Exclusive: Hydrogen fueling firm Element Two kicks off £30m funding round May 13, 2021 Hydrogen refuelling firm Element Two has today kicked off a new funding round as it looks to raise £30m in equity and debt to build up its network of distribution stations. The company, which is planning to deploy over 800 pumps onto the UK network by 2027, and 2000 by 2030, will use the proceeds [...]
Rolls-Royce sticks to guidance as wait for travel restart continues May 13, 2021 Engineer Rolls-Royce this morning maintained that it would return to positive free cash flow in the second half of 2021 as vaccinations kick in and travellers return to the skies. In a trading update this morning, the blue-chip stock said that its performance so far this year to had been in line with expectations. It comes [...]
First test trains run on Crossrail ahead of 2022 opening May 13, 2021 Initial testing on Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line has now kicked off, with four trains an hour now running on the line. It is the first phase in a series of major trials that must be completed before the much-delayed line opens in the first half of 2022. The firm also said it had handed over the [...]
Booking.com CEO: Business travel will never recover to pre-Covid levels May 13, 2021 The lucrative business travel market, which sees suited and booted executives fly between London, New York, Frankfurt and beyond and bolsters bottom lines at airlines and hotels globally, will never fully recover from Covid.
Electric scooter startup Bird to go public in £1.6bn SPAC deal May 12, 2021 Bird Rides announced a merger with Switchback II Corp, a blank-cheque company, to go public in a deal that values the electric scooter company at £1.6bn. SPACs are listed companies that use the proceeds from an IPO to buy a private firm and take it public. The scooter rental company said the deal will be [...]
Cost cutting drives National Express profit growth in first quarter May 12, 2021 Cost cutting helped coach operator National Express secure profit growth in the first quarter despite fewer journeys being taken during the pandemic. The travel company said performance is improving despite ongoing Covid restrictions, with April revenue up 50 per cent compared to last year, at the height of the first lockdown. Revenue is 16 per [...]
Tui’s half year revenues drop by nearly €6bn but summer holiday bookings surged in April May 12, 2021 Travel giant Tui took in €700m in sales in the half year to 31 March, down from €6.6bn the year prior, as borders remained closed, and summer holidays looked in doubt as destinations were lockdown. Shares in Tui slumped 3.3 per cent to 413p per share this morning. However, the travel company has since seen a slight [...]
Queue must be joking: Floridians rush out to panic buy fuel despite being unaffected by pipeline problem May 11, 2021 Long queues for petrol formed in Florida today as locals rushed out to panic buy fuel, despite being largely unaffected by the Colonial Pipeline outage. For the last few days residents in Tallahassee, a city in Floria, have rushed to fill up their vehicles with petrol, causing a local shortage of fuel, news website the [...]
British Airways owner IAG boosts liquidity with €800m convertible bond May 11, 2021 British Airways owner IAG is tapping investors for €800m to strengthen its balance sheet and take advantage of the easing of restrictions this summer. The FTSE-listed company has been hit hard by the pandemic with most of its fleet grounded due to travel restrictions. It has a weekly cash burn rate of €175m meaning its [...]
London’s bosses call on Khan and Shapps to fix ‘broken’ transport system May 11, 2021 The capital’s business leaders have called on Sadiq Khan and Grant Shapps today to fix London’s ‘broken’ transport system. The top signatories included bosses of Canary Wharf, Arcadis, the ExCeL and the New West End Company, who all signed off on the joint letter to the Mayor and Transport Secretary. The letter follows months of political [...]
