plans – Latest News

Harland & Wolff plans to revamp old vessels

admin — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 00:22:27 +0000

Harland & Wolff plans to revamp old vessels

Updated: 16:57 EDT, 8 September 2023

Harland & Wolff hopes to cash in on a freeze in demand for new cruise ships – by refurbishing old ones.

The 162-year-old shipyard operator, best known for building the Titanic at its Belfast site, said the construction of new cruise ships had ‘stagnated’ in recent months amid the backdrop of soaring interest rates.

Operators are instead ‘increasingly decommissioning old vessels and refurbishing other vessels as part of their mid-life upgrades’, the company said, adding that it ‘expects to benefit from this trend’.

Heritage: The 162-year-old shipyard operator is best known for building the Titanic at its Belfast site

It has opened offices in Southampton and Miami to vie for more work in the sector.

The company, which also owns the Appledore shipyard in Devon, revealed the plans as it reported widening half-year losses of £31.5m, up from £17.6m a year ago – despite growing revenues by 65 per cent to £25.5m.

It said the losses reported yesterday were mainly due to hiring new workers in preparation to deliver the contract and other work. The company is also in advanced talks to secure crucial £200m financing.

Shares fell 12.8 per cent, or 1.95p, to 13.3p.

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Aldi has plans to open 500 more supermarket stores in Britain

admin — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 18:14:04 +0000

Aldi has plans to open 500 more supermarket stores in Britain

German supermarket opened its 1,000th UK store in Woking
A year ago, Aldi surpassed Morrisons to become Britain’s fourth-largest grocer
Two-thirds of Britons now shop at Aldi, according to research agency Kantar

By Harry Wise

Updated: 12:13 EDT, 7 September 2023

Aldi has revealed an ambitious goal to grow the number of British stores by 50 per cent as shoppers continue to seek bargains amid the cost-of-living crisis.

It was already planning to open 1,200 outlets in the UK by the end of 2025 but is now targeting 1,500 shops over the long term to satisfy growing demand.

To achieve the objective, the firm says it intends to invest billions of pounds in the country’s economy, including £1.3billion under a current two-year investment plan.

The German supermarket announced the new goal on the same day it opened its 1,000th UK store in Woking, Surrey, its 150th site in the South East.

Expansion goal: Discount retailer Aldi was already planning to open 1,200 outlets in the UK by the end of 2025 but is now targeting 1,500 shops over the long term

A year ago, the group surpassed Morrisons to become Britain’s fourth-largest grocer as soaring inflation led cash-strapped consumers to do more of their shopping at discount retailers.

Food prices have risen massively in the past 18 months, hitting a record annual rate of 19.2 per cent last March, partly due to the Ukraine war driving up energy bills and costs of everyday staples like wheat and grains.

About two-thirds of Britons now shop with Aldi, a 1.1 million rise on the previous year, according to data from market research agency Kantar.

But even before the Ukraine conflict and resulting economic crisis, low prices had helped the supermarket gradually boost its market share for over a decade.

Since 2009, Aldi has enlarged its share of UK grocery sales more than fivefold, from 2 per cent to 10.2 per cent for the 12 weeks ending 6 August, the first time it had crossed the double-digit threshold.

Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: ‘Our popularity is growing, and there is huge demand for people to have an Aldi store near to them to increase shoppers’ access to our unbeatable prices.

‘The next phase of our expansion will involve another 500 new stores over the coming years. It is a long-term target and is not a ceiling to our ambition to have an Aldi store close to everyone in the UK.’

Some supermarkets have responded to the rising popularity of budget retailers like Aldi and Lidl by vowing to equal them on prices for key products.

Sainsbury’s now has over 400 goods as part of its Aldi Price Match campaign, while Tesco has more than 500 in its equivalent campaign.

