City Focus

  • Why you need the Windows generation
    Thursday, 2nd September 2010
    Generation Y is much maligned, but can bring a business serious benefits
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    THOUSANDS of young people are deciding to skip university and plunge straight into the world of work, while the job market has been flooded with recent graduates desperate for their first job to start paying off those massive tuition fees. As an employer, you might think that this is fantastic news. Cheap, keen people are all over the place, ravening to come and work for you. But wait on a minute. These people are members of Generation Y – those born in the 80s and 90s – and they come with strings attached. According to a recent survey by recruitment consultant Badenoch & Clark, 32.2 per... [Read more]

  • The secrets of leadership from the savannah
    Thursday, 2nd September 2010
    SELECTED
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    BY MARK VAN VUGT & ANJANA AHUJA PROFILE BOOKS, £12.99 IT’S refreshing in a genre filled with pseudo-science and sweeping, half-baked generalisations to come across something that makes a genuine... [Read more]
  • The secrets of leadership from the savannah
    Thursday, 2nd September 2010
    SELECTED
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    BY MARK VAN VUGT & ANJANA AHUJA PROFILE BOOKS, £12.99 IT’S refreshing in a genre filled with pseudo-science and sweeping, half-baked generalisations to come across something that makes a genuine... [Read more]
  • Firms’ sanctions compliance must be tightened up
    Wednesday, 1st September 2010
    JONES DAY
    HARRIET TERRITT
    FINANCIAL regulation reform is all the rage. Last week, President Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled his programme of “action and ambition” for France’s forthcoming presidency of the G20. It puts global reform... [Read more]

  • New rules will make reverse takeovers easier
    Wednesday, 1st September 2010
    GEORGE COTTER
    FIELD FISHER WATERHOUSE IT might have gone under most people’s radar, but new guidance from the UK Listing Authority (UKLA) will have a serious effect on reverse takeovers. Under the Listing Rules,... [Read more]
  • Baking up a name for herself
    Friday, 27th August 2010
    Kathleen Brooks meets the woman who has turned the wedding cake into a piece of art
    Kathleen Brooks
    SHE’S been called the “Bentley” of cakes by Gordon Ramsay and was in the kitchen of her flat when she received the orders to make wedding cakes for Madonna and Pierce Brosnan. Mich Turner has spent... [Read more]
  • Start-ups affected by internet debate
    Friday, 27th August 2010
    Net neutrality is essential for small business to flourish in the UK
    Kathleen Brooks
    IF YOU haven’t heard of the net neutrality debate then you soon will. The debate centres on whether internet service providers (ISPs) have the right to charge different prices for various services on... [Read more]
  • CONTROLLING COSTS
    Friday, 27th August 2010
    Q&A
    Kathleen Brooks
    Q.I am thinking about selling my business in the near future. How do I go about finding a buyer? A.The most common route is to get in touch with corporate finance advisers, says Jenny Robertson,... [Read more]
  • The course that turns you into a trader
    Thursday, 26th August 2010
    Kathleen Brooks finds out if trading training is worth the money for wannabe City boys
    FOR graduates, it’s harder than ever to get a job as a trader. Unless you have a double first in something maths-related then you can kiss good-bye to the dream. But is there a way to increase your... [Read more]
  • Immigration cap will prevent the City flourishing
    Wednesday, 25th August 2010
    PETER MARTYR
    GROUP CEO, NORTON ROSE GROUP LIKE many other international businesses in the City, Norton Rose Group is managing the impact of the new immigration caps, which were introduced this summer by the UK... [Read more]
  • Dodd-Frank offers whistleblowing incentives
    Wednesday, 25th August 2010
    MICHAEL KRAUSS
    FAEGRE & BENSON LLP THE bell rings to open and close each day of Wall Street trading. But corporate ears now are on the listen for a different sound—the trill of whistles blown by employees... [Read more]
  • The doctor’s ticket to success
    Friday, 20th August 2010
    Robin Wells can help firms find their true potential. Kathleen Brooks finds out how he does it.
