EasyGroup Ltd
TypePrivately held
IndustryConglomerate
Founded1998 (1998)
HeadquartersLondon
ProductsAirlines
Car hire
Bus service
Hotels
Estate agency
Supermarkets
Financial services
OwnerSir Stelios Haji-Ioannou
SubsidiariesEasyGroup IP Licensing Ltd
Websiteeasy.com

EasyGroup Ltd (styled as easyGroup, or simply easy) is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded in 1998 and privately owned by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. It is headquartered in London, UK.

Overview

The group is registered in the Cayman Islands,[1] but operates from its office in Kensington, London. The company was established to expand the "easy" brand following the successful launch of EasyJet in 1995. The first use of "easy" after EasyJet was the EasyInternetcafé established in June 1999.[2] This was followed in 2000 with the establishment of EasyRentacar, later renamed EasyCar.

easyGroup is the holding company controlling the "easy" family of brands. Through its wholly owned subsidiary EasyGroup IP Licensing Ltd, the company licences the Easy brand to other businesses. From 2012 to 2017, easyGroup also licensed the Fastjet brand to the low-cost African airline. The easyGroup of companies have a complex structure that contains elements of a generic conglomerate and a keiretsu, and sometimes it simply licences its brand. easyGroup publishes brand guidelines for all Easy companies to follow, together with the company's brand values:[3]

The easyGroup logo is known for its distinctive orange colour,[4] Pantone 021. The logo adopts the Cooper Black font, with lower case used for the "easy" part of the business name.

Subsidiaries and investments

The easyGroup contains several dozen easy branded business ventures in a wide range of sectors,[5] some of which are listed below.

CompanySectorOwnership
easyBus easyBus began operating on 30 July 2004. The company offers express minibus services between airports and city centres, mostly within the United Kingdom, especially London. It since expanded its services to few other major European airports.[6] 100%
easyCoffee Coffee shop chain with currently seven locations throughout the United Kingdom.[7] 100%
easyDogwalker Dog walking 100%
easyEnergy Electricity provider in the Netherlands[8] 100%
easyFoodstore A new concept, currently being trialled with a view to offering discounted, "white-label" groceries to low-income and benefit-dependent groups.[9] 100%
easyGym easyGroup announced the launch of a chain of no-frill gyms called easyGym in May 2011, with the first two branches in Slough and Wood Green.[10] As of 2022, it now offers low cost, no-contract gym memberships at 16 locations in the UK and five in France, while looking to expand further inside the EU. 100%
easyJet EasyJet is a low-cost airline which began flying on 10 November 1995. It is one of the two largest budget airlines in Europe, alongside its rival Ryanair. It was the first company owned by EasyGroup to use the "easy" prefix. EasyJet Airline Company Limited is a separate company which licenses the "easyJet" name from easyGroup. easyGroup Holdings Ltd is the largest shareholder with a 15.269% stake (as of September 2021).[11]
easyMarketing advertising agency[12] 100%
easyMusic Website dedicated to news and video content from the music industry.[13] 100%
easyOffice Office rental agency, now partnered up with OfficiO[14] 100%
easyStorage Offers storage, some times referred to self storage. Customers pay for storage, packing materials, packing services, insurance, as well as collection and delivery. 100%
easyVan Online van hire service; sister company of easyCar[15] 100%

Formerly owned companies

CompanySectorOwnership
easyCruise A no-frills cruise ship called easyCruise was launched on Friday 6 May 2005, targeting 18- to 40-year-olds, rather than the traditional retiree market. The first vessel was known as EasyCruiseOne. Expansion of the EasyCruise fleet was announced in 2006.[16] A franchise operation using a converted river freighter EasyCruiseTwo operated from 2006 until 17 August 2007. EasyCruise was sold to Hellenic Seaways in August 2009 for £9 million.[17] 100%
easyMoney A banking brand in the United Kingdom. 100%
easyHotel easyHotel is a "no frills super budget" hotel operator which started with one hotel in 2005, and now has 20 hotels in various locations in London (Victoria, Old St, South Kensington, Paddington and Heathrow) as well as Luton, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Basel, Zurich, Budapest, Sofia, Porto, Berlin, Larnaca, Dubai, Edinburgh, Budapest, The Hague and Glasgow.[18] Rooms contain either a double bed or twin single beds, are en-suite and one wall panel is orange in colour with corporate logos on the wall and doors. Toiletries (except soap/shampoo) are not supplied and the use of the TV and the housekeeping facility is additional. 55.7% of the equity and 49% of the votes (as of June 2014).
easyProperty Offers an online service to homeowners and prospective buyers as well landlords and tenants. 100%
Fastjet Airline