BUSINESS LIVE: £2.2bn water infrastructure plans; CAB Payments float

admin — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 08:17:14 +0000

BUSINESS LIVE: Ofwat green lights £2.2bn water infrastructure plans; CAB Payments eyes £851m float; Ex-Ted Baker CEO joins Ocado board

By Live Commentary

Updated: 04:13 EDT, 27 June 2023

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Just Stop Oil protesters ‘plot chaos at Wimbledon’, with plans to ‘glue themselves to

admin — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 07:21:14 +0000

Just Stop Oil protesters ‘are hatching plot to cause chaos at Wimbledon’, with group planning to ‘glue themselves to Centre Court’ during match

A new report suggests Just Stop Oil protestors could target Wimbledon
The group have already made a stand at other sporting events across the UK
One protestor suggested the imagery could top that from The Crucible

By Samuel Draper For Mailonline

Published: 20:01 EDT, 18 June 2023 | Updated: 03:17 EDT, 19 June 2023

Just Stop Oil protestors are reportedly plotting to target the Wimbledon tennis tournament in their next attempt to raise awareness.

The group have already made a stand by throwing orange powder across the table at the World Snooker Championships, and holding up a bus of England cricket players ahead of an Ashes warm-up test at Lord’s.

As they plan to continue their summer of action across the UK, they have set their sights on SW19 in July.

The Sun report that members of the group may glue themselves to Wimbledon’s iconic Centre Court, disrupting the UK’s biggest tennis event in the calendar, or even targeting the umpire’s chair or the grass at the tournament.

A source told the newspaper: ‘An image of someone’s hand glued to something on Centre Court would be amazing.

A new report suggests that Just Stop Oil protestors are planning to target Wimbledon in July

One protestor said it could create ‘a better photo’ than the World Snooker Championship one

‘That would be very inspiring. There’s a lot of people up for that.’

They said that plans to target Wimbledon were ‘a bit of an open secret’, because of the coverage it would generate, with images of the attack at The Crucible in Sheffield creating significant buzz on social media.

On the prospect of something similar at the third Grand Slam of the year, a protestor told The Sun: ‘It would be an iconic image. It would be an even better photo than the snooker.’

The main draws of the Wimbledon Championships begin on Monday the 3rd of July, and run for two weeks.

Whitbread speeds up plans to sell 250 Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pubs and restaurants

admin — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 19:35:14 +0000

Whitbread speeds up plans to sell 250 Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pubs and restaurants – is yours on the market?

Whitbread is auctioning off 250 of its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pub-diners
It is reportedly looking to sell them to a pub operator to speed up the process

By Stewart Carr

Updated: 12:08 EDT, 16 June 2023

One of Britain’s biggest pub chains to looking to speed up plans to sell off hundreds of its pubs and restaurants, it has been reported.

Whitbread, which operates the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains, is auctioning off 250 of its venues in an estimated £600million process.

Mitchells & Butlers, the owners of the Harvester and Toby Carvery brands, is tipped to be the frontrunner to acquire the businesses, The Times reports.

But other contenders include Greene King, Heineken and Marton’s and Punch.

Whitbread is believed to be seeking to restrict the auction of its sites to established pub operators, in order to avoid a long, drawn-out disposal, and has ‘tested the water’ with various chains according to a city source.

Whitbread, which operates the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains, is auctioning off 250 of its venues in an estimated £600million process

Mitchells & Butlers, the owners of the Harvester and Toby Carvery brands, is tipped to be the frontrunner to acquire the businesses

Whitbread, based in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, plans to offload 250 of its 440 pub-restaurants, most of which are located next to a Premier Inn.

The majority of these sites for disposal have been noted as either marginal or loss-making. Full-year results published in April include impairment losses made out against 13 of its poorest performing restaurants.

Whitbread has twice completed deals with Mitchells & Butlers in the past, making it an obvious frontrunner in the upcoming sale.

In 2008, Whitbread exchanged 44 pub-restaurants for 21 M&B hotels – both valued at around £78million – in a straightforward asset swap which saw no cash involved.

M&B’s estate has been praised for for its high quality following a refurbishment programme overseen by chief executive Phil urban, 60.

