Saga warns travel business hit by coronavirus-related cancellations and fall in bookings March 5, 2020 Over 50s travel and insurance business Saga warned today that coronavirus-inspired cancellations and low demand in its travel arm could hit its full year earnings. The cruise ship-operator said it had seen a “higher level of cancellations for departures in the near-term and more generally a lower level of bookings for departures further out”. It [...]
Government at risk of another Carillion-style failure, warns report March 4, 2020 The government is at risk of another Carillion-style collapse if it does not support the reforms proposed after the outsourcing giant’s collapse two years ago. In a new report, the Institute for Government (IfG) has said that the government has “not consistently” followed the Cabinet Office’s new guidelines as to how large contracts are awarded [...]
HS2: Top civil servant admits to withholding information on cost blow out March 4, 2020 Whitehall’s top transport civil servant appeared to admit to withholding information that showed HS2 would go over budget in a parliamentary committee hearing today. The Department for Transport’s (DfT) permanent secretary Bernadette Kelly answered questions from the Public Accounts Committee on the controversial project. The high speed rail line – connecting London, Birmingham, Crewe, Manchester [...]
Flybe on the brink of bankruptcy after coronavirus hits demand – report March 4, 2020 Flybe could collapse into bankruptcy tonight as coronavirus outbreak saw a slump in demand at the regional carrier, which is reportedly in last ditch rescue talks with the government. Earlier the Financial Times reported that Flybe was set to miss out on a £100m loan from the government, meaning that the embattled regional carrier’s survival [...]
Volkswagen signs three year electric vehicle home charging partnership with Centrica March 4, 2020 Volkswagen has agreed a three-year partnership with energy supplier Centrica to roll out electric vehicle home charging hardware across the UK. The deal comes after Volkswagen’s commitment to introduce 80 electric and plug-in hybrid models by 2025, with estimated sales of up to 3m a year by that date. In the summer the firm will [...]
Virgin Atlantic CEO takes 20 per cent pay cut on coronavirus fears March 4, 2020 Virgin Atlantic chief executive Shai Weiss will take a 20 per cent pay cut between April and June as the world’s airlines continue to be battered by the coronavirus outbreak. The rest of the executive team have agreed to a 15 per cent decrease as the Sir Richard Branson-backed airline battles the slump in demand [...]
Chinese passenger car sales fall 80 per cent in February March 4, 2020 Sales of passenger cars in China fell 80 per cent in February due to the coronavirus impact, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The industry body did not give an exact sales figure, but earlier this month had reported that for the first 16 days of February only 4,909 units were sold, down [...]
Hostelworld shares fall as it warns of £3.5m coronavirus blow March 4, 2020 Hostelworld warned the coronavirus outbreak has hurt 2020 bookings today as the virus ravages the travel sector, after slashing its 2019 dividend to invest in expansion. The Covid-19 outbreak prompted Hostelworld to warn it will take a €3m (£2.6m) to €4m (£3.5m) hit to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) in the first [...]
Wizz Air cancels Italian flights as airline warns demand could drop 10 per cent on coronavirus fears March 4, 2020 Budget airline Wizz Air has warned that it could cut capacity by as much as 10 per cent from next month as fears over the coronavirus impact hit passenger demand. The Hungarian carrier said that due to the impact on European air travel, it had adjusted its flight schedule to Italian destinations between 11 March [...]
Driverless car startup Five raises $41m investment from Direct Line and Airbnb backer March 4, 2020 London tech firm Five has today closed $41m in funding from a slew of new investors, including Trustbridge Partners, Direct Line and Sistema VC. The series B fundraising was supported by existing backers Lakestar, Amadeus Capital Partners, Kindred Capital and Notion Capital — which between them have backed the likes of Airbnb, Klarna, Graphcore and [...]