BBC Radio Kent

Image source, Pauline Bailey

A Kent woman on holiday in Spain says she has been forced to pay for her hotel room all over again, after travel firm Thomas Cook collapsed.

Pauline Bailey said she had just got out of the hotel swimming pool in Almeria in Spain when staff told her she would not be allowed to return to her room.

She told BBC Radio Kent she had paid in full for her holiday with Thomas Cook about six months ago.

"They'd locked the rooms of all the Thomas Cook people," she said.

She said staff had to let her into her room to retrieve her credit cards.

"We're here for ten days and we've had to pay for the ten days.

"There's a couple at the hotel who have a little one who couldn't afford to do it. They were in tears. I don't know what happened to them since."

She said Thomas Cook staff told her holidaymakers in about 60 rooms had been asked to pay again by the hotel.

"You're held over a barrel. What choice do you have?"

Image source, Getty Images

Luxury carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda has raised $150m (£120m) from a bond issue today.

It has the option to raise another $100m if order targets are met, to bolster its cash in a uncertain trading environment.

“What we have announced today is a cost and time-effective structure that immediately strengthens our liquidity in the short term and the option to draw further funding as we successfully execute the plan,” said chief financial officer Mark Wilson.

Shares in James Bond's favourite vehicle maker have dropped 3.24% to 556.2 so far this morning.

Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, reckons Boohoo's move into older brands will prove a challenge. He said:

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German prosecutors have charged three current and former Volkswagen executives with market manipulation in connection with a diesel emissions scandal.

Chief executive Herbert Diess, chairman Hans Dieter Potsch and former boss Martin Winterkorn have all been charged with misleading the German stock market about what they knew about Dieselgate - and when.

A fine of €870m will be paid by Daimler in relation to the certification of diesel vehicles that did not meet regulatory requirements.

"They are saying executives should have known earlier " about the rigged emissions data and that they should have told shareholders, said Arndt Ellinghorst, Head of Global Automotive Research at Evercore ISI.

"It's been a big, big moment of destruction at the company... in the end it will probably lead to a better company," he added, as the company focuses on cleaner electric vehicles.

Image source, Reuters

Commenting on the new issues at the Hinkley Point nuclear power project, Dr Jonathan Marshall, head of analysis at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: "New delays and cost overruns highlight why there are concerns around transferring more construction risk of new nuclear power stations onto British bill payers.

"Under the proposed Regulated Asset Base scheme, energy bills will increase to pay for nuclear power stations before they start generating. Considering the apparent inability of the nuclear industry to deliver projects on time and on budget, this is a cause for concern.

“As the urgency to build new low carbon energy sources increases, it is vital that policy makers ensure that projects are deliverable. Transforming the UK into a net zero carbon nation will be more difficult without the ability to count on planned projects to deliver clean energy in the next decade and beyond."

Image source, Boohoo

Online fashion firm Boohoo has trumpeted a "fantastic" first half as it notched up more than £1bn in sales for the first time.

It said overall revenues jumped 43% in the half-year to 31 August while pre-tax profits jumped 83% to £45.2m.

John Lyttle, chief executive of Boohoo, said: "We have delivered significant market share gains across all of our key markets, and for the first time in our history, revenue has exceeded £1bn in the last 12 months.

"We enter the second half of the year well-placed and confident," he added.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, has been looking at today's announcement by Sainsbury's of a strategic review. He has a warning for the supermarket chain's management:

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Back in 2007, EDF energy's UK boss Vincent de Rivaz promised that the UK would be cooking its Christmas turkeys on power provided by the Hinkley Point nuclear plant.

Now, however, households will have to wait until 2025.

Paul Spence, director of strategy and corporate affairs at EDF, says: "The hope of 2017 was set at a time when we thought we would start construction much earlier. What we have said today is that we remain aiming for construction to complete and for power to be produced in 2025 and we are giving our best view of that.

"Yes, there is a risk that it may take longer but the project team is working on ways to reduce that risk and to come in to the timetable that we have set for ourselves."

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Paul Spence, director of strategy and corporate affairs at EDF Energy is unable to guarantee that the cost of building the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will not rise again.

