TfL funding uncertainty puts vital HS2 link ‘at risk’ June 4, 2021 Vital London transport projects, including a new rail branch deemed vital to the success of HS2, may have to be mothballed due to continued uncertainty over Transport for London’s future funding. Earlier this week the government gave the transport network yet another short-term deal, worth around £1.1bn, much to TfL’s dismay. But now a new [...]
Power generators Contour Global continue Italian expansion in €50m deal June 4, 2021 Power generation firm Contour Global has today snapped up a fleet of Italian solar plants from a group of private investors for €49.7m. The new assets, which have a combined generation capacity of 18 megawatts, increase the FTSE 250 firm’s footprint in the country to 83 megawatts. It said that the deal, which it struck [...]
Sunak ‘confident’ of tech tax progress ahead of G7 finance meeting June 4, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he is “confident” of making “concrete progress” towards a global deal for taxing digital giants when the G7 finance ministers meet over the weekend. Taxing firms such as Amazon and Facebook has become an area of disagreement between the US and a number of other countries. Earlier this week the [...]
Travel bosses fume as Portugal axed and no new countries added to UK’s travel ‘green list’ June 3, 2021 Travel bosses fume as Portugal axed and no new countries added to UK's travel 'green list'
Trafigura ‘warned’ Credit Suisse over ‘suspect’ GFG invoice June 3, 2021 Commodities trading house Trafigura warned Credit Suisse over a suspect invoice from Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance in July 2020, it has emerged. The so-called receivable, the FT reported, indicated that Trafigura owed money to Liberty Commodities, the metal trading arm of Gupta’s conglomerate. Prior to going bust in March, Greensill, GFG’s main financier, would lend [...]
Services sector expanded at fastest rate in 24 years in May June 3, 2021 The UK’s service industry saw business activity grow at its fastest rate in 24 years last month as the reopening of the country’s economy after the pandemic continued apace. The UK Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for services rose to 62.9 in May, up from 61 in April. Any score above 50 indicates growth. It [...]
Jet2 bolsters balance sheet by £537m as travel downturn goes on June 3, 2021 Package holiday firm Jet2 has today taken steps to shore up its finances to the tune of more than £500m as the wait for a full-scale return to travel goes on. The firm, which has cancelled all of its holidays until 24 June due to the ongoing travel “uncertainty”, said it had signed a new [...]
Pennon turns on the taps with £425m Bristol Water deal June 3, 2021 Utilities firm Pennon this morning announced that it had bought Bristol Water for £425m as it consolidates its position as the south-west’s largest water company. Alongside the deal the FTSE 100 firm said that it would pay out a special dividend of £1.5bn to shareholders, as well as kick off a £400m share buyback. Shares [...]
Portugal under threat as ministers set to update travel ‘green list’ June 3, 2021 Ministers will today meet to sign off on changes to the UK’s travel “green list”, with reports that popular holiday destination Portugal could be switched to “amber” after a surge in cases. Speaking about the update yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the government would not hesitate to suspend quarantine-free travel if necessary. “You’ve [...]
Sensor maker Chemring on track despite headwinds June 3, 2021 FTSE 250 defence firm Chemring today said it was on track to hit its full year targets as both profit and revenue jumped in the first half. The company said that underlying profit before tax was up 12 per cent to £27.2m, while revenue grew 4.0 per cent to reach £198.5m. The Romsey-based firm, which [...]
