EY’s China staff asked to wear communist party badges to work February 27, 2023 Staff in EY’s Beijing offices have reportedly been asked to wear their communist party badges to work. A communist party committee in EY’s China business called on party members to wear their hammer and sickle pins in the office, the Financial Times reported. In an email to party members working in EY’s Beijing office, the [...]
Monzo and Wise founders back £8.8m Robin AI robot lawyer project February 27, 2023 A City computing company has raised $10.5m (£8.8m) from backers including top execs from Magic Circle law firm Clifford Chance to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) driven, robot lawyer. The founders of fintech firms Monzo and Wise have also thrown their weight behind London’s Robin AI, which is seeking to disrupt the legal sector with [...]
Insurance sector deal-making hits decade high but 2023 outlook remains shaky February 26, 2023 Insurance sector M&A deals surged to a 10-year high in 2022, as the end of Covid-19 drove an uptick in deal-making activity. Insurance companies completed 449 M&A deals last year, marking the highest number of deals for a decade, new data from Clyde & Co shows. The surge in deals, from 418 in 2021 to [...]
Norwegian billionaire fails to overturn conviction for lying to UK court in £285m Deutsche Bank dispute February 26, 2023 Norwegian billionaire Alexander Vik has failed to overturn a conviction for lying to a UK court during a £285m dispute with Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank first sued the magnate’s company, Sebastian Holdings, back in 2009 over a series of loss-making foreign exchange deals, and the court has since ordered the firm to pay $243m (£203m) [...]
HSBC doubles down on homeworking as Lloyd’s of London pushes for return to City HQ February 26, 2023 HSBC’s and Lloyd’s rival plans for the futures of their London headquarters have revealed a growing split in attitudes towards the long-term prospects of working from home. Lloyd’s of London is reportedly in talks to extend the lease on its iconic City headquarters as it works to bring staff back into the office in resisting [...]
Centrica heads back to court to challenge government over Octopus’ Bulb takeover February 26, 2023 British Gas owner Centrica is set to lock horns with the government in court over its handling of Bulb's sale to rival Octopus.
Jaguar fails to block Cheshire campervan maker from trademarking ‘Overlander’ brand February 26, 2023 Luxury carmaker Jaguar has failed in its bid to block a Cheshire campervan company from trademarking the word ‘Overlander’. Jaguar asked a tribunal to block Warrington firm Car & Commercial Solutions Ltd from registering the word ‘Overlander’ as a trademark, due to it sharing similarities with its own ‘Lander’ brand. The tribunal ruled, however, it [...]
Government’s £1.1bn push to digitalise courts has only made the problem worse, new report warns February 23, 2023 A UK government push to digitalize the country’s court systems instead placed an added burden on Britain’s courts, a new National Audit Office (NAO) report warns. The combined HMCTS and CPS push to “reduce inefficiencies across the criminal justice system” through deployment of the ‘Common Platform’ in fact added to the burden already faced by [...]
GFG tycoon Sanjeev Gupta vows to fight UK steelmaker’s bankruptcy and save hundreds of jobs February 23, 2023 Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance has vowed to “fight” a New York investment fund’s bid to plunge one of its major customers into bankruptcy after fully acquiring the firm earlier this month. GFG is seeking to block West Midlands steel products maker Aartee Bright Bar from collapsing into insolvency after the manufacturer’s main creditor, FGI, decided [...]
Law firms help drive record demand for London office space February 23, 2023 Law firms, accounting firms and consultancies acquired a record 2.5m sq ft of central London office space in 2022, following a boom in the professional services sector’s revenues. London’s top services firms took up 50 per cent more office space last year than in 2021, as the sector capitalised on an “unprecedented” surge in demand, [...]