Saga has announced that it is in talks with lenders about its debt levels, causing shares to dip 1.51% on Tuesday morning.

However, despite the negative impacts the business has seen throughout the pandemic, the cruise operator has reported a surge in bookings amid the vaccine rollout.

Saga said that lenders have been “supportive” as the group has seen net-debt jump from £139m to £785m since July.

Saga chief executive, Euan Sutherland, said: “We have made good progress in delivering our new strategy and have accelerated the pace of change at Saga, against the backdrop of the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to our business.

“Insurance remains resilient, while within travel we are focusing on ensuring the safest possible environment for our guests when cruise and holidays resume, whilst appropriately controlling costs until that time.

“We are confident in our strategy, the strength of our brand and the loyalty and economic resilience of our customers.

“We know they are ready to travel in great numbers and live their lives to the full as the vaccine programme is rolled out. We are excited about the opportunities ahead as we focus on delivering more exceptional experiences for our customers.”

Last week, Sage said that it will require all customers travelling this summer to be vaccinated. The group will require passengers to have both shots of the vaccine at least 14 days before travel as well as provide a negative Covid test at departure.

Nick Stace, chief executive of Saga’s travel arm, commented: “Given that many of our customers are in the priority age range and we’ve done calculations based on what government has said, we think shortly after beginning of May almost all of customers will have received a second vaccination.”

Saga shares (LON: SAGA) are trading -3.99% at 266,72 (1133GMT).

Crest Nicholson has reported a £10.7m loss after tax, which is compared to last year’s £82.5m profit.

Revenue at the housebuilder fell from £1.09bn to £677.9m amid the pandemic, however, the group has said that it will reinstate dividend payments this year as housing demand continues to bounce back.

Crest Nicholson has repaid the £2.5m from the furlough scheme.

In the year to October 3, the group sold 2,247 home – this is 22.8% lower than the previous year.

Since restrictions eased in May last year and the government introduced the stamp-duty holiday, the group has a seen a boost in trading thanks to pent-up demand and people wanting more space.

Chief executive Peter Truscott said: “The impact of Covid-19 has clearly had a defining impact on this year’s financial performance.

“It has challenged all of us in ways we could not have predicted, and I would like to recognise at the outset, the incredible job the team at Crest Nicholson have done in keeping our operations running safely and securely during the pandemic.

“We had to make some difficult decisions during this year but because we acted swiftly we have ensured the Group enters 2021 in strong shape and will remain resilient to whatever challenges this year brings.

“We have made strong progress on all elements of our strategy, delivered profit ahead of our revised guidance and strengthened the balance sheet as we promised,” he added.

Crest Nicholson shares are trading +1.37% at 310.40 (0926GMT).

Pub City Group posted a trading statement for the 52-week period to 27 December 2020, revealing a 57% plunge in sales.

The pub chain, which owns 48 pubs across Southern England and Wales, saw sales fall from £60m to £25.7m amid the pandemic and Coronavirus restrictions.

However, despite the drop in sales over 2020 Pub City Group is still making plans to expand and has four development sites. The group said: “Actions to enhance and improve the business during the pandemic will enable the Group to rapidly take advantage of pent-up consumer demand and opportunities that will undoubtedly emerge.”

The cash burn has been reduced to £300k per month, which is excluding all government grants with the exception of furlough. pub City Group expects a rapid return to cash generation and profitability once they reopen due to the enhanced operational model.

The group has furloughed all staff – except eight employees.

Clive Watson, Chairman of City Pub Group said: “2020 has been a very challenging year, but decisions made since March 2020 with regards to the fundraising, cost control, streamlining of the business, and strengthening of the board has resulted in a very strong balance sheet, good levels of liquidity, a strengthening of our business model, a more focussed proposition and most importantly, pure determination to go out there and do the business once the pubs reopen. 

“We have the right people in the key roles, whether in the pubs or head office and a fantastic estate to trade from. I look forward to a time when I can announce to shareholders that we are on the acquisition trail again, but this will only be considered once we are hitting high levels of optimisation from our existing capacity,” he added.

