Tui in talks with Swiss firm Kuoni and American companies KKR and Warburg Pincus over Travelopia sale January 8, 2017 Tour operator Tui is in talks with Swiss rival Kuoni and American buyout giants KKR and Warburg Pincus over the sale of a range of travel websites. In September of last year, Europe's biggest tour operator confirmed it had asked Citigroup to find a buyer for specialist holiday arm Travelopia in a deal potentially worth €500-600m (£428m-£514m). [...]
City firms are preparing for the worst from Brexit – but hoping for the best December 19, 2016 Well, what a year 2016 has proven to be. The UK is preparing to leave the European Union; the US – one of the world’s largest importers – is preparing to welcome a protectionist President; while impending elections in France and Germany could potentially deliver political earthquakes. It will certainly go down in the history [...]
Lufthansa names telecoms boss to lead expansion of its Ryanair rival Eurowings December 7, 2016 German airline Lufthansa has plumped for a telecoms boss to drive expansion at its budget airline Eurowings. The board appointed Thorsten Dirks, chief executive of Telefonica Deutschland, to take over from Karl Ulrich Garnadt who's retiring from the board on 30 April next year. Dirks will take charge of Eurowings from 1 May. The airline [...]
Fancy some gluhwein? Yeah you do. Here are the best Christmas markets in Europe December 6, 2016 The traditional Christmas market has existed for centuries, and for the most part has remained relatively unchanged. Nativity scenes depict the birth of Jesus Christ, carol singers drop festive beats and boozed up revellers stave off the freezing temperatures with Gluhwein and roasted chestnuts. But while London has certainly enjoyed its own festive renaissance of [...]
Architect Daniel Libeskind on returning to Poland to reshape its skyline, NYC’s World Trade Center masterplan, and President-elect Trump November 23, 2016 To Daniel Libeskind, architecture is a political act. Every building he creates is intertwined with a sense of place, culture and national identity. “Every project deserves a sensitivity to history, tradition, to something that isn’t completely visible to the naked eye, in terms of the spirit of the place,” he tells me. “There is no [...]
Soho House has unveiled an online interiors business – we catch up with Jayne Demuro, the brains behind the project November 23, 2016 If you’re one of the 30,000 people currently on a waiting list for membership of Soho House, there may be an easier way to bask in the studied cool of its private members’ clubs. The worldwide hospitality brand launched an online retail business this summer that aims to ‘bring the House home’. Your home, specifically. [...]
TUI tie-up with Etihad nears take-off after board green lights plan for new airline November 23, 2016 TUI's supervisory board has given the green light for the proposed tie-up with Etihad Aviation to create a new European airline. Negotiations are expected to be "finalised in the next few weeks" according to a company statement. TUI's supervisory body approved the plan to spin-off its German leisure airline subsidiary TUIfly to a joint venture with Etihad. TUI will hold [...]
Air Berlin in deal talks with TUI and Etihad October 5, 2016 Germany's Air Berlin is in talks about a potential merger with TUIfly, according to reports. The group said discussions are focused on "contributing the touristic operations of Air Berlin to a new venture to be established by TUI AG and Etihad Aviation Group". "This would create a strong new European leisure airline group, combining the German [...]
Lufthansa board approves plans to take over Brussels Airlines September 28, 2016 German airline Lufthansa said today that its supervisory board has approved plans to buy the remaining chunk of Brussels Airlines that it didn't already own. The carrier bought 45 per cent of Brussels Airlines owner SN Airholding in 2009 for €65m (£56m), with the option of buying the other 55 per cent from 2011 onwards. Lufthansa [...]
Forget trade deals: Unilaterally tearing down our tariffs would be Britain’s Berlin Wall moment September 7, 2016 The Aussies are itching for a free trade deal and the Prime Minister is said to want to lead the world against protectionism. For most people such issues are economic, pure and simple. Unfortunately, what is missing is the moral dimension, which needs to be far better understood. Adam Smith argued that “all commerce that [...]