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BMW SET TO SECURE MINI PRODUCTION AT OXFORD MANUFACTURING PLANT JACK MENDEL AND STAFF MICHAEL CAINE will be able to rest easy, with production of the iconic Mini set to remain on British shores. BMW is set to invest a sum close to £500m in its plant in Oxford, with around £75m coming from the UK government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, according to a report from Sky News’ Mark Kleinman.
There had been fears that production of the Mini would move abroad, with allelectric versions of the Italian Job’s automotive star already being produced in China and the Mini Countryman to be manufactured in Germany from this year. BMW refused to comment on “media speculation” but said with “its high degree of flexibility, competitiveness and expertise, the Oxford plant plays an important role in the BMW Groups’
production network. “For the next Mini generation, Oxford will produce the majority of Mini models, the Mini Cooper three-door and five-door models, as well as the Mini Convertible — one of our most important vehicles and a worldwide bestseller,” a spokesman continued. It will be seen as a welcome vote of confidence in the UK’s automotive industry, which had been predicted to be
a casualty of the UK’s exit from the European Union. Nissan’s chief operating officer last month said producing cars at their Sunderland plant, a totemic part of the UK’s car industry, had become more “challenging” due to higher inflation and energy costs and said the UK government needed to make the operating environment more “competitive”.
Heathrow slams price cap decision JACK MENDEL AND STAFF HEATHROW said the aviation regulator’s decision to slash airport charges “makes no sense” yesterday as the ongoing row between the Hounslow hub, airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reignited. The CAA has told Heathrow it must reduce its passenger charge – effectively a fee paid by airlines per passenger in transit – by 20 per cent between 2023 and 2024, and that it must stay until the end of 2026. That will leave it at £25.43, with Heathrow having at one point been pushing for a limit some £15 higher. “The CAA has chosen to cut airport charges to their lowest real-terms level in a decade at a time when airlines are making massive profits and Heathrow remains loss-making because of fewer passengers and higher financing costs,” a spokesman said yesterday. The lower charge did not satisfy airlines, either, some of whom have accused Heathrow of underplaying its recovery from the pandemic. “Heathrow has abused its power throughout this process, peddling false narratives and flawed passenger forecasts in an attempt to win an economic argument,” Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss said yesterday.
See you next Monday? Lloyd’s chief calls on Square Mile to go four-days-a-week LOUIS GOSS THE BOSS of Lloyd’s of London has said the City needs “to get Monday back” in order to get the Square Mile back to full speed. The insurance marketplace’s chief executive John Neal (pictured) said yesterday that while “Tuesdays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays are busy”, he now wants to see more City workers in and around his Lime Street headquarters on a Monday in an interview with the Financial Times. Neal has long been an advocate for flexibility in work and has driven a dramatic change in
working practices at Lloyd’s, with more digital dealing and broking than ever before, moving away from a previous in-person model focused almost exclusively on ‘the room’ at the heart of the Richard Rogersdesigned building. But Neal has also said
that in-person workplaces are “massively important for younger workers”. The Lloyd’s boss has argued working in the office helps to “develop… the next generation”, claiming more experienced staff owe a “responsibility”
to less experienced colleagues. Last week it emerged that Lloyd’s of London was minded to remain in its current location, having previously mulled alternative building options. The marketplace will announce full year financial results in a fortnight, with analysts optimistic.
INSIDE START-UPS PILE PRESSURE ON HUNT P5 INSURERS REPORT P7 BUDGET LOOK AHEAD P12 THE SQUARE MILE AND ME: TAVIER TAYLOR P13 OPINION P18-19 SPORT P26-27