UK government agrees £150 million payment for FirstGroup
The UK government has agreed a further £150 million "investment" of UK taxpayer funds into the FirstGroup travel operation. This is the U.K.'s largest transport group with a particular interest in the UK rail network via its two franchises recently acquired from the government. It may not be well known, but the UK government has continued to subsidise these franchises despite the fact they are now under full control of FirstGroup.
A mixture of falling passenger numbers, reduced ticket price inflation and concerns about the UK economy in the short to medium term has seen the company approach the government about extra funding. The government has now stepped forward with an additional £150 million for this year which it believes should see the company through the most difficult part of the recession and leave the company ready, willing and able to expand in the future.
This comes at a time the likes of Stagecoach and National Express are also struggling yet the UK government has not been forthcoming with additional capital for these two transport companies. Whether we will see further investment in the UK transport system in the short to medium term remains to be seen but this is a vital area of the UK economy and one which needs to be nurtured back to life after a very difficult trading period.
Share this..
Related stories
Legal and General attracts short selling
Continued speculation that Legal and General will need to tap the market for additional funds in the short term has further undermined the shares today. Despite assurances from the group that it has in excess of £1.6 billion available to cover any potential shortfall, as well as news that the credit default assumption has been increased by £650 million, this has done nothing to calm market nerve...
Read MoreUK pensions sector in serious trouble
Aside from the fact that UK public sector pension schemes are in disarray, and allegedly looking towards a £50 billion deficit, there are serious concerns about the rest of the UK population. A number of surveys over the last few months have highlighted the fact that only 50% of the UK population are actually making adequate pension fund contributions for their later life. But this is not the onl...
Read MoreNorthern Rock Announces Job Loses
In a move which has been on the cards for some time it was today announced that 1,300 staff will be losing their jobs at Northern Rock. While it is hoped that 800 will take redundancy a further 500 will be leaving of their own accord in line with plans announced at the time of the government bail out.
While the news is a blow to the region the figure of 1,300 is a lot less than the...
Lloyds boss attracts criticism at shareholders meeting
Eric Daniels, the boss of Lloyds bank, was ridiculed at the company's shareholder meeting yesterday which was held to vote through the £13.5 billion rights issue. While the rights issue was voted through with a significant majority vote it gave many institutional and private investors the chance to quiz the company on the multibillion pound loan received from the Bank of England at the height of...
Read MoreAirline passengers missing out on compensation
10/08/2015 More than 900,000 airline passengers who had their flights delayed in the past are potentially missing out on millions of pounds of compensation. An investigation by consumer company Which? has found that only a quarter of people who had their flights delayed for more than three hours claimed for compensation. Passengers travelling within the European Union who are delayed for mo...
Read More