The company has a sizeable portfolio of 650 sites including such staples as Miller * Carter and Umber Inns.

Whitbread, based in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, plans to offload 250 of its 440 pub-restaurants, most of which are located next to a Premier Inn

Commentators said Urban may easily choose to convert Whitbread’s ageing Beefeaters restaurants into high quality Miller & Carter venues, and Brewers Fayre pubs into Harvesters.

Britain’s biggest pub group Stonegate is itself undergoing a sales process, ruling it out of acquiring the Whitbread collection.

Whitbread, ranked among the FTSE 100, was founded by brewing apprentice Samuel Whitbread in 1742 and grew to become the nation’s third-largest beer firm in the two centuries that followed.

In 1999, it abruptly sold off all of its beer interests to US firm Interbrew, now known as InBev, and instead grew its hotel business in the UK, Germany and the Middle East to around 850 sites.

Biut the group’s pub-restaurant trade has struggled in recent years, with a series of CEOs unable to to turn it around.

One difficulty with disposal is the use of many Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants in providing breakfasts to Premier Inn customers, although analysts say an arrangement could be reached with the buyer.

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CAB Payments confirms plans to list on the London Stock Exchange

admin — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 13:30:25 +0000

CAB Payments confirms it WILL list on the London Stock Exchange following City disappointment after WE Soda scrapped UK share listing

The initial public offering for CAB Payments took take place as early as July
Earlier today WE Soda dealt London a blow by axing LSE listing plans

By Jane Denton For Thisismoney

Updated: 08:03 EDT, 15 June 2023

Business-to-business cross-border payments group CAB Payments Holdings has confirmed plans to launch on the London Stock Exchange this year.

A trend of businesses spurning London in preference of New York has accelerated this year, with global banking woes pushing the sum raised from UK listings down by 80 per cent in the first quarter, according to Ernst & Young figures.

WE Soda yesterday dealt another blow to the market after scrapping plans to list in London over disagreements over valuation.

Boost: CAB Payments Holdings has confirmed plans to launch on the London Stock Exchange this year

A final offer price is yet to be set for the CAB Payments listing but the initial public offering on London’s main market could take place as early as next month.

The offer will be comprised of a secondary sell-down of existing ordinary shares held by Merlin Midco Ltd and ‘certain’ other shareholders. The IPO will be targeted at institutional investors outside of the US.

The group said there had been ‘significant interest’ in a possible LSE float since it hinted at the move earlier this month.

Analysts previously estimated that the company could achieve a valuation of between £800million to £1billion.

Ann Cairns, chair of CAB Payments, said: ‘Bringing CAB Payments to the public market underscores our confidence in the business and its value generation potential, as well as our confidence in the UK as the home for innovative and growing global businesses, and cements CAB Payments as a preferred payments and forex partner for blue-chip companies transacting in emerging markets.

‘We have been pleased with the investor engagement so far and look forward to further discussing our value proposition with investors, based on our strong track record of profitable and cash generative growth that was built on the foundation of a well-invested technology platform, a compliance-first culture and robust governance frameworks, and a business model that delivers real economic development benefits to emerging markets.’

Barclays Bank and JP Morgan Chase and Co have been engaged as coordinators and sponsors for the IPO.

Claire Trachet, chief executive of business advisory Trachet, said: ‘Both global and UK businesses are still looking to list on the LSE, however, until economic conditions strengthen, and investor trust and appetite is restored, the city will continue to experience a largely inactive IPO market.

‘I think we will eventually see an increase in UK listings, but this won’t happen until inflation numbers stabilise and looming recession fears fade, lifting the curtain on what remains an uncertain economic outlook.

‘In the meantime, we’ve quickly moved into an environment where companies are seeking funding from private equity vehicles or strengthening their position through M&As.’

According to research by Proactive Investors, since the start of April, there have been over a dozen initial public offers, including four in the first few days of June.

