Letters to the Editor – 03/02 – Investment record, Best of Twitter
Investment record
[Re: The bonus culture isn’t to blame for a collapse in corporate investment, Friday]
I am writing to correct PJ Davies’s spurious analysis, which criticised Stagecoach for allegedly “buying back shares rather than reinvesting”. The facts tell the opposite story. We have returned significant cash to shareholders – around £1.27bn over the last nine years. At the same time, Stagecoach has invested heavily right through the recession, helping support British manufacturing and smaller companies in the supply chain through orders for £445m of new buses in the last six years alone. Our customers also benefit from the lowest bus fares of any national operator in the UK. Taxpayers have also shared in our success. We make more than £300m in annual payments to government from our rail franchises, providing significant income to be invested in vital public services which benefit communities across the country.
Steven Stewart, director of communications, Stagecoach Group
The discussion of UK corporate investment has placed far too much blame on business. Confidence in the future of the economy is vital for private sector spending, and it’s unfair to chastise firms when the route of our recovery remains unclear.
Name withheld
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