    Kathleen Brooks
    FOR a business venture to get off the ground, it needs to fill a gap in the market. Robin Wells’ latest venture mytrainticket.co.uk has found more of a gulf than a gap. The serial entrepreneur/angel... [Read more]
  • A wave of change for accounting rules
    Friday, 20th August 2010
    New proposals could be costly for firms if they are implemented
    CHANGE tends to be resisted, especially if it will cost people money. This explains the frosty reception given to news that US and international accounting standard bodies are proposing to change the... [Read more]
  • BRANDING
    Friday, 20th August 2010
    Q&A
    Kathleen Brooks
    Q. I am starting a new company and need to think about branding. Is there a way I can do it while keeping costs to a minimum? A.The first thing to do is decide if you have the skills to do it... [Read more]
  • It’s time to reject the Van Gogh fallacy
    Thursday, 19th August 2010
    Employers should look after their staff’s mental health,
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    HOW far should your boss mess with your mind? Or to put it another way, is your mental health your employer’s business? First up, let’s have some numbers. Estimates of how many of the British... [Read more]
  • High achievers look beyond red bricks
    Wednesday, 18th August 2010
    Results day looms, but college is not the be-all and end-all
    Dorothy Wood
    TOMORROW is a date that thousands of families across England and Wales will have indelibly committed to memory. Far from being merely another summer’s day, Thursday 19 August 2010 is A-Level “results... [Read more]
  • City law firms’ moves show a new prudence in the Square Mile
    Wednesday, 18th August 2010
    Sub-letting and pre-lets are among solicitors’ money-saving tactics
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    THE Heron Tower building is probably the most prestigious new location in the City, and a few weeks ago a law firm became the first to rent space in it. American firm McDermott Will & Emery will... [Read more]
  • EU’s Google verdict may not quash complaints
    Wednesday, 18th August 2010
    SIMON CHAPMAN
    LEWIS SILKIN FOR most businesses, it is vital that prospective customers can find them on the internet. And the “ranking” that a business can achieve in search engine results – how high up it is on a... [Read more]
  • A high-flying PR success story
    Friday, 13th August 2010
    Launching Peregrine has seen Anthony Payne fulfill his destiny
    Kathleen Brooks
    A DEGREE in law couldn’t stifle Anthony Payne, the founder of Peregrine Communications, from unleashing his entrpreneurial spirit. Even when he was completing articles – the early stages of legal... [Read more]
  • Big corporates help small firms prosper
    Friday, 13th August 2010
    Social responsibility programmes can now benefit entrepreneurs
    Kathleen Brooks
    IN THE past, corporate social responsibility meant big firms sponsoring a recycling plant, or an art exhibition at one of the major galleries. But now well-known corporate brands are starting to... [Read more]
  • EMPLOYMENT
    Friday, 13th August 2010
    Q&A
    Magdalena Brzezniak
    Q. I have been running my own business for two years and am looking to take on my first employee, how do I go about writing a legal contract and how much does it cost? A.It is absolutely crucial to... [Read more]
  • Learning lessons from BP’s mistakes
    Thursday, 12th August 2010
    Whatever your job, it pays to be prepared for a crisis
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    AND relax. At long last the great BP oil spill disaster of 2010 appears to be over. Black stuff is no longer leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, killing everything in its path. Brown stuff is no longer... [Read more]
  • Boutique firms flourish in new legal landscape
    Wednesday, 11th August 2010
    Innovative structures will bring lawyers and clients closer together
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    FOR millions of years, dinosaurs ruled the world. They grew ever bigger, hoovering up increasingly massive amounts of the local ecosystem to keep them going. But then there was a cataclysm and the... [Read more]
  • DIVORCING COUPLES FACE DAWN RAIDS
    Wednesday, 11th August 2010
    SANDRA DAVIS
    MISCHON DE REYA IN 177 carefully crafted paragraphs the Court of Appeal has rewritten the rules of engagement in matrimonial finance cases. Previously, spouses seeking divorce were permitted a... [Read more]
  • When relocation becomes a nightmare
    Thursday, 5th August 2010
    ASK THE EXPERTS
    ON the first day of my new job my new employer has told me that they want me to move to Birmingham. This was never mentioned in the interviews and I assumed I would be staying in London. I don’t want... [Read more]
  • China crisis as firms quit Aim
    Wednesday, 4th August 2010
    JAMES WILKINSON
    REED SMITH BEFORE the onset of the economic downturn, there seemed to be no end to the approaches being received by London Aim advisers from Chinese companies seeking an admission to Aim. Since then... [Read more]
  • City should look to international arbitration
    Wednesday, 4th August 2010
    DAVID EARNEST
    HOGAN LOVELLS FOLLOWING the banking collapse of 2007 there was much speculation that disputes would increase as parties sought legal redress for a range of alleged wrongdoings including mis-selling,... [Read more]
  • The million euro silver lining
    Friday, 30th July 2010
    A financial spread betting firm was born out of a sporting loss
    Kathleen Brooks
    THE final moments of a sports match can be excruciating. Even more so if you placed a heavy bet on one of the teams to win. That was what happened to Conor Foley, an avid rugby fan, when he watched... [Read more]
  • Social networking, is it really worth it?
