Thomas Cook joint venture secures €51m from Spanish bank to fund hotel investments February 4, 2019 Thomas Cook has secured €51m (£45m) in funding from Spain's CaixaBank to build new hotels in Spain and the Mediterranean. Thomas Cook Hotel Investments (TCHI), the travel group's joint venture with LMEY Investments, today secured its second round of debt funding, taking the total amount raised in the last three months by TCHI to €91m after Piraeus Bank [...]
HMRC says EU goods will be waved through UK ports without checks in event of no-deal Brexit February 4, 2019 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has said EU imports will not be subject to extra checks at UK ports in the event of a "no deal" Brexit. In recent months freight companies have warned that leaving the EU without a deal would lead to miles-long queues at major ports such as Dover due to the possibility [...]
Government could pull £60m support package for Nissan as X-Trail production moves to Japan February 4, 2019 The government may withdraw a multi-million pound support package for Nissan after the car manufacturer ditched plans to build its new fleet of SUVs in Sunderland. Ministers are considering pulling a £60m package offered to the car manufacturer after it pledged to keep production in the UK after Brexit, the Times reported. Read more: Nissan [...]
Flybe to give investors a vote on chairman’s future as major shareholder applies pressure over Virgin bid February 4, 2019 Flybe will ask shareholders to vote on whether or not to remove its chairman as the struggling airline tries to keep a cut-price takeover on course in the face of investor pressure. The budget flyer, which is set to be taken over by a group led by Virgin Atlantic, has agreed to set a date [...]
Ryanair falls to €20m loss as O’Leary signs new five-year contract February 4, 2019 Budget airline Ryanair today said it suffered a €20m (£17.5m) loss in the third quarter of its financial year, blaming weaker ticket prices. The airline also said that longstanding chief executive Michael O’Leary had signed a five-year contract for the role of group chief executive, as the company moves to a new structure. Read more: Ryanair [...]
London private jet airports Farnborough and Biggin Hill saw double-digit growth in 2018 February 4, 2019 London's Farnborough and Biggin Hill airports saw double-digit growth in 2018, despite uncertainty around Brexit and aviation. Along with Luton, London's top three airports generated 73,000 private jet movements last year, compared with the 54,000 movements recorded in Paris Le Bourget, Europe's busiest airport for private jets. Last year was the busiest year for Farnborough airport, famed for [...]
Gig economy couriers win minimum wage and holiday pay with Hermes February 4, 2019 Self-employed couriers at Hermes will be given a minimum hourly wage and holiday pay in a deal the company calls a world first. Employees who opt in to the scheme will be guaranteed to earn at least £8.55 per hour and get up to 28 days paid holiday a year. Hermes said it had reached the [...]
There’s more to Nissan’s X-Trail move than Brexit, but there’s no denying the cost of uncertainty February 3, 2019 The UK may or may not leave the EU on 29 March, and if it does the departure may or may not be facilitated by a formal withdrawal agreement. Unfortunately that's about as precise as anyone can be at the moment. With politicians still wrangling over the kind of Brexit that may emerge, businesses from [...]
Government faces test as Chinese buyers line up for major UK energy grid February 3, 2019 The government's approach to foreign investment could be tested this month as Chinese buyers line up for a major UK energy network. State-owned operators State Grid Corporation of China and China Southern Power Grid are looking at Electricity North West, which is expected to fetch £2bn at auction, the Sunday Times reported. It has also [...]
Nissan confirms it will move X-Trail production plans from Sunderland to Japan February 3, 2019 Carmaker Nissan has confirmed it is ditching plans to build its new fleet of SUVs in Sunderland in favour of producing them at a Japanese plant amid continued uncertainty around Brexit. In 2016 Nissan announced it would produce its next generation SUV, the X-Trail, in Sunderland to sell to the European market. The carmaker confirmed [...]