In the secondary market, the research logged 20 fundraisers by existing listed companies in the last month for a total of just under £40million, the biggest of which was just over £6million, the smallest £250,000.

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Disneyland unveils plans for new Pixar-themed hotel – complete with Finding Nemo water

admin — Sat, 27 May 2023 06:00:15 +0000

Disney is planning to open a Pixar themed hotel at their property in Anaheim, California – complete with a designated ‘Finding Nemo’ splash area and other references to iconic films.

The company announced Thursday that the current Paradise Pier Hotel will soon become Pixar Pier Hotel at the Disneyland Resort.

The hotel will include a new water play-pad area modeled after ‘Finding Nemo,’ a new American-style eatery, and an outside court for families with Pixar touches.

According to Disney Parks officials, construction is already underway and the hotel will officially reopen to the public in winter.

The Pixar-themed hotel news comes just one week after Disney announced the shuttering of Galactic Starcruiser, the pricey Star Wars hotel in Orlando, Florida.

Disney is planning to open a Pixar themed hotel at their property in Anaheim, California – complete with a designated ‘Finding Nemo’ splash area and other references to iconic films

The hotel will include a new water play-pad area modeled after ‘Finding Nemo,’ a new American-style eatery, and an outside court for families with Pixar touches

The 15-story hotel which overlooks Disneyland has already seen major changes in recent weeks as the exterior has been given a facelift with bright colors.

Paradise Pier Hotel will remain open to the public throughout the transition.

In addition to being the United States’ only fully Pixar-themed hotel, Disney Parks officials said guests will still have early access to Disneyland.

Disney offers early access to guests at their own hotels in California and Florida.

The first new portion of Pixar Pier Hotel to open will be the ‘Finding Nemo’ area.

‘Later this summer, overnight guests can splish and splash at an all-new water play area inspired by “Finding Nemo” where the fan-favorite fish and his friends frolic alongside families,’ a release from the company’s blog states.

One feature of note in the water park is a 186-foot-long slide that features Hank from ‘Finding Nemo’ at the top.

At some point before the hotel fully opens under its new theme, a play court centered around Pixar’s short films will be available for guests.

‘Interactive games and imaginative free play celebrate favorite friends from “La Luna,” “Bao,” “For the Birds,” and “Burrow,”‘ the release states.

‘And when it’s time to relax, guests may enjoy food and drinks under the love-struck umbrellas from “The Blue Umbrella,”‘ the release continues.

The court will also be the ‘ideal spot’ to watch the Disneyland fireworks each night.

Inside the hotel, mock-ups of the interior show characters and images from Pixar classic films such as ‘Inside Out’ and ‘The Incredibles’

At some point before the hotel fully opens under its new theme, a play court centered around Pixar’s short films will be available for guests

This is the current Paradise Pier Hotel located on Disneyland’s property in California

Inside the hotel, mock-ups of the interior show characters and images from Pixar classic films such as ‘Inside Out’ and ‘The Incredibles.’

The new restaurant, Great Maple, will serve breakfast lunch and dinner and is described as ‘upscale comfort.’

Additional details about amenities and decor will be offered in the coming months.

The redesign may be an effort to match the current Pixar Pier inside Disney’s California Adventure park, which originally opened in 2001 as Paradise Pier.

Pixar Pier reopened to the public in 2018 after a renovation to theme it around Pixar films with rides like ‘Incredicoaster, Toy Story: Midway Mania, and Inside Out: Emotional Whirlwind.

The re-imagination of the West Coast hotel comes exactly one week after Disney announced the closure of the expensive Star Wars hotel in Florida.

Galactic Starcruiser has been open for just a year but will close in September.

While guests routinely gave the hotel high ratings for its immersive atmosphere and presentation, it was criticized for its exorbitant price.

A two-night ‘voyage’ could cost up to $20,000 for a ‘tricked out’ suite.

Average rooms for a family of three or four ran about $1,200 per person.

In March, DailyMail.com reported that Disney was struggling to fill up bookings and had reduced availability for the fall.