    Friday, 30th July 2010
    For the best results, Twitter or Facebook must be used strategically
    Kathleen Brooks
    LAST week Facebook, the social networking site, announced it had surpassed the 500m-user mark. So if you want to reach half a billion people then you should sign up, right? It’s easy to get swept up... [Read more]
  • ACCOUNTS
    Friday, 30th July 2010
    Q&A
    Kathleen Brooks
    Q.I have just started a new business and want to adopt the best practices for filing my accounts. Do you have any advice? A.Each private company has to file its accounts at Companies House, the... [Read more]
  • Graduates with chutzpah can find jobs
    Thursday, 29th July 2010
    There is plenty of work about if you are willing to put in the effort
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    IT’S tough out there for graduates. A survey by the Association of Graduate Recruiters found that for every job there are 68.8 applicants, with the number going up to 205 for jobs in food,... [Read more]
  • HOW TO MAKE THE RIGHT IMPRESSION
    Thursday, 29th July 2010
    EMMA DE VITA
    IMAGE IS EVERYTHING Look conservative with a small c – think West Wing, not Sex and the City. Make sure that you accessorise carefully and avoid any novelty fashion. If in any doubt, aim for a... [Read more]
  • What now? Prepare for the next crisis
    Thursday, 29th July 2010
    Climate change is the next challenge for finance professionals
    Andrew Leck
    PREDICTING the future can be a notoriously tricky business. If people declare with certainty that things will happen, they often don’t. While things that no one saw coming have a horrible habit of... [Read more]
  • Indemnity market must be liberalised
    Wednesday, 28th July 2010
    Reforms will prevent a repeat of this year’s disastrous round
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    THIS year’s round of Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) renewals promises to be one of the most turbulent ever, but it could spur much-needed changes to the way the system is run. All law firms... [Read more]
  • Changes in extradition regime are a pipe dream
    Wednesday, 28th July 2010
    DAN HYDE
    CUBISM LAW OUR special relationship with the US has, of late, appeared rather strained. The noises from across the pond have been somewhat anti-British and not it seems influenced or restrained by... [Read more]
  • The ex-Goldman man bringing his banking skills to the Olympics
    Tuesday, 27th July 2010
    Paul Deighton has raised £650m – now he just has to sell volleyball
    DAVID HELLIER
    AS far as many people are concerned, ex-Goldman Sachs banker Paul Deighton has quite possibly the best job in the world. Today he’s precisely two years away from organising the most prestigious... [Read more]
  • Britain’s best chances for Olympic gold
    Tuesday, 27th July 2010
    These are the five to watch when the Games kick off in London 2012
    JON COUCH
    IT’S a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and for these British sporting stars, it is now just two years away. From diving prodigies to record-breaking sailors, they are Team GB’s best hopes for a medal when... [Read more]
  • The legacy of the Olympics will be a 21st century transport system
    Tuesday, 27th July 2010
    Improvements are planned to Tubes, trains, bikes and boats
    Emma Sadowski
    EVERY Olympic host has a legacy. Beijing 2008’s was clearing the pollution from the city’s air so visibility was more than just a few feet, while Athens in 2004 made significant improvements to its... [Read more]
  • Austerity Games can still be a triumph
    Tuesday, 27th July 2010
    The key now is to avoid further cuts and to shore up the regeneration legacy
    DAVID CROW
    WHEN London last hosted the Olympic games, it was 1948. The Allies had won the war, but Britain’s rewards were still to come: food was still rationed; the capital’s streets looked like rows of broken... [Read more]
  • Investing with a conscience
    Friday, 23rd July 2010
    Brazil cast a spell on these two former property investors
    Kathleen Brooks
