Flybe Group (FLYB) was pulled back from the brink on Tuesday night after ministers backed a controversial deal to delay a £106m tax bill, saving more than 2,000 jobs and averting chaos for thousands of passengers. Europe’s biggest regional carrier – which is backed by billionaire Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson – struck an agreement which will allow it to delay handing over air passenger duty payments collected on behalf of customers. However, the deal was slammed as “a blatant misuse of public funds” by one of the air industry’s most prominent figures. Willie Walsh, the outgoing chief executive of British Airways owner IAG who has repeatedly clashed with Sir Richard, said: “Prior to the acquisition of Flybe by the consortium, which includes Virgin/Delta, Flybe argued for taxpayers to fund its operations by subsidising regional routes. Virgin/Delta now want the taxpayer to pick up the tab for their mismanagement of the airline.”
Jeff Fairburn, the former Persimmon (PSN) boss ousted following a furore over his £75m bonus, has found a new job as chief executive of a Yorkshire housebuilding company. The under-fire executive has bought a 50% stake in Berkeley Deveer, a privately owned developer in the north of England which he is now set to run. The move, first reported by The Times, comes against a backdrop of criticism levelled at Fairburn, who was asked to leave Persimmon in 2018 after the company said that his huge payout was having a “negative impact” on the firm’s reputation. “It seems like the proverbial round of football managers. You get a team relegated one week and go join another one the next week,” said Clive Betts, the most recent chair of Parliament’s Communities and Local Government Committee.
Lekoil Ltd (DI) (LEK) shares plunged more than 70% today in its first day of dealings after it emerged it may have been scammed over a non-existent $184m (£157m) loan. Investors dumped the AIM-listed company which had suspended its shares throughout Monday after it emerged it may have been tricked into thinking it was getting a loan from the Qatar Investment Authority. The case is an embarassment for Mark Simmonds, the former Africa minister and MP who joined the board of Lekoil last week. He is now leading an investigation into the loan, of which he had no prior involvement. Lekoil had paid a $600,000 arrangement fee to a company called Seawave Invest which it now believes introduced it to people pretending to be from the QIA with whom it set up the loan.
Boohoo.com (BOO) value hit a new high on Tuesday after the online retailer’s shares rocketed on the back of strong sales – overtaking high street rival Marks & Spencer, which faced a warning over its profit growth. Revenues at the online fast-fashion retailer jumped 44% to more than £1bn in the 10 months to the end of December. The increase means founders Carol Kane and Mahmud Kamani’s holdings are worth £104m and £505m respectively. Meanwhile, rating agency Moody’s raised fears that M&S will be unable to stop profits shrinking further as it fights to turn its fortunes around.
