The government has been urged to do “whatever it takes” to ensure the survival of Flybe Group (FLYB), Europe’s largest regional carrier, as trade unions and MPs demanded the rescue of an airline that operates almost two in five British domestic flights. The Exeter-based airline, which flies 8.5 million passengers a year between 56 airports across the UK and mainland Europe, is seeking financial help from ministers to stave off a collapse that would put more than 2,000 jobs at risk. The airline and government declined to comment on reports of ongoing talks between the carrier and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Transport, about whether the government might provide or facilitate emergency financing. Sky News reported on Monday evening that Flybe had asked the government to defer a multi-million pound air passenger duty bill in order to see the airline through the rest of the winter. Mark Anderson, the chief executive of Connect, told Flybe staff in an email on Monday morning: “We continue to operate as normal … I do appreciate that the headlines are disturbing but I want you to know that we are determined to everything we can to make this work. “What I now ask from all of us is that we all remain focused on our responsibilities and continue to work and support each other as a team to deliver what we know we can do.”
The government has been urged to rethink its tax and benefit rules for low-paid workers after it emerged that some staff at the bakery chain Greggs (GRG) could get to keep just a quarter of their £300 annual bonus as a result of universal credit deductions. Greggs announced last week that its 25,000 workers would receive a windfall of up to £300 under a £7m reward scheme linked in part to the success of the company’s vegan sausage rolls. However, benefits experts have pointed out that some staff who are on universal credit will keep as little as £75 after tax and national insurance (NI) are paid and bonus earnings clawed back by the government at a rate of 63p in the pound. Benefits consultant Gareth Morgan said the clawing back of the bonuses through universal credit meant that the government might ultimately be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Greggs reward scheme.
A small Nigerian oil company has revealed an alleged scam after handing over $600,000 to a consultancy which had promised to help to arrange a loan from the Qatari Investment Authority. Lekoil Ltd (DI) (LEK) had already revealed the $184m (£142m) loan agreement to its investors earlier this month, when representatives from the Qatari fund approached the oil minnow over the weekend to question “the validity” of the deal. Shares in the Nigeria-based company were immediately pulled from the London’s junior Aim market while lawyers from Lekoil sought to find the “full facts of this matter”. Lekoil paid an initial arrangement fee of $600,000 to Seawave Invest, which is registered in the Bahamas, for introducing Lekoil’s advisers to individuals “purporting to be from the QIA” to discuss the loan. Lekoil said it “will be contacting the relevant authorities across a number of jurisdictions without delay” to report “what appears to be an attempt to defraud” the company. A spokeswoman for Seawave did not respond to a request for comment.
Finablr PLC (FIN) – The foreign currency firm Travelex says it is making good progress in recovering from an attack from ransomware hackers and is starting to switch its systems back on again. As of noon on Monday, however, its global websites, including those aimed at UK and US customers, were still offline, as were the online travel money services of companies that use Travelex, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Tesco Bank and Asda. Travelex said it had contained the virus and that its investigations showed that no customer data has been breached to date. It is in communication with the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – which is part of GCHQ – and the Metropolitan police. Tony D’Souza, the chief executive of Travelex, said: “We continue to make good progress with our recovery and have already completed a considerable amount in the background.” He said the firm was now in a position to start restoring functionality at its partner and customer services, and that it would provide more information in the coming days.