He tells the Today programme: "We've given the best view that we can, given what we know. We have made a lot of progress with the design at the moment.

I can't say today what will happen over the course of the rest of the construction."

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Forever 21 will close all its stores in Japan, amid reports the fashion retailer is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection.

In a statement, the company said 14 stores and its online outlet in the Japan would be closed in October.

Earlier this month Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, reported the US firm was preparing to close at least 100 stores. The move is part of a restructuring that requires the retailer to file for bankruptcy as early as this month, the report said.

Image source, EDF Energy

The boss of EDF's nuclear power plant project in the UK has blamed ground condition and design changes for the higher cost of building Hinkley Point C in Somerset.

In a letter to workers, Stuart Crooks said: "This is the country’s first nuclear plant for three decades. Restarting the new build industry hasn’t been easy or without its own costs."

He said: "Getting this far has cost more money than we anticipated. Our earthworks are complete but challenging ground conditions meant we overspent to finish them on time.

"We estimate an increase in budget to between £21.5bn and £22.5bn."

The FTSE 100 opened 0.56% lower at 7,250.30.

The blue chip index is being led by Sainsbury's who saw it share price rise 1.3% at 216.15p.

After two days of gains, shares in Thomas Cook rival TUI Group fell 2.1% to 939.1p.

The FTSE 250 is 0.46% lower at 19,825.04.

Image source, Reuters

The Civil Aviation Authority says that it brought back 94% of Thomas Cook customers who were due back in the UK 24 September.

It says some 70 flights operated to bring back more than 14,000 passengers.

The same number of flights are scheduled today to return 16,500 people to the UK.

It said: "The CAA wants everyone to continue to enjoy their holiday as we aim to bring people home on their original day of departure with Thomas Cook, or very shortly thereafter."

The flying programme will continue until Sunday 6 October with more than 1,000 flights planned.

Image source, Reuters

A project to build a new nuclear power station at Somerset could be delayed by 15 months and cost an extra £2.9bn according to French energy giant EDF.

The Hinkley Point C plant is being built by EDF alongside China General Nuclear Power Corp.

EDF says the cost to complete the project is now estimated to be between £21.5bn and £22.5bn - an increase of £1.9bn to £2.9bn compared to the previous estimate.

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CAA chairwoman Dame Deirdre Hutton, also says: "The Insolvency Practitioner has written to all the local tourist boards to get them to make sure that the hoteliers are working with us and that's happening in Turkey, Greece, Spain, Cuba and that's going well and having an impact.

"And we're also employing the 1,200 Thomas Cook reps in resorts so we are sorting this problem out one by one by one."

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Image source, AFP

CAA chairwoman Dame Deirdre Hutton says it is not surprising that hotels that did business with Thomas Cook are angry.

She tells the Today programme that one hotel in Mexico is owed £2.5m by the firm.

In total, the collapsed holiday group is on the hook to hotels for £338m.

"Given how much those hotels are owed by Thomas Cook it is hardly surprising that they are suspicious and angry," she says.

There is good news for those Thomas Cook customers and crew who were stuck in Cuba. They are heading back to the UK, according to Dame Deirdre.

For others who may be facing difficulties with hotels demanding payment, she says: "What we've done - and it is very distressing for people who are finding difficulties with their accommodation - but what we've done is issue guarantees to the 3,000 hotels with Atol-protected British tourists.

Image source, PA Media

Sainsbury's also said it expected its interim pre-tax profits to fall by £50m due to cost savings, "unseasonal weather" and higher marketing costs.

"However, in the second half we expect to benefit from the annualisation of last year's colleague wage increase and a normalisation of marketing costs and weather comparatives," it said.

The supermarket group said that while retail remains "highly competitive" and the "consumer outlook remains uncertai" it expects underlying pre-tax profits in line with expectations.

Image source, Getty Images

Sainsbury's has announced a 0.2% fall in like-for-like sales during the second quarter after being impacted by Argos where "reduced promotional activity and the timing of new product releases in gaming and toys" hit revenue.

In contrast, Sainsbury's said that its clothing sales were "boosted by clearance activity and strong online growth" in the 12 weeks to 21 September.