Shell has announced plans to buy ubitricity – the German on-street electric car-charging company.

The oil-giant is under growing pressure to cut its carbon emissions. Shell has set out plans for “green” forecourts, which includes electric charging and biofuels.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year and is a big step in the race for electric vehicle charging as the deadline to ban the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles is 2030.

The head of Shell’s global mobility business, István Kapitány, said: “On-street options such as the lamp post charging offered by ubitricity will be key for those who live and work in cities or have limited access to off-street parking.

“Whether at home, at work or on the go, we want to provide our customers with accessible and affordable EV [electric vehicle] charging options so they can charge up no matter where they are.”

Ubitricity has over 2,700 charge points across the UK and over 1,500 charge points across Germany and France.

Lex Hartman, ubitricity’s chief executive, commented: “Particularly in larger cities where there is limited access to off-street parking, this is the solution many people have been waiting for to allow them to transition to EV ownership. Combining this piece of the puzzle with Shell’s existing range of EV charging solutions gives EV drivers access to a full range of charging options, making Shell and ubitricity a perfect match.”

Pensana Rare Earths Plc has announced that it has submitted a planning application to establish rare earth processing facility at Saltend Chemicals Park, Yorkshire.

Once constructed and in operation, the US$125m facility will create around 100 direct jobs and become one of the world’s largest producers of rare earth oxides, crucial components in the manufacture of powerful permanent magnets which are used in a range of growing advanced industries including electric vehicles and offshore wind turbines.

The 370-acre site will be located on the Humber estuary, which is a gateway to Europe and the UK’s busiest ports complex.

Commenting on the news Pensana’s Chairman, Paul Atherley, said: “We have been delighted with the enthusiastic support from a broad range of stakeholders for this proposed investment, which will create high value manufacturing jobs in the Humber region and will be an important step in establishing the world’s first sustainable mine to magnet metal supply chain in the UK.

“The plug and play services provided by the px Group at the world-class Saltend Chemicals Park have substantially reduced the capital cost of the proposed facility, allowing us to focus on the operational aspects of the investment and providing scope for our longer-term ambitions.

“We look forward to working with local stakeholders on establishing the approvals for this investment in high value manufacturing in the UK,” he added.

Pensana Rare Earths Plc shares (LON: PRE) are trading +9.04% at 102,50 (1026GMT).

Boohoo has announced plans to buy the Debenhams website and brand in a £55m deal.

The deal was announced this morning and whilst Boohoo is buying the brand’s name and website – it will not save the 118 department stores, which will all close down. The store closures could result in 12,000 job losses.

Boohoo said in a statement: “The group will only be acquiring the brands and associated intellectual property rights. The transaction does not include Debenhams’ retail stores, stock or any financial services.”

The Debenhams website is in the UK’s top ten retail websites and receives 300m million visits a year.

Mahmud Kamani, executive chairman at Boohoo, commented on the deal: “This is a transformational deal for the group, which allows us to capture the fantastic opportunity as e-commerce continues to grow. Our ambition is to create the UK’s largest marketplace.

“Our acquisition of the Debenhams brand is strategically significant as it represents a huge step which accelerates our ambition to be a leader, not just in fashion e-commerce, but in new categories including beauty, sport and homeware.”

Following the news, Boohoo shares jumped 3.7% to 348.7p per share.

John Lyttle, chief executive of the online retailer, said: “The acquisition of the Debenhams brand is an important development for the group, as we seek to capture incremental growth opportunities arising from the accelerating shift to online retail.

“We have developed a successful multi-brand direct-to-consumer platform that continues to disrupt the markets that we operate in.

“The acquisition represents an exciting strategic opportunity to transform our target addressable market through the creation of an online marketplace that leverages Debenhams’ high brand awareness and traffic through the development of beauty and fashion partnerships connecting brands with consumers,” he added.

Boohoo shares are currently trading +3.39% at 344.17 (0836GMT).