Yes it is true, Brits have signed a renewal contract with Rolls Royce for RB211 engine support. This should be fun to watch, as the turn round time for RB's is surposed to be 30 days yet they constantly take up to 60! So in the past Brits have had to lease engines from wherever they can get them. Can we expect more of the same?
The sell off of Brits Engineering was put on hold, officially due to the take over of Thomson by Preusag. But it looks to me that when everything was taken into consideration, ie hangar support for AOG's, line cover, outstation support etc, then it was realised that Brits wouldn't get that from a 3rd party maintenance organisation at the same price, or cheaper, than keeping maintenance in house.
It is also interesting to note that sections such as baggage reclaim and Flight Training, including the simulator, were sold off during Preusag's spending spree. So it makes me wonder if Management got this one right for once, and went back on their decision to sell engineering. Historically, when an airline starts selling the family silver, it isn't long before they have nothing left to sell. Look at Dan Air for instance. It wasn't long after they asset sripped that they went under.