website, its flights scheduled to depart today [...]
Liz Truss is right to hit the brakes – HS2 would put us all on the train to nowhere April 12, 2019 The bogeyman of politics may be ousted for good, if the chief secretary to the Treasury has anything to say about it. I’m not referring to our Halloween Brexit, but rather High-Speed 2 – a follow-on from the first high-speed rail project, mapping a fast route from London to Birmingham, with branches to Manchester and Leeds [...]