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Kamis, 30 Juni 2022

Flights cancelled from Heathrow due to 'higher passenger numbers than airport can serve' - Sky News

More flights from Heathrow have been cancelled today due to passenger numbers exceeding the airport's maximum capacity.

A total of 30 flights have been removed from the morning schedule as the travel chaos across UK airports continues.

Most passengers are expected to be rebooked on to other flights outside of peak times, making it still possible for them to fly out today.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: "We are expecting higher passenger numbers in today's morning peak than the airport currently has capacity to serve, and so to keep everyone safe we have asked airlines to remove 30 flights from the morning peak for today only.

"We apologise for the impact this has on travel plans.

"We are working hard to ensure everyone has a smooth journey through Heathrow this summer, and the most important thing is to make sure that all service providers at the airport have enough resources to meet demand."

A "small number" of British Airways flights are among those affected, with the airline saying it is in contact with affected customers.

It is expected that 98% of flights out of the airport will operate as planned.

Customers who have been impacted by the cancellations should be contacted by their airline and given advice on the possible alternatives.

'Absolute shambles'

However, some passengers did not find out their flights were cancelled until they arrived at what is the UK's busiest airport.

Travel writer and broadcaster Andy Mossack said: "Total chaos at Heathrow this morning. British Airways flights cancelled and zero customer service."

A groom, who had flown to Italy from Heathrow, hit out at British Airwsys after the suitcase containing his wedding outfit, decorations and clothes for his honeymoon wasn't loaded onto his flight.

Farhad Ehtesham from Surrey said: "The moment we landed, we got an email saying 'Your luggage is not there, please contact us'.

"I can't replace a wedding outfit that was planned nine months ahead. It's just unbelievable."

He was told by airport staff in Rome that the suitcase would be on the next flight, due out on Thursday morning, but it was among those that has been cancelled.

"BA's website is really terrible beacause they don't respond to any messages," he said.

"Any phone lines just go dead.I tried to message them on Instagram, Facebook and so on but got no response.

"We don't know what to do."

One passenger, who is travelling with a 12-week-old baby, told Sky News he wasn't informed that his family's flight to Greece was cancelled until they were five minutes away from the airport.

Government announces 22-point plan to tackle aviation disruption

As Heathrow cancels more flights, the government has unveiled a 22-point plan to support the aviation industry ahead of the busy summer holiday season.

Some measures include: helping to recruit and train staff, ensuring the delivery of a realistic schedule, and supporting passengers when cancellations are "unavoidable".

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it will "never" be possible to "avoid every single delay or cancellation", but the government is "working closely" with the industry to ensure it is running "realistic schedules".

"It's now on airports and airlines to commit to running the flights they've promised or cancel them with plenty of time to spare, so we can avoid the kind of scenes we saw at Easter and half-term," he said.

"With 100 days having passed since we set out that restrictions would be eased, there’s simply no excuse for widespread disruption."

Some of the other measures laid out in the plan are:

• Actions taken to reduce the time it takes to get new staff on board;

• Changing the law to allow greater flexibility over background checks;

• Allowing employers to use an HM Revenue and Customs letter to verify five years of employment checks.

Another, Andrew Douglas, described how he was due to be on a flight to go on holiday but had "spent the last four hours in multiple queues at Heathrow Airport because it's been cancelled".

He added: "Absolute shambles, complete chaos and only found out at check-in with no prior notification. Horrific service."

Sky News also heard from a person who is stranded in Frankfurt after taking a 15-hour flight from Tokyo yesterday.

They were due to catch a British Airways flight back to Heathrow but discovered it was cancelled upon their arrival.

On top of that, they've had to wait five hours to claim their baggage.

"Obtaining food was difficult by the time baggage was returned and I have dietary requirements making it even more challenging," they said.

"I have incurred hundreds of euros in costs and today's flights are also unavailable so I'm currently on a 1 July flight making that a two-day waste of my time away from my family."

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In recent weeks, passengers using Heathrow have experienced long queues, and many have been separated from their luggage for several days.

There are fears that the severe disruption seen at UK airports in the run-up to Easter and the Jubilee bank holiday will return during the peak summer holiday period.