The re-imagination on the West Coast comes exactly one week after Disney announced the closure of the expensive Star Wars hotel in Florida

The immersive lodging will carry out its final ‘voyages’ in September, four years after it was announced at D23 Expo in 2019

The hotel ship’s ‘Bridge,’ where guests can interact with action taking place on screen

The hotel, which is located near Disney World in Orlando, Florida, created major buzz when it first opened over its price and its amenities.

Included in the two day experience is a cabin or suite, ongoing immersive entertainment, food and beverages in and out of the space, and admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The experience also offered guests a chance to jump into the Star Wars universe and partake in the Resistance against Kylo Ren and the First Order.

Galactic Starcruiser also won a Thea Award for outstanding achievement in a themed entertainment space.

At 68, Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin has no plans to call time on his career

admin — Sun, 14 May 2023 00:26:12 +0000

Outspoken: Tim Martin isn’t shy about putting the world to rights

At the age of 68, many businessmen would be thinking about retirement. But not Tim Martin, the very out- spoken executive chairman of the high street pub chain stalwart JD Wetherspoon.

‘We are built to work and it suits me,’ he says over a latte at The Great Harry pub in Woolwich, south-east London.

While Martin, who founded Wetherspoons in 1979, may be an enthusiastic member of the workforce, official figures show an increasing number of Britons are stepping away from employment before they hit the State Pension age of 66.

Some politicians and economists are blaming this trend for labour shortages and say it is holding back the economy.

Last Thursday, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride went so far as to say income tax could be cut by 2p if those who left jobs during the pandemic – many of them older workers – returned to work.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, Martin doesn’t mince his words on the subject, which he says is putting ‘quite a lot of pressure’ on his FTSE 250 pub chain.

‘I think we should get the b*****ds back to work,’ he says. ‘I think me and Warren Buffett [the legendary US fund manager who is still working at 92] should launch a campaign to say life is sweeter if you go out to work when everyone else is retired.’

He acknowledges that although the point at which people decide to stop working is a personal choice, employers have a significant influence, too, adding: ‘It is up to businesses to make it attractive to work – maybe part time – which is what a lot of the oldies do in our business.’

According to Martin, an older worker in Clacton-on-Sea told him recently she had no plans to retire, adding: ‘What am I going to do? Stay at home and look at the wall?’

While running a company would be enough for most people, Martin is also keeping up the campaigning streak he honed in the run-up to the EU referendum, when he was a vocal Leave supporter.

He is a fervent opponent, for example, of the decision by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to increase corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent

Martin also joined business leaders headed by hotel tycoon Sir Rocco Forte and senior Tories including Sir Iain Duncan Smith last month to call on Sunak to scrap the tourist tax on foreign visitors, who are no longer able to claim back the VAT they pay during shopping sprees in the UK.

In addition, he is a passionate campaigner for tax equality between pubs, bars and restaurants, and the supermarket chains which pay lower tax on food and drink sales.

Supermarkets can sell beer on the cheap, he argues, because they pay no VAT on food sales, but pubs and restaurants must pay 20 per cent. Martin says this has led to a slower post-pandemic recovery for the industry because it encourages people to buy alcohol in supermarkets and then drink it at home. In spite of all of this, Wetherspoons appears to be going from strength to strength.

The £1 billion group, which has 834 venues, reported last week that it is on course for a record year after a bumper Easter week followed by its ‘busiest-ever’ Saturday at the end of April.

The Coronation was a ‘noticeably quiet’ day, but that could have been because the rainy weather resulted in people opting to stay at home.

This buoyancy represents a change of tune after Martin said in January that expectations for a boom in the pub industry had not materialised and the recovery in sales had been sluggish.

He opened his first Wetherspoons pub in north London’s Muswell Hill 43 years ago – famously naming it after the character JD Hogg in the US TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, and a teacher called Wetherspoon who told him he would never amount to anything.

