Unite plans 23 days of strikes at Heathrow over ‘fire and rehire’ plans March 17, 2021 Unite this afternoon said that it was planning 23 days of strikes at Heathrow Airport from the beginning of April in protest at the airport’s restructuring plans. There will be 41 strikes over the period, the union said, ending on 25 April. Unite said that the strike had been called because of the airport’s decision [...]
BT and Vodafone shares rise on cut-price 5G spectrum auction March 17, 2021 Shares in BT and Vodafone pushed higher today after the mobile networks secured bargain deals in the latest auction of 5G airwaves. Regulator Ofcom this morning said that it had raised £1.4bn from the sale of additional capacity to support 5G mobile coverage. The figure was well below analyst forecasts, leaving the telcos with more [...]
Waterloo and City line to reopen as early as May, London Underground chief says March 17, 2021 London Underground chief says Waterloo and City line to reopen as early as May
P&O will only accept vaccinated passengers for summer cruises March 17, 2021 Passengers embarking on P&O cruises around the UK this summer will have to have had two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, the Carnival-owned firm said this morning. Announcing a new programme of cruises to start from June, the company said: “Given the advanced progress of the UK vaccination programme, and strong expressed preference on the [...]
Half of BMW’s sales to be electric by 2030 March 17, 2021 One in every two cars sold by BMW will be a zero emissions vehicle by 2030, the German carmaker predicted today. The plans, which the auto maker set out this morning, are less ambitious than those of some of its rivals. But, chief executive Oliver Zipse said, BMW could speed up its plans if consumer [...]
UK airports saw fewest passengers last summer since 1975 March 17, 2021 Airports saw the lowest number of passengers pass through their gates last summer since 1975, new figures from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) show. Just 14.2m people travelled through UK airports last year from July to September, while across the whole year there were just 73.8m air passengers. The majority of these – two-thirds – [...]
SSP plots £475m rights issue to patch up battered balance sheet March 17, 2021 Upper Crust owner SSP today said that it would raise £475m through a rights issue to shore up its battered finances amid the ongoing pandemic. The travel food provider announced the raise as part of a suite of measures to tackle problems on its ailing balance sheet, warning that revenue would not return to pre-pandemic [...]
Serco nets new £870m support services contract in Canada March 17, 2021 Outsourcer Serco has this morning won a £870m contract to provide support services at a military base in Canada. The FTSE 250 firm has been providing non-military maintenance services at the Goose Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador province since 1998. For its initial 10 years, the deal is worth a maximum £400m, with the firm [...]
Hostelworld revenues plummet as bookings collapse March 17, 2021 Hostelworld saw its revenues collapse last year as the coronavirus pandemic put paid to booking volumes at the budget holiday firm. The company said that net bookings had fallen nearly four-fifths during the year, sinking its revenue from €80.7m to €15.4m. The fall meant the firm swung to an earnings loss of €17.3m, down from [...]
Government should crack down on Uighur forced labour in business supply chains, MPs say March 17, 2021 The government should toughen its anti-slavery measures to ensure that forced labour plays no part in the supply chains of major businesses, MPs have said. A report from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee said that there was “compelling evidence” that major retail, media, and fashion companies are “complicit” in the forced labour [...]
