Flybe plays down £1m French loan

FLYBE, the regional airline that floated on Friday, has brushed aside reports that Jim French, its Scots-born chief executive, was handed a £1 million loan by the group's biggest shareholder in 2005 and has not repaid it yet.

The interest-free, unsecured loan was used to buy a London flat because of the time French spends in the city on business.

The loan, from Rosedale Aviation Holdings, the family trust of the former Blackburn Rovers football club owner, Jack Walker, was disclosed on page 228 of the 274-page shareholder prospectus ahead of Friday's flotation.

A Flybe spokesman said yesterday: "This was fully disclosed in the prospectus and investors would be fully aware of it when making their decision. The float was two times over-subscribed.

"Flybe has been looking at the possibility of an initial public offer (IPO) for some time, and is delighted to have achieved it and be able to move on with the next stage of its expansion."

The spokesman said the terms of the loan were completely a matter for Rosedale, which owned almost 69 per cent of the airline before it floated 20.3 million shares at 295p on Friday.

It is repayable when French sells his shares in the company. It is understood he is locked-in along with other senior staff from selling shares for at least six months from the listing.

The prospectus also revealed that French's total remuneration, including bonus, for 2009-10 was 715,000.