Defunct ventures

CompanySectorOwnership
easy4Men On 9 December 2004, the men's toiletries range Easy4Men was launched together with Boots. Originally conceived to challenge Gillette, the product line did not include a razor. After disappointing sales, the partnership with Boots was dissolved in 2006.[19] As of 2011, it is no longer in operation.[20] 100%
easyCar Car brokerage and former car rental company. It offers a peer2peer car sharing scheme as well as low cost car rental in 2,000 locations globally[21] 100%
easyCinema Cinema at The Point, Milton Keynes and DVD rental service. 100%
easyCoach easyCoach was a local bus company started in January 2017 by Andrew Martin and was based in Shrewsbury. The company ran the 436 in Shrewsbury but was re-tendered due to 'high number of passenger complaints relating to the performance of this service'[22] On 27 June 2018, EasyCoach started routes 2 (Wrexham – Oswestry) and 2D (Wrexham – Cefn Mawr) against Arriva Midlands as well as routes 42 (Wrexham Bus Station – Wrexham Industrial Estate) and 44 (Wrexham Bus Station – Snowdon Drive Circular).[23] These services were hit with many delays and breakdowns. The Wrexham services will be withdrawn from 9 September with Mr Martin blaming 'certain individuals had been out to sabotage the business'.[24] 100%
easyInternetcafé Internet cafes 100%
easyMobile easyMobile was a mobile virtual network operator, launched in March 2005[25] (not to be confused with EasyMobile, which was founded in 2003 by Karl Kahn) as a pay as you go service in partnership with TDC. The service closed on 13 December 2006.[26] Rival mobile service, Orange, attempted to sue EasyGroup as it claimed the use of the orange EasyMobile logo breached its trademark and could confuse customers.[27] The EasyMobile service was also launched in the Netherlands, but this service closed at short notice at the end of July 2006.[28] 100%
easyPizza Online pizza ordering service 100%
easyValue EasyValue was an internet shopping comparison site that began trading in November 2000.[29] In 2002 EasyValue was challenged by Ryanair for displaying its flights without their permission.[30] 100%

In the past easyGroup has threatened legal action against several businesses using "easy" as part of their name. This is because the "easy" prefix was for some time considered to be trademarked across a very wide range of services by easyGroup, but this has deemed to not necessarily be the case.

Easyart.com

In 2002, Easyart.com (now King and McGaw) faced legal allegations from easyGroup over its use of the easy name, accusing Easyart of "passing off" on easyGroup's good name.[31] Easyart.com, which launched in September 1999, strenuously denied the charge and vowed to challenge Mr Haji-Ioannou in the high court. Easyart.com won the court battle when EasyGroup discontinued its legal action, saying it had "bigger targets to go after". Simon Matthews, the chief executive of Easyart.com, said in a statement "Stelios has surrendered and we have won. The law states a claimant who discontinues his claim is conceding he has lost or cannot win the case."

Before commencing legal action easyGroup's lawyers bombarded Easyart.com with threatening letters, despite having accepted £2,000 worth of advertising from the art company in its EasyInternet cafes not long after it launched. "This was a David and Goliath fight. It is a good day for smaller companies who stand up to bullying tactics from large corporations. We hope this gives hope to many other companies out there who are trading legitimately under the 'Easy' name and who have been threatened by this man", said Mr Matthews.[32][33]

EasyMobile

In 2005, easyGroup threatened legal action against a Welsh company which had been trading as EasyMobile since 2003, two years before the launch of easyGroup's easyMobile business which is not currently running.[34]

EasyPizza

In 2006, easyGroup dropped action against London businessman Karl Kahn after it emerged that his EasyPizza business predated easyGroup's business of the same name by several years.[35]

easyCurry

In 2008, a restaurant in Northampton agreed to stop calling itself "easyCurry" after threats of legal action from easyGroup.[36]

EasyJet

In July 2010, Sir Stelios criticised the previous chief executive of EasyJet's (Andy Harrison) handling of airline punctuality. In a statement he said: "I have been receiving many unsolicited complaints from members of the public and even easyJet pilots about the degree that the airline is short of crew to operate the flights it sold to its customers. Unless Mike Rake [the chairman] and Carolyn McCall [the new chief executive] do something to improve the situation for the sake of the travelling public, I am left with no option but to terminate the brand licence."

