Government unveils biggest ever renewable power auction round September 13, 2021 The government today unveiled the biggest ever funding round for its flagship renewable energy scheme as it seeks to accelerate investment into green energy sources. Under the fourth round of the Contract-for-Difference programme, £200m will be made available to support the development of offshore wind farms. By the end of the decade, ministers have set [...]
First Group shares up as bus firm confirms £500m payout September 13, 2021 Shares in transport operator First Group rose 4.0 per cent this morning as the firm confirmed it would return £500m to shareholders through a tender process. In a statement ahead of today’s AGM, the FTSE 250 firm said that it was trading in line with expectations for the year so far. It said that bus [...]
Getlink to launch new cross-Channel rail freight service September 13, 2021 Getlink has today announced that it will launch a new rail service which will allow freight to cross the Channel totally unaccompanied. The firm, which manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel between England and France, will open the new service on 18 September. The new service, which will operate six days a [...]
Rolls-Royce and Babcock sell stakes in RAF refuelling business for £315m September 13, 2021 Industrial heavyweights Babcock and Rolls-Royce today sold off their respective stakes in Air Tanker, the company which owns the RAF’s fleet of refuelling planes. The two firms, which owned a combined 40 per cent of Air Tanker, are both on something of a disposal spree after taking a hefty hit from the pandemic. Rolls-Royce, which [...]
Heathrow now 10th busiest European airport as passenger slump goes on September 13, 2021 Heathrow Airport has this morning urged ministers to streamline the UK’s travel restrictions as it revealed it had fallen to 10th on the list of Europe’s busiest airports. It said that passenger numbers at the airport last month were down 71 per cent on pre-pandemic levels. It blamed the ongoing slump on “ever-changing restrictions, expensive [...]
Scrap travel restrictions for fully vaccinated people, aviation industry begs September 13, 2021 Representatives for the aviation industry have written to Grant Shapps to demand that travel restrictions be scrapped for those who are double vaccinated. In a letter to the Transport Secretary, Airlines UK and the Airport Operators Association (AOA) said that the UK was lagging behind the rest of Europe in terms of the sector’s recovery. [...]
Oil prices push back as effects of Hurricane Ida hit supply September 10, 2021 Global oil prices pushed past the $73 mark this morning as crude supplies tightened on the back of Hurricane Ida. Worldwide standard Brent crude rose 2.2 per cent to $73.02, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose 2.4 per cent to $69.80. Since Ida made landfall in the US at the end of August, causing [...]
PCR test providers need more regulation, says competition watchdog September 10, 2021 The UK’s competition watchdog has warned that greater regulation of the PCR Covid testing market is required amid fears that competition alone “will not deliver the right outcomes for consumers”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that without such provisions, testing firms could begin to compete on grounds other than quality, leading to a [...]
Fifth England-India Test cancelled due to fears of Covid outbreak in Indian team September 10, 2021 The fifth Test match between England and India, which was due to start at Old Trafford today, has been cancelled due fears of an outbreak of Covid cases in the Indian team. In a statement the English Cricket Board confirmed that the match, the final game of the series, had been called off. “Due to [...]
Toyota cuts annual production target as semiconductor shortage and Covid outbreaks weigh September 10, 2021 Car giant Toyota today said that it would slash its global production target by 300,000 units as a combination of the semiconductor shortage and the coronavirus continue to hammer output. Having already announced that it would cut production in September alone by 360,000 cars, the Japanese automaker said it would have to reduce output by [...]