When Martin launched the company, Margaret Thatcher had been residing at Number 10 for around six months.

Britain’s first female Prime Minister had launched a radical programme of tax cuts and deregulation as part of a mission to revive business after years of industrial strife and economic decline under a Labour government. As a result it was an extremely exciting time for entrepreneurs. Britain’s pro-business agenda continued through John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s premierships, and Wetherspoons quickly grew into one of the country’s largest pub groups.

But Martin, who is one of Britain’s biggest taxpayers, is pessimistic about today’s politicians. ‘We have a Government and political class with relatively little experience of business,’ he says. ‘From the 1970s, not just the Conservative government, but also Labour, genuinely realised that enterprise is the key to future success.’

He says things are different nowadays, adding: ‘You don’t much hear people saying we need to encourage business.’

Martin is no fan of Sunak and says he is ‘not setting the world alight’ and ‘could be friendlier to business’.

He has decided to ‘keep neutral’ on the Labour Party, which many expect to win the next general election. ‘I am sure Keir Starmer is one of the nicest people I have never met,’ he says, then adds that he ‘can’t see’ the pair going on the campaign trail together.

Wetherspoons was one of the most recognisable names in British business before the EU referendum in 2016. Martin went on to grab headline after headline for his criticism of the Remain campaign and for his decision to print pro-Leave rants on beermats. Despite the Leave camp winning, he has not been satisfied by the policies that have followed.

In particular, he takes aim at former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, with whom he pulled pints during the run-up to the referendum.

‘I think a lot of the economic decisions that have been taken by the Government since the referendum have been awful,’ he says. ‘None more so than when Boris was in charge. He would not be running the finance department at Wetherspoons.’

But Martin is still a believer in the UK’s decision to leave the EU, highlighting historically low unemployment and the London Stock Exchange hitting record highs. He also insists that Brexit has ‘increased the level of democracy in the UK’.

He said: ‘By far the most potent economic force in world history is democracy.

‘If you look at the 50 most economically successful countries in the world, apart from a few oil states, they are all democracies. And if you look at the freest states they are all democracies.

‘So you have a mixture of freedom and democracy, and what Brexit did is increase the level of democracy in the UK.

‘That doesn’t guarantee nirvana, but it is a precondition to future economic success.’

Tottenham chairman Levy finalising plans to appoint a new sporting director before

admin — Fri, 12 May 2023 17:30:03 +0000

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy finalising plans to appoint a new sporting director before summer transfer window… with Roma chief Tiago Pinto and Eintracht’s Markus Krosche in the frame following departure of Fabio Paratici

By Sami Mokbel for MailOnline

Published: 13:00 EDT, 12 May 2023 | Updated: 13:00 EDT, 12 May 2023

Tottenham are finalising their plans to appoint a new sporting director with Tiago Pinto and Markus Krosche among the names under consideration.

Chairman Daniel Levy has already appointed Scott Munn to assume the position as chief football officer and also wants a new sporting director in place ahead of the summer transfer window.

Previous sporting director Fabio Paratici left the club last month after his appeal against a worldwide football ban for alleged irregular financial practices during his time working for Juventus failed.

Paratici’s replacement will report to Munn, who will start work later this summer.

Johannes Spors and Brentford’s Lee Dykes are among the names currently under consideration for the role.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy wants a sporting director in place for the transfer window

Roma general manager Tiago Pinto works alongside former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho

Markus Krosche (above) worked closely with Julian Naglesmann at Red Bull Leipzig

But Pinto and Krosche are also emerging as candidates for the vacancy.

Pinto is currently general manager at Roma, where he works closely alongside former Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho.

He has recently been linked with a similar position at West Ham.

Meanwhile, Krosche is currently sporting director at German club Eintracht Frankfurt.

Intriguingly, Krosche worked closely with Julian Naglesmann, who is out of work and a possible candidate to become Tottenham’s next head coach, at Red Bull Leipzig.