Other differences have emerged concerning travel-associated "extras" such as hotel bookings under the "easyJethotels" brand, and car hire under "easyJetcarhire". EasyGroup contended that it licensed the "easyJet" brand primarily for airline use, and that using the brand for hotel and car hire interfered with other EasyGroup businesses.[37]

Eezy Drive

In 2011, the Edmonton-based company Eezy Drive received a letter from easyGroup's lawyer Clarke Willmott, asking the owner Zeeshan Haniffa to stop using the name of his driving school, Ezee Drive Driving School, accusing him of "intellectual property infringement" and giving him seven days to destroy £1,000-worth of signs, leaflets and posters using the name, and hand over website domain names within two weeks. Zeeshan Haniffa said in a statement: "When I received this letter, it seemed more like a threat to scare me off. They are accusing me of passing off on their name and misleading the marketplace. But there is no confusion, no misleading and no passing off. I think they are trying to bully me into doing what they want".

easyGroup said it is "unfair" to brand its actions as bullying, adding: "We expressly encourage the recipient to seek legal advice". It added in a statement: "We protect the 'easy' brand in order to protect consumers. In this way, we ensure that they are not misled into thinking they are dealing with an easyGroup company – on coming across a brand, the logo is not always visible, as is the case with radio advertising or Google ads which contain no specific font".[38][39]

Easy Exercise

In 2012, a Northwich-based gym called Easy Exercise was challenged that it could not use the Easy name, with easyGroup citing "The easy name is synonymous with quality, value for money services and we have a duty to protect the public from its unauthorised use."

Pete Landon, managing director of Easy Exercise, which helps older women keep their mobility, said he was given an 80 per cent chance of success by his lawyers when threatened with the High Court action but the potential costs of losing, followed by a £100,000 bill in costs, would have been too much to handle: "It is a risk we would like to take but one we simply cannot afford. We have spent thousands on arguing our case and cannot accept the easyGroup proposition that the public actually believe that any goods or services marketed under the word 'easy' are done so with Stelios' consent. The easyGroup makes millions of profit and yet still threatens small businesses like our own in this way and while we would really like to fight on, we know that should we lose, we would not only pick up our own legal bill but also that of the easyGroup. We already face thousands in legal costs, the loss of our domain name and £50,000 for rebranding as Friendly Gym. We are not the first small company to become a casualty of easyGroup and I am sure we will not be the last. The Intellectual Property Office should never have granted the exclusive use of 'easy' to Stelios who now has the monopoly on a word in daily use."[40]

Easy TV series

In September 2018, easyGroup was taking legal action against Netflix over its comedy series Easy, claiming its use of the name breaches its European trademarks. Netflix said in a statement that "viewers can tell the difference between a show they watch and a plane they fly in".[41]

Easylife

In an important ruling in 2021, EasyGroup Ltd v Easylife Ltd (formerly Easylife Group Ltd), and another [2021] EWHC 2150, Dr Jonathan Cornthwaite of the long-established legal firm Wedlake Bell said "This case was brought in attempt to prevent a retailing business called Easylife Ltd and its director from (among other things) using various brands incorporating the word 'easy'. However, the claimant not only lost its cases for trade mark infringement and passing off, but also suffered the revocation of various of its UK trade marks on the grounds of non-use."[42][43]

easyfundraising

In February 2022, easyGroup filed a lawsuit against the charity shopping website easyfundraising for "brand theft". It brought legal proceedings against its founder, Ian Woodroffe, and against one of its shareholders, Palatine Private Equity. "Brand thieves profit by creating major confusion in the minds of their customers, many of whom will think they are dealing with a member of the easy family of brands", an easyGroup spokesman said.[44]

EASYOFFICE

In April 2022, Sir Stelios was described as a "deeply unimpressive witness" who gave answers "that were defensive to the point of implausibility" by a High Court judge who oversaw a trademark disagreement involving EASYOFFICE, owned by a company called Nuclei. The judge, Mrs Justice Bacon, found in favour of Nuclei and said four easyGroup trademarks should be revoked on the "grounds of lack of genuine use".[45]

