Flybe 'considers flotation plan'

Low-cost airline Flybe was today said to be eyeing a flotation late next year or in 2007 that could value the firm at up to £200m (€294.8m).

Flybe has appointed a financial adviser to examine its options and managers are thought to favour a stock-market listing over a private sale, according to The Financial Times.

The no-frills service has bases in Birmingham, Exeter and Southampton. It is 81% owned by Rosedale (JW) Investments, one of the family trusts established to oversee the estate of Jack Walker, the former steel magnate and owner of Blackburn Rovers football club.