Any Other Business – 19/02
IT WAS flotation madness yesterday as we saw games whizz King, bargain retailer Poundland, and Danish business services firm ISS file for their IPOs. But there was a backstory to King and ISS’s flotations that raised a few smiles in the City. As we reported back in October, financial PR group Powerscourt lost its client King to rivals Brunswick – due to the Candy Crush game-maker’s decision to float in the US (Brunswick has a US presence). It may have been dumped by King but yesterday Powerscourt was in Copenhagen instead, looking after ISS’s float – having won it as a client from Brunswick. Powerscourt was tight lipped about when it took on ISS but is no doubt no doubt cock-a-hoop about its latest mandate.
AS WE all know, moving can be a nightmare but we don’t envy Baker Tilly, which has faced the mammoth task of moving staff from RSM Tenon (which it merged with in August) from their office on Chiltern Street to Baker Tilly HQ, at 25 Farringdon Street – that’s an extra 300 people. “When we took on the premises three years ago we made sure we had room to grow but didn’t expect to be using all the extra space in one fell swoop,” David Gwilliam, Baker Tilly’s regional managing partner for London told The Capitalist. Gwilliam admitted they are some 100 desks short and are counting on a culture of hot desking to get around the shortfall. “There’s not a single day in the year when everyone needs access to the building,” he said. Here’s hoping he’s right.