The whole industry has been struggling to scale-up operations after COVID restrictions were lifted, which experts say has left the sector facing 40 years of passenger growth in just four months.

Have you been affected by Heathrow cancellations? Contact us:
• Email - news@skynews.com
• WhatsApp - 07583 000853

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2022-06-30 11:37:30Z
1478969681

Heathrow flight cancellations cause queues and 'chaos' - BBC

Passengers have complained of queues and "total chaos" at Heathrow after the airport asked airlines to remove 30 flights from Thursday's schedule.

The UK's largest airport asked airlines to cut the flights because it was expecting more passenger numbers than it can currently cope with.

Some passengers did not know that their flights were cancelled until they arrived at the airport.

Heathrow said the cancellations were necessary for safety.

Travel writer and broadcaster Andy Mossack tweeted that there was "total chaos" and "zero customer service" at the airport on Thursday morning.

Total chaos at Heathrow this morning. BA flights cancelled and zero customer service! pic.twitter.com/K3hRtiviYJ
— andy mossack (@andymossy) June 30, 2022

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Another passenger tweeted that terminal 5 was a "disgraceful shambles" after he arrived on Thursday morning to find his flight cancelled.

PA reported that one passenger, Andrew Douglas, said he had spent four hours in queues to find out at check-in that his flight had been cancelled with no prior notifications.

Other travellers complained of poor customer service and a lack of help when trying to rebook their flights.

A Heathrow spokesman said: "We will work with airlines to get affected passengers rebooked onto other flights outside of the peak so that as many as possible can get away, and we apologise for the impact this has on travel plans.

A spokesman from British Airways, one of the airlines affected, said: "As a result of Heathrow's requirement for all airlines to reduce their schedules, we've made a small number of cancellations."

The airline said it was in contact with affected customers to "apologise, advise them of their consumer rights and offer them alternative options, including a refund or rebooking."

Virgin Atlantic said one of their Heathrow to New York return services had been cut in each direction, while Air France, KLM, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus, Brussels Airlines and Air Canada are also affected.

Earlier this month, around 5,000 people were hit by Heathrow cancellations because of technical issues affecting baggage.

Before that, tens of thousands of passengers had been affected by disruption at UK airports and flight cancellations during the week of the Platinum Jubilee and half-term holidays.

The disruption was caused by several factors, but staff shortages have left the aviation industry struggling to cope with resurgent demand.

Do you work at an airport? Do you have a summer holiday coming up? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

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2022-06-30 09:24:40Z
1478969681

Rabu, 29 Juni 2022

Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital plunges into liquidation - Sky News

Three Arrows Capital, a cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund, has plunged into liquidation, deepening the crisis engulfing the global digital assets sector.

Sky News has learnt that partners from Teneo in the British Virgin Islands has been lined up to handle the insolvency of the Singapore-based firm, which was set up in 2012 by Su Zhu and Kyle Davies.

Cryptocurrency insiders said on Wednesday that the liquidation would be a significant moment in the current unravelling of the cryptocurrency sector, which has grown at breakneck speed in recent years.

It was unclear what the immediate financial implications would be for Three Arrows' creditors.

The firm's demise is likely to raise further questions, however, about the regulatory oversight to which cryptocurrencies and other digital assets are subject in the world's major financial centres.

The crisis at Three Arrows Capital was highlighted earlier this month when Voyager Digital, a crypto broker, said it was considering issuing a default notice in relation to a loan worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The crypto landscape is experiencing tumultuous change amid a collapse in valuations of assets such as stablecoins - digital currencies pegged to the value of assets such as the US dollar or gold.

Mr Davies told the Wall Street Journal in an interview this month that it was "committed to working things out and finding an equitable solution for all our constituents".

He added that Three Arrows was exploring options such as the sale of assets or a rescue by another firm.

It was unclear whether such conversations were continuing on Wednesday, or whether some form of sale of Three Arrows' assets by its liquidators remained possible.

A person familiar with the situation confirmed that a court order in the BVI had been made on June 27 to liquidate Three Arrows.

