I can't work out what all the hoohah was about, in any direction
I agree - all very odd. To be honest deferring £10m is nowt, must be more to it. This from Theo Leggett on the BBC website:
Three days after the government trumpeted its deal with Flybe's shareholders to keep the airline operating, it's still far from clear what has actually been agreed.
We know that shareholders plan to make up to £30m available and £9m will come from Stobart Group, with the funds "drawn down only if required". It's not clear how much Cyrus Capital and Virgin Atlantic will each provide.
We know that the Flybe is talking to the government about a loan, because chief executive Mark Anderson has said so. He told employees it would be "a commercial loan … the same as any loan we'd take from any bank".
And Flybe says it has agreed a plan with HMRC to delay payment of a debt "of less than £10m" for a few months.
But many questions remain.
For example, if the government loan is going to be on commercial terms, why not just go to a bank?
If the shareholders are willing to pump in up to £30m, why does Flybe need to delay paying its debts to HMRC?
With a full blown row raging over whether or not the package involves state aid, and whether the government should actually be encouraging regional air transport at all, it seems transparency is in very short supply.