Antibody test, UK economy, covid-secure premises, car industry, aviation: your commercial news round-up

This week’s commercial news round-up looks at the latest news from the business and legal world, as the government begins to ease UK lockdown measures and plans to reopen society begin to take form.

• A coronavirus antibody test, developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, has been approved by health officials in England and has been deemed a “very positive development” by Public Health England. National coordinator of the UK coronavirus testing programme, Professor John Newton said: "This is a very positive development because such a highly specific antibody test is a very reliable marker of past infection.

"This in turn may indicate some immunity to future infection, although the extent to which the presence of antibodies indicates immunity remains unclear."

• The UK is likely to be plunged into a “signification recession” with figures indicating that the economy is shrinking at the fastest rate since the 2008 financial crisis, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has revealed. In the first quarter of 2020 the UK’s economy shrank by 2%, as the country entered an unprecedented lockdown due to coronavirus. Sunak said: "It is now very likely that the UK economy will face a significant recession this year, and we're already in the middle of that as we speak."

• Companies that are not making premises “covid secure” could face prosecution, as UK lockdown measures are eased and people in England are told to return to work if they are unable to work from home (eg, builders and manufacturers). The government has created best practice plans for businesses, while the Health and Safety Executive will be conducting inspections to ensure these best practices are being implemented.  

• According to the BBC, global car sales have been predicted to drop by 20-25% this year. Vauxhall will resume production at its Luton plant, with measures in place to prevent the spread of the virus. Vauxhall’s Managing Director Stephen Norman revealed the need for new orders from showrooms to justify an increase in production. Car showrooms could reopen from the start of June, contingent on the rate of infection, according to the government. Vehicle giant Ford is also set to restart production at its Dagenham and Bridgend plants on Monday 18 May, with non-production employees continuing to work from home where possible.

• Shares in Aston Martin have plunged and are now less than 2% of its initial public offering value. The luxury sport car manufacturer revealed that its revenue was down 60% due to the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent reduction in car sales.

• Cinema chain Vue reveals its plans to isolate family groups and stagger film times as part of social distancing measures, following new government guidance that cinemas could be allowed to reopen from 4 July.

• Budget airline Ryanair said it plans to restore 40% of its flight schedule from July – conditional on whether the government deems it safe to do so: “Throughout this period of the next two months we will be driven not by mere hope or economic necessity.

"We are going to be driven by the science, the data and public health”, said Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Ryanair passengers will be required to wear face masks and pass temperature checks, among other measures, if flight restrictions are lifted.

• A £5 million reward is being offered by EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou to any “whistleblower” who can provide him with information that will prompt the cancellation of a £4.5 billion Airbus order. The deal, which Haj-Ioannou has been urging the carrier’s board to cancel for months, will leave EasyJet without enough cash to survive the pandemic. He said in an open letter: “EasyJet is currently run by certain directors that I can only regard as ‘scoundrels’. That remains my honest opinion.

“The scoundrels want to maintain the Airbus contract despite the fact that there is plenty of evidence that this obligation to pay Airbus will drive EasyJet into insolvency by December 2020.”

• In a bid to protect his Virgin Group, Richard Branson is set to sell shares worth around $504 million (£405 million) in the Virgin Galactic space tourism venture. A statement revealed: "Virgin intends to use any proceeds to support its portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that have been affected by the unprecedented impact of covid-19.”

• Plans to cut around 450 jobs at cruise firm Carnival UK’s headquarters in Southampton have been revealed, following the wiping out of the cruise industry due to the coronavirus crisis.

• As property company Landsec cuts its portfolio value by £1.2 billion, it warns that the economy is unlikely to recover until 2022 at the earliest. In 2020’s first quarter, the company’s property portfolio plummeted by 9% (equivalent to £1.18 billion) to £12.8 billion. And, as the company lost more than 20% of its retail portfolio value, Landsec’s new Chief Executive Mark Allan said: “While it is too early to predict outcomes with any certainty, it seems prudent to plan for more business failures and higher vacancy rates across our portfolio, in particular leisure and retail, and we don’t expect to see the economy recover to pre-covid-19 levels before 2022 at the earliest.”

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