Three Arrows Capital did not respond to an emailed request for comment, while Teneo was contacted for comment.

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2022-06-29 10:10:58Z
1465918336

Boots owner Walgreens abandons £5bn sale of Britain’s biggest chemist - Sky News

The owner of Boots the Chemist is abandoning the sale of Britain’s biggest high street pharmacy chain amid torrid conditions in debt-financing markets.

Sky News can exclusively reveal that Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has decided to retain ownership of Boots after an auction process lasting for several months.

The move, which could be announced as soon as Thursday when WBA is due to announce financial results to the New York Stock Exchange, is likely to cast doubt over Boots' long-term prosperity under WBA's ownership.

Banking sources said on Tuesday that the £5.5bn auction had faltered badly in recent weeks, with the only bidder to make a binding offer for Boots - a consortium of Apollo Global Management and Reliance Industries - pinning its hopes on the steadfastness of a quartet of lenders.

Growing concerns about the global economy have triggered severe doubts among the big banks which help finance leveraged buyouts, with Boots among the biggest such deals in Europe.

Apollo and the Indian behemoth Reliance Industries had lined up Royal Bank of Canada, Credit Suisse, Santander and Bank of America to help finance a large chunk of the £5bn-plus acquisition.

Because of the difficulty bidders were having financing a deal, WBA was prepared to retain a significant minority stake in Boots in order to get the deal through.

Another prospective bid from the owners of Asda - Mohsin and Zuber Issa and TDR Capital - had looked even more uncertain.

WBA, which is being advised by Goldman Sachs, decided late last year that the UK pharmacy chain is no longer core as it refocuses on its domestic operations.

Among the other challenges facing bidders was finding an adequate solution for Boots' £8bn pension scheme - one of the largest private retirement funds in the UK.

Sky News revealed earlier this year that an apparent early frontrunner in the Boots auction - a joint bid from Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners - had decided not to proceed amid scepticism over the price tag of up to £6bn.

Like many retailers, Boots had a turbulent pandemic, announcing 4000 job cuts in 2020 as a consequence of a restructuring of its Nottingham head office and store management teams.

It has also been embroiled in rows with landlords about delayed rent payments.

Shortly before the pandemic, Boots earmarked about 200 of its UK stores for closure, a reflection of changing shopping habits.

Boots' heritage dates back to John Boot opening a herbal remedies store in Nottingham in 1849.

It opened its 1,000th UK store in 1933.

For Stefano Pessina, the WBA chairman, a decision to sell Boots outright would have marked the final chapter of his involvement with one of Britain's best-known companies.

The Italian octogenarian engineered the merger of Boots and Alliance Unichem, a drug wholesaler, in 2006, with the buyout firm KKR acquiring the combined group in an £11bn deal the following year.

In 2012, Walgreens acquired a 45% stake in Alliance Boots, completing its buyout of the business two years later.

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2022-06-28 11:59:29Z
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Selasa, 28 Juni 2022

Heathrow told to reduce passenger charge - BBC

Heathrow has been told to cut passenger charges for airlines each year until 2026 by the Civil Aviation Authority.

The regulator said the reduction in charges reflected the recent rebound in passenger numbers, but would still allow the airport to invest.

But Heathrow, which wanted the charges raised, said the move would undermine the delivery of key improvements.

The charges are paid by airlines, but can then be passed onto passengers via airfares.

The fees go towards operating terminals, runways, baggage systems and security.

At the moment, the average charge per passenger at Heathrow is £30.19, and the CAA has said this will fall to £26.31 by 2026. However, Heathrow wanted to increase it to £41.95.

The CAA said the reduction in the charge "reflects expected increases in passenger numbers as the recovery from the pandemic continues and the higher level of the price cap in 2022, which was put in place in 2021 to reflect the challenges from the pandemic at the time".

In December 2021, Heathrow was given permission to raise the passenger charge from £19.60 to £30.19 for this summer.

Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the CAA, said the cut in charges was "about doing the right thing for consumers".

"Our independent and impartial analysis balances affordable charges for consumers, while allowing Heathrow to make the investment needed for the future."

However, Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said the regulator "continues to underestimate what it takes to deliver a good passenger service, both in terms of the level of investment and operating costs required and the fair incentive needed for private investors to finance it".

"Uncorrected, these elements of the CAA's proposal will only result in passengers getting a worse experience at Heathrow as investment in service dries up," he said.

Analysis box by Katy Austin, Transport correspondent

How much should Heathrow be able to charge airlines per passenger for the cost of operating terminals, runways, baggage systems and security?

The airport and major airlines that use it have very different views.

The CAA says it has considered expected increases in passenger numbers, although it does highlight that uncertainties lie ahead, and Heathrow passenger numbers aren't predicted to recover to pre-Covid levels until 2025.

It also talks of balancing the need for charges that are affordable for consumers - that is, that won't prompt big fare hikes - with allowing Heathrow to invest in big improvements that will improve passengers' experience.

Heathrow argues that balance has not been got right.

Airlines see today's announcement as positive, but called for the charges to be lower still.

This is an important milestone but not the end of the story.

The proposals are now subject to consultation before a final decision is published later this year. Then, there will be the option of appealing to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Mr Moriarty told the BBC's Today programme that the strength of the recovery "with more passengers coming in" meant charges could be lowered.

But he said the cap would still allow for £3.6bn investment by Heathrow, including new baggage systems for terminal 2.

Earlier this month 5,000 passengers were hit by Heathrow flight cancellations after problems with the baggage system led to luggage piling up.

Mr Moriarty said that problems of disabled passengers being left on planes after other passengers had got off, highlighted by BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner, meant the airport must "raise its game".

"When it comes to disruption, everyone in aviation wants to avoid the scenes that we've seen over the last couple of months," he said.

"Everyone is working really hard to bring new people into the system with recruitment and we've also put pressure on the airlines to make sure their schedules over the next few months are deliverable for the passenger".

He said the proposals should take £4 off the cost of a ticket from Heathrow by 2026. At the moment, the £30.19 charge makes up about 5% of the cost of a typical fare from Heathrow to New York.

Shai Weiss, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said the regulator "can and must go further to lower the cap" from its proposals, especially as consumers face cost of living pressures.

The chief executive of British Airways owner IAG, Luis Gallego, said: "In 2022 airport charges at Heathrow will still be three times more expensive than its EU rivals and 56% higher than last year."

Industry body Airlines UK said the Heathrow charges were "still too high", adding that it was "the most expensive airport in the world".

"The CAA can and should go further to bring it into line with other European hubs," it added.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) called for Heathrow charges to drop "now", saying the rise announced in December 2021 was "based on false assumptions that are already being proven wrong by the strong post-pandemic demand for travel".

Willie Walsh, Iata's director general, said: "The CAA must stop rewarding this monopoly whose insatiable desire to gouge its customers will damage the competitiveness of 'Global Britain'."

Do you work at an airport? Do you have a summer holiday coming up? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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2022-06-28 09:53:51Z
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Heathrow told to reduce passenger charge - BBC

Heathrow has been told to cut passenger charges for airlines each year until 2026 by the Civil Aviation Authority.

The regulator said the reduction in charges reflected the recent rebound in passenger numbers, but would still allow the airport to invest.

But Heathrow, which wanted the charges raised, said the move would undermine the delivery of key improvements.

The charges are paid by airlines, but can then be passed onto passengers via airfares.

The fees go towards operating terminals, runways, baggage systems and security.

At the moment, the average charge per passenger at Heathrow is £30.19, and the CAA has said this will fall to £26.31 by 2026. However, Heathrow wanted to increase it to £41.95.

In December 2021, Heathrow was given permission to raise the passenger charge from £19.60 to £30.19.

Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the CAA, said the cut in charges was "about doing the right thing for consumers".

"Our independent and impartial analysis balances affordable charges for consumers, while allowing Heathrow to make the investment needed for the future."

"Uncorrected, these elements of the CAA's proposal will only result in passengers getting a worse experience at Heathrow as investment in service dries up," he said.

How much should Heathrow be able to charge airlines per passenger for the cost of operating terminals, runways, baggage systems and security?

The airport and major airlines that use it have very different views.