    FEW property developers can thank the financial crisis for leading them to their next business idea. Omari Bowers and Andrew Skeene are a rare exception. They could see that banks were pulling back... [Read more]
  • Why now is the age for private equity
    Friday, 23rd July 2010
    London is becoming a hub for the funding of strong companies
    Kathleen Brooks
    THE venture capital and private equity industries had a bruising time during the credit crunch. But now that banks are less willing or able to lend they have found some good investment opportunities... [Read more]
  • H&S LAW
    Friday, 23rd July 2010
    Q&A
    Juliet Samuel
    Q. Does my company need to worry about health and safety law? A.The main requirement for small companies is to draw up a written risk assessment if you employ five or more people. There is no legally... [Read more]
  • Pressure from the bottom line will make firms female-friendly
    Wednesday, 21st July 2010
    There’s still a glass ceiling in the City, but stakeholder pressure might finally change the landscape
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    A COUPLE of weeks ago I was told a story about a law firm Christmas party. The senior partners took part in a game where pictures of their children were projected onto a screen, and they were asked... [Read more]
  • The rising star of online retail
    Friday, 16th July 2010
    The founder of my-wardrobe.com is a throroughly modern woman
    Kathleen Brooks
    YOU’VE just given birth and one of the first things your husband asks you to do is to sign a cheque for your new boutique (Powder, based in Crouch End. ) That was Sarah Curran’s experience of the... [Read more]
  • Mortgage overhaul hurts entrepreneurs
    Friday, 16th July 2010
    More time and money will be required to get a loan in the future
    Kathleen Brooks
    NEWS that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) plans to overhaul the mortgage market may have left some entrepreneurs a little uneasy. From now on, to get a mortgage you need to pass an “... [Read more]
  • MARKETING
    Friday, 16th July 2010
    Q&A
    Kathleen Brooks
    Q. I am starting a business and I need to think about marketing but I don’t know where to start. Can you offer me some advice? A.This is a common problem. Most people will have heard of marketing,... [Read more]
  • City men should think of pre-nups
    Thursday, 15th July 2010
    BARBARA REEVES
    PARTNER, MISHCON DE REYA A DECADE ago this October, English divorce law was revolutionised by the case of White v White. Firstly, it recognised the non-financial contributions of the wife, and... [Read more]
  • It’s time to wave goodbye to the lockstep
    Thursday, 15th July 2010
    FRANCES HAUGHIAN
    SENIOR HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER, OLSWANG THE legal industry is changing. The traditional lockstep model of career progression – where a lawyer would qualify and then work for several years before... [Read more]
  • Our national neuroses require a subtle cure
    Wednesday, 14th July 2010
    Health and safety reform means more than cutting red tape
    Juliet Samuel
    LAST week, David Cameron condemned what he calls a “national neurosis” driving health and safety regulation. He was quoted in the Daily Mail saying: “The rulebooks keep getting thicker. The... [Read more]
  • Osborne’s FSA reforms will cost consumers
    Wednesday, 14th July 2010
    Expect a period of regulatory confusion to increase businesses’ burden
    Philip Chapman
    DURING the last few months, we have seen George Osborne outlining various plans for the future of UK regulation and a commission established to look into splitting up the banks. This has left some... [Read more]
  • Bringing panache to lunchtime
    Friday, 9th July 2010
    Mark Lilley made the jump from corporate financier to feeding the City
    Kathleen Brooks
    THE eureka moment for a new business idea can strike at any time. For Mark Lilley it was while he was eating fresh sushi with his wife in downtown Sydney in the middle of a round-the-world trip in... [Read more]
  • Is the age of small businesses ending?
