2004 -
2004
JANUARY
Menzies Aviation and easyJet agree a joint venture to perform all of easyJet’s passenger and aircraft handling at London Luton Airport. The 4 year joint venture became effective on 12th January when Menzies acquired a 74 per cent equity stake by way of share purchase and easyJet retained a 26 per cent equity stake in the joint venture company.
FEBRUARY
Craig Smyth is appointed Managing Director of Menzies Aviation on 4th February, 2004. Craig previously held the post of Menzies Aviation’s Director responsible for the Americas and prior to this was the Menzies Aviation’s Finance Director, a position he held for 7 years.
AUGUST
John Menzies plc sells Execair, its executive aviation business to BBA Group. Execair is non-core to Menzies Aviation.
SEPTEMBER
John Menzies plc announces the appointment of Iain S Robertson as a Non-Executive Director with effect from 1st November 2004. Mr. Robertson is a Non-Executive Director of the Royal Bank of Scotland where he is Chairman of the Corporate Banking and Financial Markets division. He is also Chairman of British Empire Securities and General Trust plc. He is also a Non-Executive Chairman of Cairn Capital Ltd., and is a chartered accountant.
DECEMBER
Charles Ramsay retired from the Board of John Menzies plc after 14 years'service as a Non-Executive Director.
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2005
SEPTEMBER
Iain Callaghan, Managing Director of Menzies Distribution and a Director of John Menzies plc., retired on 16 September after 40 years service.
Ellis Watson joined the company on 12 September from Trinity Mirror plc., where he was Managing Director, National Newspapers. He was appointed Managing Director of Menzies Distribution on 16 September.
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2006
MARCH
On 28 March, the Company announced that it had received regulatory clearance from the Office of Fair Trading to complete its conditional acquisition of Chester Independent Wholesale Newsagents Limited ("CIWN"), which was announced on 8 February. CIWN is a well established and successful newspaper and magazine wholesaler. Its territory covers Cheshire and North Wales.
APRIL
Octavia Morley was appointed to the Board with effect from 1 April 2006. She was until recently an executive director at Woolworths plc, the retail subsidiary of Woolworths Group plc, having been appointed Marketing Director in 2001 and Commercial Director in 2004. Her previous appointments have included Managing Director - Ecommerce at Asda Stores Ltd and Buying and Merchandising Director at Laura Ashley plc.
MAY
On 3 May, the Company announced that Menzies Aviation, its aviation support services division, had completed the acquisition of Aeroground, Inc., a provider of air cargo services in the USA and Canada. The conditional acquisition was announced on 8 March.
On 19 May, the Company announced that its distribution division, Menzies Distribution, had reached an agreement to acquire North West Wholesale News, a well established and successful newspaper wholesaler serving the Preston area.
On 25 May, the Company announced that Michael Walker had retired as a Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director, and that David Coltman had been appointed Senior Independent Director.
AUGUST
On 22 August, the Company announce that Menzies Aviation had acquired the entire issued share capital of Malmö Main Air Cargo AB ("MAC"). MAC provides cargo handling and trucking services from its base at Malmö-Sturup airport in Sweden. Malmö-Sturup is Sweden's third largest airport and handled some 1.8 million passengers and 31,160 tonnes of cargo in 2005.
SEPTEMBER
On 5 September, the Company announced a further two acquisitions by its aviation support services division, Menzies Aviation. The division signed a conditional agreement to acquire Catamount Holdings LLC, a cargo services business in Chicago, USA providing a range of cargo services to airlines including Cathay Pacific, Swiss and Air India at Chicago O'Hare airport.
Menzies Aviation also acquired the trade and assets of Integrated Airline Services Alliance LLC, a ground handler specialising in the low cost sector based at Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the USA. In addition, the business also operates at Fort Myers, Atlanta and Minneapolis.
OCTOBER
On 6 October, the Company announced to the London Stock Exchange that Menzies Aviation had acquired Perth Cargo Centre Ltd., an Australian cargo handling operation, expanding the services in the West Coast of Australia.
NOVEMBER
On 2 November, it was announced that Menzies Aviation had acquired Express Baggage (Heathrow) Limited, a provider of luggage services for major airlines operating at London Heathrow Airport and five regional airports around the UK.
DECEMBER
On 27 December, the Company announced that Menzies Distribution had entered into a conditional joint venture with Eason & Son Ltd to combine their newspaper and magazine distribution businesses in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
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2007
FEBRUARY
Our Life President and former Chairman, John Menzies, died on 21st February. He chaired the company for 46 years until 1997 and was a pivotal figure in transforming the way the Company was run, particularly the news distribution operations. He provided leadership and vision, and played an instrumental role in determining the strategic direction of the Group.
MARCH
On 20 March, it was announced that Patrick Macdonald was stepping down from his position as Chief Executive and would not be replaced. The Managing Directors of each division, Menzies Aviation, Craig Smyth, and Menzies Distribution, Ellis Watson, were also appointed to the Board from 20 March.
APRIL
Menzies Aviation acquires Universal Air Cargo PTY Ltd (UAC), an international wholesale freight forwarder operating at 11 locations in Australasia and the USA. The acquisition provides an ideal platform from which to grow the AMI business even further.
JUNE
Grays of York, an Independent which previously served retailers in the York area with a portfolio of newspaper titles, was acquired by Menzies Distribution and integrated into our existing York operations.
NOVEMBER
Menzies Aviation began operations in Sweden and Norway following the acquisition of Northport. The addition of contracts to handle easyJet at Copenhagen later in the year provided the opportunity to create regional density in Scandinavia.
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2008
JANUARY
In preparation for major operations commencing in South Africa in March, Menzies Aviation acquired Airline Cargo Resources, a cargo handling business operating at Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. The acquisition means that at the major airports in South Africa Menzies Aviation is able to offer airline customers a complete servicing offering.
MARCH
Acquisitions in South Africa continue with the purchase of MMA Consolidators, which was successfully integrated into AMI. AMI is now a distinct product for the division and the acquisition of MMA provides the perfect springboard for further growth and expansion throughout the African continent.
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