Heathrow argues that balance has not been got right.

Airlines see today's announcement as positive, but called for the charges to be lower still.

This is an important milestone but not the end of the story.

The proposals are now subject to consultation before a final decision is published later this year. Then, there will be the option of appealing to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Mr Moriarty told the BBC's Today programme that the strength of the recovery "with more passengers coming in" meant charges could be lowered.

But he said the cap would still allow for £3.6bn investment by Heathrow, including new baggage systems for terminal 2.

Earlier this month 5,000 passengers were hit by Heathrow flight cancellations after problems with the baggage system led to luggage piling up.

"When it comes to disruption, everyone in aviation wants to avoid the scenes that we've seen over the last couple of months," he said.

He said the proposals should take £4 off the cost of a ticket from Heathrow by 2026. At the moment, the £30.19 charge makes up about 5% of the cost of a typical fare from Heathrow to New York.

Shai Weiss, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said the regulator "can and must go further to lower the cap" from its proposals.

"With travel recovery underway, our collective focus should be on upholding the best possible experience for customers with fair charges, especially with consumers facing cost of living pressures and our global Britain aspirations at stake."

Industry body Airlines UK said the proposals brought down the cost of using the airport for consumers, "taking into account the robust recovery we've seen for air travel since the pandemic".

"Charges are, though, still too high at Heathrow - the most expensive airport in the world - and so the CAA can and should go further to bring it into line with other European hubs," it added.

Do you work at an airport? Do you have a summer holiday coming up? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

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Senin, 27 Juni 2022

Taxpayer nets stake in exclusive sex party planning firm Killing Kittens - Sky News

The taxpayer has netted a stake in sex party planning firm Killing Kittens under the terms of a scheme designed to help companies ride out lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic.

The firm was handed support by the Future Fund (FF), set up by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in May 2020 to help "innovative" companies maintain access to finance.

Under the terms of the loans, which are administered by the state-owned British Business Bank, they are turned into equity on completion of a new funding round.

It meant, the Financial Times initially reported, that the UK taxpayer had taken a 1.5% stake in the company after Killing Kittens raised £1m from investors.

It was founded in 2005 by Emma Sayle, who describes Killing Kittens as a "sextech" firm that empowers women because of its strict rules.

Only women can approach men at its member-only functions globally.

It claims to have 180,000 customers.

Ms Sayle said the taxpayer had already secured a return on its investment and defended the aid in the face of criticism that it was not the sort of business that should be eligible for government-funded support.

She told Sky News: "The government's stake of 170k has already gone up 60% to 270k post this 1mill raise so we've easily shown that it's a worthy business given the hundreds of FF biz (businesses) who have gone into administration taking government money down the pan with them.

"We have clearly shown we are progressing... and making relevant decisions to secure money for all investors including the UK gov.

"As much pressure they came under for giving the money, they were there to back viable business regardless of sector and by converting we have shown we are also of our word in delivering what we said we would do in the short term."

A British Business Bank spokesperson said in a statement: "The Future Fund used a set of standard terms with published eligibility criteria.

"The process provided a clear, efficient way to make funding available as widely and as swiftly as possible without the need for lengthy negotiations.

"Applications that met all the eligibility criteria received investment."

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2022-06-27 13:27:57Z
1482841457

UK financial watchdog investigates Wise chief over tax default - Financial Times

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has launched an investigation into Kristo Käärmann, the co-founder and chief executive of payments app Wise, over deliberately defaulting on tax payments.

The investigation comes after HM Revenue & Customs included Käärmann, a billionaire, on a list of individuals who had received a penalty over the matter, in a document published last September.

Käärmann’s default relates to an outstanding tax bill of £720,495 for the 2017-18 tax year, which led to a fine of £365,651 by HMRC.

Shares in Wise were down by 2 per cent in early morning trading on Monday to 373p.

The investigation will come as a blow to one of the UK’s most prized fintech companies, which listed on the London stock exchange only a year ago with a value of £8bn.

David Wells, chair of Wise, said on Monday that the board took Käärmann’s tax default and the FCA’s investigation “very seriously”.