    Friday, 9th July 2010
    An era of tight credit could see micro start-ups gain in popularity
    Kathleen Brooks
    A GROWING divide is emerging between the fortunes of the UK’s large and small businesses. While UK Plc has seen strong profits and is sitting on record high cash piles, life has been harder for small... [Read more]
  • INSURANCE
    Friday, 9th July 2010
    Q&A
    Zoe Strimpel
    Q. What are the basic kinds of insurance required of a small business? A.Business insurance requirements depend on the firm’s type, but at the bare minimum you will require public liability insurance... [Read more]
  • Don’t let technology take over your life
    Thursday, 8th July 2010
    A few simple email rules will up your productivity
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    RECENTLY I went to a presentation of some research into the uses of technology at work, at the London office of Google. They had commissioned a think-tank to look into the ways that technology will... [Read more]
  • Hedge fund law will damage City
    Wednesday, 7th July 2010
    New EU regulations raise questions for regulators, and may force firms overseas
    RICHARD MARTIN & SEAN DONOVAN-SMITH SPEECHLY BIRCHAM The EU parliament is today expected to vote through amendments to the Capital Requirements Directive concerning bankers’ remuneration. Under... [Read more]
  • An LLP can bring employment law troubles
    Wednesday, 7th July 2010
    JOANNA BLACKBURN
    JOANNA BLACKBURN MISCHON DE REYA LIMITED liability partnerships are traditionally associated with law firms, but the LLP structure is increasingly the structure of choice for private equity firms,... [Read more]
  • Master of the antiques world
    Friday, 2nd July 2010
    Thomas Woodham-Smith is intent on making the art market fun
    Kathleen Brooks
    ECCENTRIC springs to mind when I meet Thomas Woodham-Smith. He bounds into the Mallett showroom on Bond Street where he is managing director, second to chief executive Giles Hutchinson Smith, and... [Read more]
  • It’s official, hard graft is in fashion
    Friday, 2nd July 2010
    Entrepreneurs can follow the Chancellor’s footsteps and have their own austerity budgets
    ALEX PRATT ENTREPRENEUR IN THE beginning the word was George. And George said, “Let there be cuts”. And there were cuts. And George saw that the cuts were good…. So what are we to do at this dawning... [Read more]
  • LISTING
    Friday, 2nd July 2010
    Q&A
    Kathleen Brooks
    Q.I would one day like to float my company, what steps should I implement to prepare for this? A.Before you list on a stock market like Aim you have to be assessed by a nomad, a nominated advisor... [Read more]
  • How to learn from Capello’s mistakes
    Thursday, 1st July 2010
    Bad management is behind England’s football failure
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    POOR defending, non-existent marking, a lack of passion – there are numerous reasons for England’s horrible World Cup performance. Interestingly, though, many have argued that all the problems on the... [Read more]
  • When work becomes a religious experience
    Thursday, 1st July 2010
    THE WAY WE’RE WORKING ISN’T WORKING BY TONY SCHWARTZ, JEAN GOMES AND CATHERINE MCCARTHY, £12.99 THE title might sounds a bit like the election poster from 1979 that proclaimed “Britain isn’t working... [Read more]
  • A perfect storm threatens law firms
    Wednesday, 30th June 2010
    A new report says the recession has forever changed the legal world
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    IF any lawyers thought that the effects of the downturn on law firms are over, then they would have got a rude shock last week when Halliwells announced that it was going into administration. It was... [Read more]
  • To be young, gifted and green
    Friday, 25th June 2010
    Environmental investing pioneer Ben Goldsmith has plenty of vision
    Kathleen Brooks
    He’s just about to set up his fourth environmental fund and he’s not yet 30, but Ben Goldsmith has emerged as a leading force in environmental investing since he set up the UK’s first clean... [Read more]
  • Entrepreneurs will welcome Budget
    Friday, 25th June 2010
    The chancellor proposed plenty of initiatives to help small and medium businesses further
    DEBBIE GRIFFITHS
    THE Emergency Budget was one of the most severe for decades, with some hefty tax rises – notably VAT – and cuts to public spending. Yet in spite of this, the chancellor made provisions to encourage... [Read more]