References

  1. ↑ "EasyJet case turns spotlight on Stelios". Financial Times. 26 June 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "Witness Statement of Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou" (PDF). High Court of Justice Chancery Division. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "EasyGroup Brand Manual" (PDF). EasyGroup. Smashing Magazine. June 2010. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Walker, Duncan (11 August 2004). "Can you 'own' a colour?". BBC News. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  5. ↑ easy.com - Explore easy retrieved 9 October 2022
  6. ↑ easybus.com - About us retrieved 9 October 2022
  7. ↑ easy.coffee - Locations retrieved 9 October 2022
  8. ↑ easyenergy.com retrieved 9 October 2022
  9. ↑ "Stelios plans to set up easyJet-style 'no brands' food store – Business". London24. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "EasyGym to open up to 10 centres a year". The Independent. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Holding(s) in Company". investis.com.
  12. ↑ easymarketing.co.uk retrieved 9 October 2022
  13. ↑ easymusic.com retrieved 9 October 2022
  14. ↑ easyoffice.co.uk retrieved 9 October 2022
  15. ↑ easyvan.com retrieved 9 October 2022
  16. ↑ Gavin Richardson (8 May 2006). "news : letter of intent signed between easyCruise and Neorion Holdings for the construction of up to 4 new cruiseships in Greece". easy.com. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  17. ↑ "EasyCruise Sold to Hellenic Seaways". Cruise Industry News. 18 August 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
  18. ↑ Unknown (31 July 2010). "Easyjet to enter Edinburgh hotel market – Scotsman.com News". The Scotsman. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  19. ↑ Martinson, Jane (5 May 2006). "The Big Easy enters choppy waters". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  20. ↑ Starmer-Smith, Charles (29 September 2011). "Launching a new airline won't be easy for Sir Stelios". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  21. ↑ McAllister, J.F.O. (23 July 2001). "Easy All Over Europe". Time. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007.
  22. ↑ Dougall, Emily (3 January 2018). "EasyCoach at odds with Shropshire over route 436". Coach & Bus Week. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  23. ↑ "easyCoach to pitch against Arriva in head-to-head battle". Route One. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  24. ↑ "Traffic Commissioner could take action against easyCoach over Wrexham bus services". The Leader. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  25. ↑ "Easymobile and Fresh cut prices". BBC News. 17 March 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  26. ↑ "Easymobile to close down service". BBC News. 13 November 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  27. ↑ "Business | Easygroup launches mobile service". BBC News. 10 March 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  28. ↑ "EasyMobile.nl flops". The Register. 6 July 2006. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  29. ↑ Vickers, Amy (21 November 2000). "EasyGroup launches best-buy site". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  30. ↑ "EasyValue's website data riles Ryanair". The Daily Telegraph. 7 May 2002. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  31. ↑ "How I Made It: Gyr King, founder of King & McGaw". The Sunday Times. 13 May 2012. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. (subscription required)
  32. ↑ "Easyart.com to face Stelios in 'easy' court action". The Register. 12 November 2002.
  33. ↑ Gibson, Owen (9 May 2003). "EasyGroup drops action against Easyart.com". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  34. ↑ "Posh Richemont latest to sue Stelios". The Register. 18 November 2005. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  35. ↑ "Hard cheese for Stelios in EasyPizza case". The Register. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  36. ↑ "Easy name curry house climbs down". BBC. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  37. ↑ Robertson, David (16 August 2008). "Stelios takes easyJet to court over branding". The Times. London. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  38. ↑ "EasyJet firm accused of 'bullying' Edmonton driving instructor over Ezee Drive name". Enfield Independent. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  39. ↑ Osborne, Alistair (20 September 2011). "EasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou 'bullying' driving instructor into closing 'Ezee' business". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  40. ↑ "Winnington company forced to rebrand after easyGroup High Court threat". Northwich Guardian. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  41. ↑ correspondent, Rebecca Smithers Consumer affairs (30 September 2018). "Netflix sued by easyJet founder in trademark dispute". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  42. ↑ "Ruling on validity and infringement of easyGroup trade marks (High Court)". Thomson Reuters. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  43. ↑ Cornthwaite, Jonathan (1 September 2021). "Suing for Infringement of a Descriptive Trademark Isn't Easy (Easygroup v Easylife)". Wedlake Bell. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  44. ↑ Yeomans, Jo (20 February 2022). "EasyGroup's Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou targets Easyfundraising over 'brand theft'". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  45. ↑ Farmer, Brian (13 April 2022). "Airline founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou 'deeply unimpressive witness' – judge". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 April 2022.

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