Business News

NORTHERN ROCK TO REPAY LOANS

Some 152,000 Northern Rock Asset Management customers will receive hundreds of pounds each in compensation owing to mistakes made in paperwork. Customers who took out personal loans of less than £25,000 will receive an average of £1,775 each.

Bank staff failed to include key details on annual statements about loans, including the original amount which had been borrowed. Refunds of the interest paid by customers will now be made.

DELTA AIRLINES BUY STAKE IN BRANSON’S AIRLINE

Delta Air Lines has agreed a deal to buy Singapore Airlines' 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic for $360m (£224m). Virgin Group and Sir Richard Branson will retain their 51% shareholding, and the Virgin brand will remain in place, the new partners said in a joint statement.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval in the US and Europe. Investors in Delta shrugged off any concerns over that and closed up 5.1% in New York trading.

COSTA SALES UP

As Starbucks are currently engulfed in a tax crisis and a potential customer boycott in the UK, rivals Costa Coffee (owned by Whitbread) have seen a massive rise in sales of 7.7 %. This has pleased Whitbread who over the next 5 years plan an aggressive growth strategy for Costa by opening 330 new stores in several different markets.

Starbucks may yet find that the offer of paying £20 million to HMRC over the next two years may still be seen as too little, too late. It is worth pointing out that Starbucks have done nothing illegal, but it does appear that the all important consumer perception of events deems it immoral. Troubling times ahead in the UK for the Seattle based coffee chain?

Sources: BBC Business News, CNN