Serco shares plummet. But it’s all part of a long and winding road to recovery, says its boss February 22, 2017 Serco's share price plummeted over 18 per cent after the FTSE 250 firm posted a 14 per cent fall in profits for the year to December. But analysts warned investors in the supply services giant would likely take flight owing to a cut to forecast earnings in 2018 and an increased tax bill. The figures Total revenue fell [...]
BT Openreach’s final board line-up is structurally flawed, says TalkTalk’s Dido Harding February 14, 2017 Openreach today revealed its final board line-up in a push to prove its independence from parent BT, only for the move to be branded "meaningless" by TalkTalk. LIz Benison, a high ranking executive at Serco, will take her place as a non-exec alongside chairman Mike McTighe, Edward Astle and Sir Brendan Barber. Openreach said the appointment means independent [...]
Who owns the UK’s railways? Well, not British firms in many cases January 11, 2017 The sale of the C2C rail franchise – labelled by consumer groups as the best network into London – has once again sparked concerns that Britain's railways are being taken over by foreign, often state-owned, firms. National Express' sale of its final franchise in the UK was part of the FTSE 250 firm's strategy to target [...]
The Gulf States see great opportunities in Britain’s bright post-Brexit future December 8, 2016 Prime Minister Theresa May is in Bahrain, meeting with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), spearheading the UK government’s plans to “turbo-charge” trade with this important trading bloc. In doing so Mrs May has gone into the history books as the first British Prime Minister to attend the annual GCC Summit, and also the [...]
10m journeys have been made with Sadiq Khan’s new bus Hopper fare October 20, 2016 Over 10m journeys have been made in the first six weeks of the Mayor's new bus "Hopper" fare, according to Transport for London (TfL). The milestone journey was made at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon on bus route 322, running from Tesco in Brent Park to Paddington Station. Read more: TfL signs £79m deal with Serco [...]
Bike-sharing app Cycle.land is coming to the capital October 10, 2016 Londoners will soon have a wealth of options should they want to get on their bikes. It was recently announced the popular Boris bikes were getting a revamp and now a new bike-sharing company is hoping to win over the capital. Read more: TfL signs £79m deal with Serco to upgrade London's Boris bikes Cycle.land launched in Oxford in [...]
Businesses and transport experts look to Autumn Statement for Hammond to flesh out infrastructure promises October 3, 2016 Businesses have welcomed Philip Hammond's promises to bolster infrastructure today, but warn they'll be watching him carefully to follow through in the Autumn Statement. Speaking at the Conservative party conference, the new chancellor of the exchequer warned that public infrastructure, including "our roads, railways and flood defences", was in dire condition compared with similarly developed countries, thanks [...]
Picks of the day: The three stories to read today October 3, 2016 It’s Monday again, and you're probably looking for something to help take your mind of the work load. We’ve done the legwork for you, and put together the top stories people are talking about today in bite-sized form, just to make your life that bit easier. Check out our 3 at 3 Christmas Tube Strikes? [...]
TfL signs £79.7m five year deal with Serco to upgrade the capital’s thousands of Boris bikes October 3, 2016 Transport for London (TfL) has signed a deal with Serco to develop the next generation of London’s cycle hire scheme, Santander Cycles. The five year contract is valued at £79.7m and Serco will distribute and maintain the hire scheme, while the upgraded bike will be made by Pashley Cycles, a Stratford-upon-Avon firm which celebrated its [...]
Serco lands £600m contract with Barts Health NHS Trust in London September 22, 2016 Shares in outsourcing company Serco popped yesterday after it said it had been named as the prefered bidder for a whopping £600m contract with Barts Health in London. Shares leapt by almost two per cent on the announcement – the largest deal the company has won since 2014 – and ended trading yesterday up by [...]