PSA suffers 10 per cent slump in sales for 2019 January 16, 2020 The parent company of Vauxhall and Peugeot suffered a 10 per cent slump in sales last year, as declining volumes in China, the Middle East and Africa came to bear on the car maker. PSA, which is part-way through a merger with Fiat Chrysler, saw sales decline by 2.5 per cent in its home European [...]
Renault chairman: ‘Real desire’ to make faltering Nissan alliance work January 16, 2020 Renault’s chairman has dismissed claims that the 20-year partnership between the French manufacturer and Nissan might be breaking down. Jean-Dominique Senard said today that there was a “real desire” at the alliance to make a success of it. This comes despite more than a year of turmoil caused by the arrest of its architect Carlos [...]
Steadying the ship? Struggling contractor Kier Group makes ‘good progress’ on cutting costs January 16, 2020 Kier Group shares spiked this morning on the news that the struggling contractor said it was making “good progress” on cutting costs. The London-listed construction group’s stock rocketed 7.5 per cent in value in early trading, before receding to about three per cent up on yesterday’s closing price. Kier has suffered from a mounting debt [...]
Revealed: Why the government bailed out Flybe, but not Thomas Cook January 15, 2020 At first glance, some might find it hard to understand why the government decided to save Flybe – a small, regional airline – but not holiday giant Thomas Cook. After all, when the latter went bust in September more than 150,000 Brits were left stranded abroad, prompting a mammoth repatriation effort by the Civil Aviation [...]
Carlos Ghosn claims French ambassador warned him in advance of ‘Nissan plot’ January 15, 2020 Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has claimed the French ambassador warned him just before his November 2018 arrest that his own company was plotting against him. “Frankly, I was shocked by the arrest and the first thing I asked is make sure Nissan knows so they can send me a lawyer,” Ghosn told Reuters in [...]
British Airways owner files complaint over Flybe bailout January 15, 2020 The bailout of regional airline Flybe from near-collapse was today the subject of an official complaint to the European Commission by the owner of British Airways, International Airlines Group. Flybe was kept aloft on Tuesday after the government provided support, thought to involve the deferral of a tax bill worth more than £100m. But IAG said [...]
Watkin Jones enjoys strong contribution from build-to-rent division January 14, 2020 Housing developer Watkin Jones this morning said profit from its build-to-rent developments more than doubled. The 229-year-old company, which also makes student housing, saw overall profit slip because of exceptional costs. Pre-tax profit fell 8.5 per cent to £49.7m, while revenue grew 3.2 per cent to £374.8m. However, revenue from build-to-rent shot to £73.6m from [...]
Dieselgate: Six Volkswagen executives charged with fraud in Germany January 14, 2020 Six Volkswagen executives have been charged with fraud, after they were accused of “deliberately misleading” authorities and customers in the months leading up to the diesel emissions scandal in 2015 by failing to tell authorities about cheating devices. The 876-page document does not name the people accused, but says three of them “knowingly and willingly [...]
Q&A: Why would cutting air passenger duty help Flybe – and how is it damaging? January 14, 2020 In a bid to save regional airline Flybe, chancellor Sajid Javid is meeting officials from the business and transport departments today. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already shown he is against conventional bailouts for struggling companies – as he showed when he decided against keep Thomas Cook afloat in September. But one option still on [...]
Ministers ‘considering rescue loan’ for struggling airline Flybe January 14, 2020 The government is considering a rescue package for Flybe that could include a short term loan which falls within state aid rules, according to reports. The BBC reported the loan would come from a pot of government money which is available to firms which does not breach state aid rules. Nissan was reportedly encouraged to [...]
