US investor urges First Group to split and pull out of ‘destructive’ UK rail network May 19, 2019 Activist hedge fund Coast Capital has issued a list of demands against First Group, including that it pull out of Britain's railways, split its UK and US assets and overhaul its board. Coast, a top ten shareholder in First, has said the group should separate its US assets, which it claims have a "much higher independent [...]
Taxman opens investigation into claims Uber owes £1bn in unpaid VAT May 19, 2019 HMRC has opened an investigation into Uber over allegations it owes around £1bn in unpaid VAT. Uber claims it is exempt from paying VAT because its drivers are self-employed and their earnings fall below the £85,000 threshold. However, HMRC is now looking into whether Uber is a transportation company and should therefore be liable to pay [...]
Commuters urged to plan travel as new rail timetable comes into force May 19, 2019 The rail industry has today pushed through its new summer timetable, a year after changes caused havoc across the country. An extra 1,000 services have been added per week to the timetable, with extra stops and longer trains. The train firms that were caught up in last year's chaos – in which thousands of services were [...]
Boeing completes 737 Max software update to fix cause of fatal crashes May 17, 2019 Boeing has completed the development of a software update for its 737 Max planes as it tries to get them back in the air. The aircrafts were grounded across the world following two fatal crashes – in Ethiopia and Indonesia – within five months, claiming the lives of all 346 people on board them. Read [...]
Easyjet losses soar to £275m on higher fuel prices and Gatwick drone chaos May 17, 2019 Losses shot up at Easyjet to £275m in the first half of the year, in line with expectations, the company showed this morning as it was forced to deal with lower revenues per seat. The figures Easyjet saw losses before tax deepen to £275m in the six months to the end of March, figures showed today. The [...]
Canary Wharf Group in spat with Crossrail over station’s £80m safety bill May 16, 2019 The Canary Wharf Group has hit back at Crossrail over claims that an extra £80m has been spent to make the Elizabeth Line station comply with TfL safety standards. The group, which built the station and contributed £150m to the total cost, said it "categorically dismissed" comments made by Crossrail boss Mark Wild yesterday, in which he [...]
Thank Yu very much: Yu Group soars as FCA drops investigation into £10m accounting black hole May 16, 2019 Yu Group shares jumped by more than four fifths today as the Financial Conduct Authority dropped an investigation into the energy company. The FCA decided to take no action against Yu over an accounting error which cost the company £10m last year. Read more: Yu Group shares plunge 80 per cent as it warns profits [...]
TfL rakes in £220,000 a day from mayor Sadiq Khan’s Ulez pollution charge May 16, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) is earning nearly £220,000 a day from the new Ultra-Low Emission Zone (Ulez), which charges vehicles if they do not comply with strict pollution standards in the capital. Read more: Sadiq Khan's Ulez charge lands: How much will London drivers pay? Around 17,400 cars a day paid the £12.50 charge to [...]
French ride-hailing app Kapten puts Uber in its sights as it launches in London May 16, 2019 French ride-hailing app Kapten has taken a swipe at Uber after launching in London this morning. Read more: Uber IPO: Shares slide again on second day of trading The private-hire vehicle company, formerly called Chauffeur Prive, has set up shop in the capital after winning approval from Transport for London. The firm, which is backed [...]
Lift off: Flying taxi startup hopes to revolutionise city travel by 2025 May 16, 2019 Ever been stuck in a traffic jam, wishing you could take to the skies and leapfrog the gridlocked cars below? German startup Lilium hopes that by 2025, it will let you do just that, after staging a successful maiden flight of a prototype five-seater flying taxi, capable of whisking passengers from place to place above [...]