Serial entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has reached an agreement after a two-year argument over the use of the ‘easy' brand.

The agreement ends Sir Stelios' right to appoint himself as chairman of Easyjet's board and will give the airline more freedom to use the name and enter co-branding agreements with other companies.

The deal will allow the company to use the brand for 50 years, with a minimum commitment of ten years in return for an annual royalty payment of 0.25% of easyJet's revenues, to be paid to Sir Stelios.

The deal will allow the company to use the brand for 50 years
The payment will be capped at £3.9 million and £4.95 million for the first two years of the agreement, a statement said.

Sir Stelios, who owns around 37% of the budget carrier along with the rights to the brand name. Until now he has been licensing the name back to the company for a fee of £1 a year.

"The way low-cost airlines make money has changed over the 10 years since the original licence was signed," said Sir Stelios.

"This amendment allows the airline to now grow its business even further by removing some of the restrictions imposed by the original agreement. I am content this is a fair deal for both sides."