Global Airport News
BAA TO APPEAL AGAINST "BIAS" IN FINDINGS OF BREAK-UP ORDER
BAA is appealing against an order from the Competition Commission that recommends the fragmentation of the airports operator. The Commission ruled two months ago BAA had to sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports to stimulate competition in the UK airport sector. However, BAA says the report leading to the order was invalid due to a potential conflict of interest with one of its authors, Peter Moizer. Moizer worked on the report and is also a strategic adviser to the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, which is a backer for Manchester Airports Group — a bidder for Gatwick airport. BAA has submitted its appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal although a verdict is not expected until the end of 2009.
BOOTS LOOKS RADIANT AFTER TAKEOVER BY PRIVATE EQUITY
Alliance Boots [ABN.UL] recorded a 15.5 percent rise in full-year sales to 20.5 billion pounds on Monday, as well as a 11.3 per cent increase in earnings to 1.245 billion pounds. The company also said that while it is laying off a tenth of its pharmaceutical wholesale division (including 200 UK workers), it had created 1,700 jobs during the past year and hoped to recruit large numbers of new employees in 2009. "We cannot anticipate the new number, but I would expect there to be more people in the business than there are now," said chief executive Stefano Pessina.
BT'S "UNFAIR" PAYPHONES BILL UNDER REVIEW BY OFCOM
The telecoms regulator Ofcom is expected to publish a consultation into the funding of universal phone services, which includes the UK's network of pay phone kiosks. BT is currently responsible for the upkeep of Britain's public call boxes — of which it is estimated that 60 percent are unprofitable — under an agreement reached when the company was privatised. The Ofcom report is expected to include the idea of forcing mobile phone networks to share the 44 million pound annual cost for the upkeep of the pay-phone network.
