Law firm mergers drop to decade lows as legal sector boom slows M&A activity August 8, 2022 The past two years’ boom in demand for legal services has seen M&A activity in the UK’s legal sector drop to decade lows, research from accountancy firm Hazelwoods shows. The number of mergers between UK law firms has fallen to its lowest levels in a decade, in plummeting from highs of 278 in 2011 to [...]
EY carve-up decision delayed as partners mull plans August 7, 2022 The planned break-up of ‘Big Four’ firm EY has been pushed back to the end of the year as bosses mull the practicalities of proposals to carve up its consultancy and audit practices, according to reports.
Big Four auditors up advisory fee incomes as challengers capture larger share of audit work August 5, 2022 The UK’s challenger auditing firms are increasingly capturing a larger share of Britain’s audit market, as the Big Four increasingly generate their revenues through non audit work, new data from the UK’s accounting watchdog shows. The research shows smaller auditors upped their audit fee incomes at almost twice the rate of the Big Four, as [...]
Bain & Co weighs up legal action against UK government over contract ban August 5, 2022 Bain & Co is considering taking legal action against the UK government after Britain banned the US consultancy from competing for contracts over its role in alleged “state capture and corruption by the South African government”. The US consultancy is considering “all options” including launching a judicial review, in a bid to overturn the UK [...]
Tough markets offset growth in Hargreaves Lansdown’s business August 5, 2022 Hargreaves Lansdown today said “difficult” market conditions in the first half of 2022 have halted its growth trajectory in causing the value of the assets administers to drop 9 per cent to £123.8bn. The Bristol headquartered company said major downturns in the FTSE, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 offset £5.5bn worth of new business in [...]
Norton Rose Fulbright hikes NQ salaries after upping pay for rank-and-file staff August 4, 2022 City law firm Norton Rose Fulbright today said it would hand out up to 10 per cent pay rises to its rank-and-file staff after the firm upped pay for its newly-qualified lawyers to heights of £105,000 a year. The law firm today said it would give out pay rises of at least 5 per cent [...]
PwC global digital assets chief leaves to launch ‘crypto asset manager’ August 4, 2022 The head of PwC’s crypto business has left his position at the Big Four accountancy firm to launch his own “crypto asset management firm” with a view to drawing institutional investors into cryptocurrencies. The new fund, Nine Blocks Capital Management, is set to use a $75m initial investment from Hong Kong fund Nine Masts, to [...]
Van insurance premiums surge to record highs as inflationary pressures bite August 4, 2022 Van insurance premiums have surged to record highs, after increasing for six consecutive months in a row, due to soaring inflation and widespread price hikes in response to new rules banning the practice of “price walking”. The cost of insuring a van increased by 13.6 per cent during the first six months of the year, [...]
Lloyd’s of London aims to attract billions in capital via launch of new investment vehicle August 4, 2022 Lloyd’s of London has set out plans for the launch of a new investment vehicle, with a view to drawing in billions from institutional investors. The London insurance market today announced plans to set up a second protected cell company (PCC) following the successful launch of its London Bridge Risk PCC vehicle last year. [...]
UK government bans Bain & Co from competing for contracts over role in South African corruption scandal August 3, 2022 US consulting firm Bain & Co has been banned from competing for UK government contracts, after a review by the Cabinet Office determined the Boston consultancy “guilty of grave professional misconduct” over its role in alleged “state capture and corruption by the South African government”. As first reported by the Financial Times, Cabinet Minister Jacob [...]