Bumpy flight ahead in easyJet’s cash crunch

AS THIS year’s muchdiminished Christmas getaway takes hold, easyJet chief Johan Lundgren will be eyeing how busy the airports get.

But before the big day he has an AGM to negotiate on Wednesday.

Speculation in the City is that the budget airline will soon have to go back to shareholders to raise more capital after landing £420 million through a placing back in June.

That could stoke the easily-triggered ire of its founder and biggest investor Sir Stelios HajiIoannou. He has been pushing for easyJet to slim down its fleet, with demand drastically down during the pandemic.

It is understood that Haji-Ioannou is unlikely to back any fundraiser without further cuts to the number of planes.

Sources also said the tycoon will vote against a string of proposals including reappointing its directors and its auditors PwC.

Don’t expect a festive truce then.

ASSOCIATED British Foods, owner of Primark, has been at the sharp end of the pandemic with Covid-19 forcing store closures this year.

But the shares have rallied of late as vaccine hopes, coupled with huge queues when stores reopened this month, spurred investor sentiment. Worth noting, then, a bumper £800,000 share sale by a family trust ‘closely associated’ with ABF’s CEO George Weston last week – enough to buy a truckload of Christmas jumpers.

IT’S clearly not one for the faint-hearted, but scribblers at Jefferies are urging followers to tuck into The Restaurant Group.

The owner of the Frankie & Benny’s chain is bleeding cash as a result of forced restaurant closures, along with shaky consumer confidence and a potential squeeze from rising inflation.

But analysts reckon the stock, currently changing hands at 63p, is undervalued and could be worth as much as 90p.

They argue that much of the hard work in closing unprofitable sites has been done and gains could be made if growth at Wagamama, the noodles chain it bought in 2018, can be sustained.

An appetising prospect for the brave punter.