Defence contractor Babcock burned by £10m Brexit cost to aerial firefighting business February 26, 2019 Shares in defence contractor Babcock dropped this morning as it admitted it will take a £10m Brexit hit, because of restructuring its aerial firefighting businesses to meet European operating requirements. The Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) second-biggest supplier said while the initial blow would be from tax, it will also cost an extra £10m a year to operate [...]
How to stop worrying about being run over by a robot car February 26, 2019 Depending on who you ask, we are either very close or very far from having millions of autonomous vehicles on the roads. What few question is that we will eventually see widespread take-up; the opportunities for improved road safety are unparalleled. But driverless cars also offer a great exemplar of the wider automation debate, and the [...]
Ford links up with London startup What3words for a new way to map the world February 26, 2019 Ford is ramping up its innovation plans as the US car giant today announces a partnership with London startup What3words. The tie-up means drivers will be able to link the What3words app, which has mapped out the globe into 57 trillion 3m-by-3m squares using unique three-word addresses, with Ford's in-car navigation system. The technology will reduce address input errors [...]
Crossrail bosses hope to give estimate for new opening date ‘by April’ February 25, 2019 London mayor Sadiq Khan has said there is no date that Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild can give "with confidence" for when the delayed railway will open, but that he hopes to give an estimate by the end of this financial quarter. The £17.6bn Elizabeth Line, which will stretch from Shenfield in the east to Reading in the [...]
Acquisition-heavy Bunzl drops from all-time share high as margins get squeezed February 25, 2019 Bunzl stumbled from an all-time high share price this morning as the company’s margins were squeezed to a several-year low. The figures The distribution and sourcing firm grew revenue six per cent to £9.1bn in the 2018 financial year, it announce this morning. Adjusted operating profit, which strips out acquisition costs, some pensions charges and [...]
DEBATE: Would scrapping peak and off-peak rail fares lead to a better train ticketing system? February 25, 2019 Would scrapping peak and off-peak rail fares lead to a better train ticketing system? Ben Glover, researcher at Demos, says YES. Rail travel offers lots to moan about, but little is more frustrating than the irrationality of ticket prices. Why can a single ticket cost the same as a return? Why can trains leaving minutes apart [...]
U-Lez Miserable? London’s small businesses need support on new emissions rules February 25, 2019 A week is a long time in politics, or so goes the famous adage by former Prime Minister Harold Wilson. And it is apparent that a week and a half will be a very long time indeed in the world of small businesses, between 29 March and 8 April. With our departure from the European [...]
Total could face massive shock as energy broker Utilitywise goes bankrupt February 24, 2019 Oil major Total may lose thousands of small business customers after Utilitywise went out of business earlier this month. The French giant is one of the UK’s biggest non-domestic energy suppliers, and stands to lose out more than others from Utilitywise’s collapse, the Sunday Times reported. Read more: Lights out: Around 1,000 jobs at risk [...]
Government should cap Heathrow passenger charges says British Airways owner IAG February 24, 2019 One of the world’s largest carriers has called on the government to cap the amount passengers are charged for travelling through Heathrow. IAG, the owner of British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus, hit out at the airport for benefiting its shareholders at the expense of passengers. Read more: Over 80m passengers flew through Heathrow Airport [...]
BMW and Daimler launch urban mobility joint venture February 22, 2019 BMW and Daimler have launched a sustainable mobility joint venture including ride-hailing, parking and electric car charging services. The firms will invest more than €1bn to develop their urban mobility businesses and the merger brings together car-sharing services Reach Now and Share Now, charging service Charge Now, ride-hailing service Free Now and parking app Park Now. [...]