Stelios complains to regulator as EasyJet row intensifies

EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou has sent a complaint to the UK's financial regulator about the airline's Airbus order, ratcheting up tensions between the company’s largest shareholder and its board. The airline and its founder have been battling for weeks over an Airbus order for 107 new aircraft, which he estimates will cost the airline GBP4.5b. Stelios argues the order should be cancelled in order to preserve cash in the face of the coronavirus pandemic that has left the aviation industry grappling with its biggest crisis in decades. Last week, EasyJet attempted to ease tensions by saying it would defer the purchase of 24 aircraft over 3 years. But in a letter to the Financial Conduct Authority, lawyers acting on behalf of Stelios said the airline breached the UK's Market Abuse Regulation and Listing Rules. <br/>