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, [...]
Serco wins £570m contract to run US public health insurance schemes February 23, 2023 British outsourcing giant Serco has won a $690m (£573m) contract from the US government to administer the country’s public health insurance schemes. Serco will run back-office delivery of America’s public health insurance initiatives in determining whether US citizens are eligible to buy coverage through the government-backed schemes. Serco’s renewed contract, which it first won [...]
China tells state-owned companies to cut ties with the Big Four February 22, 2023 China has told its state-owned companies to stop working with the Big Four auditors – EY, KPMG, PwC, and Deloitte – and asked them to use local accounting firms instead. China’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has called on the country’s state-controlled firms to let their audit contracts with the Big Four expire, Bloomberg reported today. [...]
McKinsey to cut up to 2,000 staff in one of its biggest round of layoffs ever February 22, 2023 McKinsey is planning to cut up to 2,000 back-office staff as it seeks to control costs and retain its partner payouts. The plans could affect up to 2,000 of McKinsey’s 45,000 staff, in one of the consulting firm’s largest rounds of job cuts ever. McKinsey’s plans, first reported by Bloomberg, are set to see [...]
Labour ‘very supportive’ of post-Brexit overhaul of EU Solvency II rules February 21, 2023 Labour is “very supportive” of the government’s plans to overhaul EU rules that govern Britain’s insurance sector, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said. The government is eager to overhaul the EU-era Solvency II rules, which govern the sums of money insurers must hold on their balance sheets to protect themselves against bankruptcy, in a bid to [...]