“Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money
Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
Webloyalty, a provider of incremental revenue for online businesses, has announced its further expansion into Europe by launching operations in Germany with Ryanair as the launch customer there.
The company, headquartered in the US, launched in the UK in 2007 with its programme Shopper Discounts & Rewards and France in 2008 with Remises & Réductions. In Germany, the programme will launch under the name ‘Shoppen und Sparen’.
As with Webloyalty in the UK, France and US, Webloyalty Germany will provide solutions for online retail and travel businesses to utilise better their existing online sales models to generate additional revenue.
“In Europe, we have demonstrated that our model works well in the UK and France,” remarked Martin Child, managing director Europe, Webloyalty. “We are now ready to build on this success and expand our reach into Germany which has a robust e-commerce market.”
Webloyalty has been working with Ryanair in both the UK and French markets since June 2009 to help the airline increase revenue by driving repeat business to its online booking services and to offer the carrier’s customers additional value.
Customers booking online with Ryanair in Germany will have the option to join ‘Shoppen und Sparen’, Webloyalty’s membership programme designed for regular online shoppers, that offers cash back and year-round discounts of up to 20% at over 400 top online retailers.
Members in Germany will benefit from Best Price Guarantee, Extended Warranty, Damage Theft & Loss Protection, and Delivery Guarantees. This is in addition to the ongoing rewards such as a €10 cashback cheque, from Webloyalty, each month towards Ryanair’s lowest fares – all for €12 per month. The 30 day free trial will allow passengers to road-test the service which could save regular internet shoppers hundreds of euros each year.
Ryanair’s director of commercial revenue, Sinead Finn, commented, “Ryanair passengers already save with our guaranteed lowest fares. Now, in partnership with Webloyalty across three European markets, even more of our passengers can choose to join Webloyalty’s membership programmes and save more with ongoing discounts.”
Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
The Department of National Defence expects initial contracts to deliver thousands of uncrewed systems, but has yet to establish the quantities, capability mix or deadline behind Ottawa’s promised tenfold expansion.
The company told Shephard that Ukraine is operating modified Protector weapon stations originally supplied for armoured vehicles, with human operators authorising engagements from hundreds of kilometres away.
A report from the Council on Geostrategy argues the UK should move away from a traditional balanced force and shift investment to naval, air and space capabilities, backed by a larger fleet of attack submarines and deeper AUKUS integration.
At its technology summit in London, attended by Shephard, Thales UK examined the importance of speed to delivery, the growing focus on cross-domain capabilities and how procurement reform could be crucial for future battlefield advantage.
Are all systems ready for the next mission? Have upgrades been applied? Are all assets aligned to deploy together, on time and fully prepared? In modern defence operations, readiness is no longer measured platform by platform. It is measured by how well people, assets, data and decisions move together — across land, sea and air.