“After reviewing the matter late last year the board required that Kristo take remedial actions, including appointing professional tax advisers to ensure his personal tax matters are appropriately managed,” he added in a statement.

Wells said the board continued “to support Kristo in his role as CEO”.

Käärmann, and others who were named, will remain on the list for 12 months from its publication, for deliberately filling erroneous tax returns or deliberately failing to comply with their personal tax obligations.

The board of Wise conducted its own investigation with external legal advisers at the end of last year before passing the findings to the FCA. Wise said that Käärmann “intends to co-operate fully” with the investigation.

Käärmann owns about a fifth of the company, which was founded in 2010 as TransferWise. It provides international money transfer and multicurrency banking services to consumers and businesses, competing with the high street banks.

Last year’s listing was seen as a coup for the UK as the government attempted to attract more fast-growing fintechs to the London exchange.

A report by Ron Kalifa, the former chief executive of payments company Worldpay, found that London accounted for just 5 per cent of global IPOs between 2015 and 2020, compared with 39 per cent on the Nasdaq and New York exchanges.

Käärmann and co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, both from Estonia, founded the company to tackle the cost of transferring money between the UK and the Baltic country.

Unlike many of its fintech rivals, Wise reported several years of profits before listing. It was a boon to the City after the disastrous flotation of food delivery company Deliveroo just months earlier, when £2bn was wiped off the company’s market value on the first day of trading.

Wise opted for a direct listing rather than an initial public offering, meaning that the shares began trading without the company raising any money. The listing made Käärmann a paper billionaire.

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2022-06-27 07:47:22Z
1482959582

UK Treasury takes a stake in sex party planner Killing Kittens - Financial Times

The British taxpayer has become a shareholder in Killing Kittens, a sex party organiser known for its exclusive and hedonistic events, under a scheme set up during the pandemic to help innovative firms.

Killing Kittens was founded in 2005 by Emma Sayle, a schoolmate of the Duchess of Cambridge. The company, which describes itself as a female-led sextech firm and has also developed an adult-only social network, has hosted members-only events in cities from London and Berlin to Miami and Sydney.

It used a programme called the Future Fund — set up by chancellor Rishi Sunak — to help it stay in business as the pandemic forced it to cancel its live in-person parties.

Loans provided by the Future Fund have an unusual clause that converts them into equity at the company’s next fundraising. This has left the British taxpayer with stakes in hundreds of businesses from Bolton Wanderers football club to the Black Sheep Coffee chain.

The state-owned British Business Bank, which oversees the Future Fund, confirmed that the scheme had taken a stake in Killing Kittens.

Sayle, who owns more than a quarter of the company according to Companies House filings, said the sextech firm had raised £1mn in its latest round.

This valued Killing Kittens at about £15mn, of which the government had a roughly 1.5 per cent share according to Sayle. That marks an increase from a valuation of £5mn in 2018, and £10mn in 2019, she said.

“The government has already made money on the investment,” Sayle said.

Killing Kittens initially used crowdfunding platforms to raise cash after being cold-shouldered by traditional venture capital firms.

Future Fund’s loan to Killing Kittens attracted criticism in 2020, when Labour MP Sarah Champion called on the Chancellor to stop payments being made to the sex party organisers.

Sayle said she was surprised to receive such criticism from someone who claimed to support women’s rights, arguing that her company was about liberating women because only women can approach men at the parties.

She also pointed to the number of firms in the Future Fund that have gone bust. Fraud has been detected at some of the companies that have applied for the loans, while others have gone into administration.

The Future Fund scheme was set up in May 2020 to provide alternative funding during the pandemic for often-lossmaking but fast-growing “innovative” businesses that typically rely on venture capital. Sunak said at its launch that the fund would support “start-ups and innovative firms . . . break new ground in technology and innovation”.

It committed £1.1bn to 1,190 companies through convertible loan agreements. Questions have since been asked about how these companies were vetted for approval.

The British Business Bank said: “The Future Fund used a set of standard terms with published eligibility criteria. The process provided a clear, efficient way to make funding available as widely and as swiftly as possible without the need for lengthy negotiations. Applications that met all the eligibility criteria received investment.”

