Water firms slammed over ‘unacceptable’ environmental performance July 13, 2021 Southern Water and South West Water have this morning been slammed over their environmental record, which the sector watchdog called “consistently unacceptable”. According to the Environment Agency’s latest annual report into the UK’s water firms, no single company hit all the targets laid out for the 2015-2020 period. Although pollution incidents declined for the second [...]
FAA finds new fault in Dreamliner in latest Boeing setback July 13, 2021 The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that it had found another fault in undelivered Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes. The aerospace giant will have to fix the issue before the jets can be delivered, it added. According to the FAA, the issue poses no immediate threat to flight safety. The issue in question is “near [...]
Halfords goes digital with launch of separate software platform July 13, 2021 Car and bike retailer Halfords has entered the software industry by launching B2B firm Avayler, it was announced this morning. The software, which was developed for Halford’s garages, will allow users to streamline their delivery processes. It’s first customer will be American Tire Distributors (ATD), one of the largest suppliers to the replacement tire industry [...]
Forward Partners confirms £36.5m AIM listing July 13, 2021 Tech-focused venture capital firm Forward Partners will list on London’s AIM market later this month with a market capitalisation of £134.6m. The firm said that its listing was oversubscribed, and would raise proceeds of £36.5m, which it will use to fund future investments. Blackrock and Draper Espirit are both backing the listing, having committed to [...]
Government scraps TfL bus service review due to extra restrictions July 12, 2021 Transport for London (TfL) will no longer have to carry out a review of bus services levels in July after the government agreed to waive the step after concerns were raised. Under TfL’s latest six-month funding package, the transport operator had to undertake a review of bus passenger numbers in both July and September. But [...]
Ecotricity reveals £56m pursuit of Good Energy July 12, 2021 Ecotricity this morning revealed that it has made a number of offers to take control of the stock of fellow energy supplier Good Energy. The latest offer, which values the firm at £56.6m, is the third bid that Ecotricity has made for the Chippenham-based company. The bid offers a 18.9 per cent premium on Good [...]
Tate & Lyle confirms break-up with £1.2bn sweetener division sale July 12, 2021 Historic foodstuffs brand Tate & Lyle will be broken up, it confirmed this morning, as it sells off the controlling stake in its sweeteners division for £1.2bn. American private equity firm KPS Capital Partners will take a 50 per cent stake in Tate & Lyle’s “Primary Products” business, which makes commodities like artificial sweeteners and industrial [...]
Romanian flier Blue Air set for possible £500m London listing July 12, 2021 Romanian airline Blue Air will reportedly list on the London stock market in the autumn with a valuation that could be worth up to £500m. The low-cost carrier, which the Times said could make £250m from the float, is looking to mimic the success of Hungarian flier Wizz Air. At the moment, the airline has [...]
Admiral ups first half guidance after motor claims windfall July 12, 2021 Insurer Admiral this morning said that it was on track to make a higher than expected profit in the first half of 2021 after a boost in profit from its motor injury claims division. As a result, the firm said that it would pay out an interim dividend of between 110p and 125p per share. [...]
Heathrow passenger numbers remain on the floor as Europe recovers July 12, 2021 The number of passengers passing through Heathrow Airport remains down almost 90 per cent on pre-pandemic levels despite the recent easing of travel restrictions. Just 957,000 people used the airport in June, prompting executives to warn that it was lagging behind European rivals such as Charles de Gaulle. Over the last 12 months, passenger numbers [...]