Costain enforces high-tech approach as profits blossom August 22, 2018 Costain Group reported growing profit margins this morning in the wake of a business shift towards technology-driven markets. Underlying profit climbed to £22.8m during the first six months of 2018, rising eight per cent from the same period in the previous year. The FTSE Small Cap infrastructure contractor announced an eight per cent hike in [...]
Carillion was ‘like a Ponzi scheme’ and inadequately scrutinised by government, top auditor says August 22, 2018 Carillion was “like a Ponzi scheme” and was inadequately scrutinised by the government, the UK's longest-serving auditor general has said. Sir John Bourn said he was “appalled” at the government for continuing to hand the outsourcing giant contracts, such as HS2, despite warnings. The outsourcing company, which had hundreds of public contracts that ranged from [...]
Warm weather adds sunshine to Grafton Group profits despite flat expectations August 22, 2018 Builders’ merchanting business Grafton Group posted a nine per cent revenue rise in the first half of 2018, despite warning that overall conditions in the UK market were set to remain flat for the rest of the year. Revenue climbed to £1.45bn in the six months leading up to the end of June, as the [...]
Capita poaches Go-Ahead finance boss amid restructuring plan August 21, 2018 Outsourcing group Capita has snapped up the chief financial officer of transport group Go-Ahead to head up its own finance division. The company, which runs London's congestion charge scheme and collects the UK's TV licence fee, will announce the move of Patrick Butcher later this week according to reports from Sky News. Butcher will takeover [...]
Uber nabs former Merrill Lynch CFO as top finance boss in race to go public August 21, 2018 Ride-hailing giant Uber today filled the long-standing vacancy of chief financial officer, easing investor concerns ahead of its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019. The spot, which was left empty after its previous occupant Brent Callinicos departed in 2015, has been plugged by financial services veteran Nelson J. Chai. Chai joins Uber [...]
Flying taxis could be heading for London as German aviation firm opens discussions with the City August 21, 2018 Flying taxis transporting people around London could soon become a reality after a German aviation company said it was looking at how its autonomous vehicles could work in the City. Volocopter unveiled its air taxi infrastructure for cities – including landing stations on top of buildings, hotels, at transport hubs and shopping centres – earlier [...]
Back to school: Gatwick Airport displays flight information on whiteboards following IT glitch August 20, 2018 Gatwick Airport was forced to use whiteboards to relay information to passengers about their flights after an IT glitch caused its computer systems to break down yesterday. Passengers travelling at the UK's second biggest airport were hit with the problem from about 4.30am yesterday morning, although Gatwick was keen to point out that the IT [...]
Ride-hailing firm Ola kicks off operations in UK August 20, 2018 Uber rival Ola today launched its first services in the UK, as it started operations across South Wales in Cardiff, Newport and Vale of Glamorgan. The Indian firm, which has 125m customers worldwide, says it will offer drivers high introductory commission rates. Customers will also be given discounts on journeys using the ride-hailing app. The company said [...]
Why ports are crucial to an ambitious, globally successful Britain August 20, 2018 The United Kingdom was built on trade and our prosperity has long depended on the goods that travel through our great ports. But our ports also have a brilliant future in front of them. That is why we are proud to be associated with a new campaign initiative from our sector, UK Ports for International [...]
Sadiq Khan tells government: Give me the power to limit number of cars August 15, 2018 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has demanded new powers to bring in a controversial cap on the number of private hire vehicles (PHVs) operating in the capital, following a similar clampdown in New York. Last week New York became the first major American city to introduce the one-year cap on cars used by platforms such [...]