Killing Kittens intends to grow in more markets, including the US, and expand its adult social network. It claims to have 180,000 members and an annual turnover of about £1.4mn. More than four-fifths of this was generated in the UK, according to an investor presentation seen by the FT.

The Future Fund has also taken a stake in a Hybrid Air Vehicles, a business seeking to bring back airships or blimps, whose early backers included Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson. The stake is also the consequence of a Future Fund loan which converted into equity.

Hybrid Air Vehicles said that it was developing a new category of aircraft designed to cut flight emissions by up to 90 per cent.

“Airlander’s development has been funded by a range of private sector investment, and an element of government financing, including through the Future Fund, which provided welcome support for our business at an important time in our evolution,” the company said.

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2022-06-27 04:00:58Z
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Minggu, 26 Juni 2022

Chilton breaks Goodwood record in McMurtry Automotive Speirling - Motorsport.com

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Officially, the history books had Nick Heidfeld down as the true record holder courtesy of his famous 1999 run in the McLaren MP4/13 F1 machine that buzzed the line at 41.6s.

Unofficially, however, Romain Dumas had been the fastest driver up the famous 1.1-mile route aboard the Pikes Peak-winning Volkswagen ID.R - he eventually posted a 39.9s effort.

However, Dumas’ run in the ID.R, which was tuned specifically for Goodwood, was set in the Saturday qualifying session and not in the officially recognised Sunday shootout climax.

Regardless, Chilton has surpassed both benchmarks thanks to a remarkable and definitive 39.08s charge in the astonishing McMurtry, which instantly deploys 2000kg of downforce from a fan.

Having attended the Festival of Speed summer event since he was four years old, Chilton said: “I never thought that was going to happen.

“If someone had said, ‘One day you’re going to beat every single person that’s ever gone up that hill,’ I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s a real honour.

“I didn’t sleep last night. I got one hour’s sleep because I was so stressed. Pressure makes diamonds, as they say!”

Max Chilton, McMurtry Speirling

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

The McMurty, likened by many to a miniature Batmobile, is based around the diminutive footprint of a 1960s grand prix - that gave Chilton plenty of room to dart between the haybales.

The all-electric single-seater, closed-cockpit machine tips the scales at fewer than 1000kg to have a power-to-weight ratio of 1000bhp per tonne.

That enables it to sprint to 60mph in a 1.5s - covering the first 100m of the bumpy Goodwood course in 3.51s - and it kept accelerating to a peak of 149mph on its Sunday run.

Chilton, who had split the driving duties with British Hillclimb championship points leader Alex Summer in order to attend a wedding on Saturday, posted a 39.14s in qualifying.

Chilton, who called the Festival of Speed “the greatest garden party in the world”, was congratulated and embraced at the top of the root by the Duke of Richmond and both Dumas and Heidfeld.

The impressive McMurty, the last car to run in the timed shootout, dominated proceedings as the next fastest machine was the Porsche 718 GT4 ePerformance as driver Richard Lietz clocked a 45.502s to finish as runner-up.

Historic single-seater ace Ben Mitchell completed the podium aboard the ex-Marc Surer BMW-powered March 782 Formula 2 racer.

Former shootout winner Justin Law was back in his ‘Bud Light’ Jaguar XJR-12D to clock fourth, having crashed out in 2021 when it’s low-downforce-spec rear wing hanging behind the rear bodywork caught a haybale.

Travis Pastrana, who rolled a Subaru rallycar earlier in the weekend, ran to fifth in the custom Subaru GL Family Huckster, complete with 860bhp and a dizzying array of airbrakes.

Dumas took sixth in the 2000bhp fourth-generation Ford Supervan, while Heidfeld’s run in the fledgling Mahindra Gen3 Formula E car was cut short by a technical issue.

The shootout took place after the customary balcony ceremony, capped off in 2022 by the 30th anniversary celebrations of Nigel Mansell’s F1 world championship title.

Mansell drove both his famous ‘Red 5’ Williams FW14B and Ferrari 640 machines up the hill throughout the event.

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2022-06-26 16:14:03Z
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