Sadiq Khan slams Westminster Council for pulling out of £80m TfL Oxford Street redevelopment plans December 6, 2018 Sadiq Khan has slashed £80m of funding from Westminster City Council (WCC) for redeveloping Oxford Street, after finding out the council had ditched joint plans with Transport for London for the project in favour of its own £150m proposal. In a letter seen by City A.M., addressed to council leader Nickie Allen, the mayor of [...]
What will float investors’ boats in 2019? December 6, 2018 This year has been a good period for new listings, although recent volatility has put others off. While the easy days are behind us, sensibly priced issues are still likely to be popular. Data from PwC shows we saw 173 initial public offerings (IPOs) to the end of September, raising over $40bn (£31.4bn) and up [...]
How businesses are busy hedging Brexit risk December 6, 2018 Philippos Kassimatis explains some of the hedging strategies on offer as businesses prepare for March 2019 It was was only last week that Mark Carney said fewer than half the UK’s businesses have initiated contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit, causing alarm throughout Britain’s business and investment community. Looking at the headlines, there is a [...]
‘Front end’ of company reports do not meet auditing standards, says regulator December 6, 2018 Auditors’ work on non-financial information in company reports does not meet auditing standards, a new report has found. A report published today by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said auditors are often not doing enough to support statements made in the ‘other information’ section of company reports. The ‘other information’ section, also known as the [...]
Faroe Petroleum agrees asset swap amid fight over hostile bid from DNO December 5, 2018 Faroe Petroleum has agreed to swap oil and gas fields with Norwegian state firm Equinor as it fights a hostile takeover from DNO. The move, which is expected to increase Faroe’s output by around 60 per cent in 2019, could bump up its price in the face of DNO’s bid. The company takes over stakes in [...]
Ogilvy names Piyush Pandey as new chief creative officer December 5, 2018 Ogilvy has appointed Piyush Pandey as its new chief creative officer following the dismissal of Tham Khai Meng over misconduct allegations. Pandey is currently the advertising agency’s chairman in India and has served at the company for over 30 years. He will retain his current duties in Mumbai and take over the new role on [...]
SMMT urges government to secure Brexit deal as car sales experience fresh decline December 5, 2018 A car industry trade body has called for the government to secure a Brexit deal as soon as possible to boost consumer confidence after new car sales in November fell again year on year. There were 158,639 new car registrations this November, down from 163,541 in November 2017, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers [...]
Monzo ‘absolutely not’ the next Wonga, says founder amid high-cost loan speculation December 5, 2018 Monzo is “absolutely not” going to be the next Wonga, its founder has said, amid speculation the digital bank was planning to move into the high-cost loan space. Tom Blomfield, whose up-and-coming challenger bank this morning completed a landmark £20m crowdfunding round powered by its own customers, told City A.M. he was “categorically not working [...]
Philip Hammond confirms he will borrow more and look at tax changes in ‘no deal’ December 5, 2018 Philip Hammond has confirmed the government would be forced to borrow billions more and consider tax changes to counter the economic impact of no deal. Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday, the Chancellor said the onus would be on the government to keep blood in the veins of the economy as the Bank of [...]
Crossrail boss Terry Morgan resigns after Sadiq Khan spat December 5, 2018 The chairman of Crossrail and HS2 has resigned from both roles following a dispute with mayor Sadiq Khan over delays and spiralling costs. Terry Morgan admitted last week he expected to be sacked amid rising costs and opening delays to both the Crossrail and HS2 projects. Morgan, who has led Crossrail for almost a decade, [...]