Naglesmann, as reported by Mail Sport, wants clarity on the identity of Tottenham’s next sporting director before deciding whether to take any formal approach from Spurs seriously.

Krosche was linked with a similar role at Liverpool earlier this season and has an excellent reputation within European football circles.

Bayern Munich are also said to be interested in acquiring his services.

West Ham considering fan zone plans for if they reach the Europa Conference League final

admin — Fri, 12 May 2023 11:29:13 +0000

EXCLUSIVE: West Ham plan to turn the Olympic Park into a huge fan zone if they reach the Europa Conference League final… with thousands set to be disappointed with just 5,000 tickets available in Prague

West Ham hold a 2-1 lead over AZ Alkmaar going into the second-leg next week
The Fortuna Arena holding the final has capacity for a fraction over 20,000
Allocations for both of the finalists would receive around just 5,000 fans

By Riath Al-Samarrai for MailOnline

Published: 06:56 EDT, 12 May 2023 | Updated: 07:18 EDT, 12 May 2023

West Ham are exploring plans to install a fan zone adjacent to the London Stadium in the event that they reach the Europa Conference League final next month.

David Moyes’s side hold a 2-1 first-leg lead in their semi-final with AZ Alkmaar but, if they make it through, thousands of supporters will be unable to make the June 7 final in Prague because of the tiny capacity at Fortuna Arena.

The ground has capacity for a fraction over 20,000, with the allocations for each of the finalists around just 5,000.

In mitigation for such a limited presence at the game, West Ham are taking the sensible step of considering options in advance for how they might mark their first European final since 1976.

Sources have indicated that will possibly include giant screens on the London 2012 warm-up track at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in the shadow of the stadium. It would be a key part of the club’s broader plans to make the site feel more of a ‘home’ to West Ham fans after the difficult move from the Boleyn Ground in 2016.

The winner of West Ham’s tie with AZ Alkmaar will face Basel or Fiorentina.

West Ham are considering installing a fan zone adjacent to the London Stadium should they reach the Europa Conference League final

The Hammers have one hand on a spot in the final after their 2-1 first-leg win over AZ Alkmaar

The Fortuna Arena (pictured in 2021) has a capacity for a fraction of just over 20,000 supporters with both clubs to make the final receiving an allocation of around 5,000

plans – Latest News

Harland & Wolff plans to revamp old vessels

Harland & Wolff plans to revamp old vessels

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Aldi has plans to open 500 more supermarket stores in Britain

Aldi has plans to open 500 more supermarket stores in Britain

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BUSINESS LIVE: £2.2bn water infrastructure plans; CAB Payments float

BUSINESS LIVE: Ofwat green lights £2.2bn water infrastructure plans; CAB Payments eyes £851m float; Ex-Ted Baker CEO joins Ocado board

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Just Stop Oil protesters ‘plot chaos at Wimbledon’, with plans to ‘glue themselves to

Just Stop Oil protesters ‘are hatching plot to cause chaos at Wimbledon’, with group planning to ‘glue themselves to Centre Court’ during match

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Whitbread speeds up plans to sell 250 Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pubs and restaurants

Whitbread speeds up plans to sell 250 Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pubs and restaurants – is yours on the market?

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CAB Payments confirms plans to list on the London Stock Exchange

CAB Payments confirms it WILL list on the London Stock Exchange following City disappointment after WE Soda scrapped UK share listing

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Disneyland unveils plans for new Pixar-themed hotel – complete with Finding Nemo water

At 68, Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin has no plans to call time on his career

Tottenham chairman Levy finalising plans to appoint a new sporting director before

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy finalising plans to appoint a new sporting director before summer transfer window… with Roma chief Tiago Pinto and Eintracht’s Markus Krosche in the frame following departure of Fabio Paratici

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West Ham considering fan zone plans for if they reach the Europa Conference League final

EXCLUSIVE: West Ham plan to turn the Olympic Park into a huge fan zone if they reach the Europa Conference League final… with thousands set to be disappointed with just 5,000 tickets available in Prague

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