High flying insurance duo plan £150m SPAC IPO on London Stock Exchange March 31, 2022 Insurance industry veterans Will Allen and Andy Rear are planning to raise £150m through the launch of a new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in the coming days. The prominent duo plan to list a shell company called FINSAC on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with a view merging with a leading name insurance technology [...]
Save the Children sets up Islamic charity fund March 31, 2022 A leading Islamic scholar has endorsed Save the Children’s plans to launch a Zakat charity fund. Islamic scholar Shaykh Haytham Tamim issued a Fatwa in favour of Save the Children’s new fundraising policy, meaning Muslims from around the world will now be able to contribute to the charity as part of Zakat. As the fifth [...]
Laytons ETL completes acquisition of City of London real estate specialist Cannings Connolly March 31, 2022 Laytons ETL Global has completed its acquisition of City of London law firm Cannings Connolly, marking Laytons’ first acquisition since it joined ETL Global last year. In a statement Laytons’ managing partner John Abbott said the deal will add “valuable” new strings to its bow, by expanding its commercial real estate and construction offerings. The [...]
Aviva chief Amanda Blanc to sit alongside Sir David Attenborough as ambassador for WWF March 31, 2022 Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc is set to join a group of high-profile environmentalists in becoming an ambassador for nature charity WWF. In taking up her new position, the Aviva chief will sit alongside Sir David Attenborough and other prominent figures on WWF’s Council of Ambassadors. The insurance exec’s new role as ambassador will see [...]
Law Society supports British judges’ decisions to step down from Hong Kong’s top court March 30, 2022 The Law Society of England and Wales has said it supports the decisions made by two top-ranking British judges to resign from Hong Kong’s highest court, after they claimed the city-state’s crackdown on free speech has made their positions untenable. Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said the Law Society shared Lord Reed’s assessment that [...]
Big Four cut ties to China’s debt-ridden property giants as developers delay results March 30, 2022 The Big Four auditors have begun cutting their links to China’s heavily indebted property developers, amid mounting concerns over the sector’s debt crisis. Accountancy giants Deloitte and PwC have both pulled out of auditing at a slew of Chinese property developers over the past three months. The exits come as PwC is reportedly set to [...]
Randox delays release of audited results amid concerns over Covid procurement process March 30, 2022 Covid test maker Randox has delayed release of its audited results amid mounting scrutiny over the government’s decision to award it contracts worth almost £777m. The delay to publication comes after the UK’s public spending watchdog said the government failed to document the procurement process that led to Randox being awarded 22 government contracts for [...]
Former DeepMind employee claims AI firm mishandled sexual misconduct allegations March 30, 2022 A former employee at British artificial intelligence (AI) developer DeepMind has accused the firm of mishandling multiple sexual misconduct allegations. The former DeepMind employee – referred to only as Julia – claimed a senior researcher at the Alphabet owned firm sexually assaulted her twice after subjecting her to a campaign of sexual harassment. In a [...]
Failed Bain Capital takeover bid cost LV= £33m March 29, 2022 LV=’s failed bid to sell itself to US private equity firm Bain Capital cost the mutual insurer more than £33m, the firm revealed today. Full year figures from the Westbourne headquartered insurer show LV= paid out £21m in costs in 2021 in addition to the £12m it paid out in 2020 and a small amount [...]
Law firms drive demand for London’s ‘super-prime’ office space March 29, 2022 Law firms are driving demand for “super-prime” office space in Central London, amid fierce competition to recruit and retain legal talent. Law firms took up more than a quarter (27 per cent) of all office space in the City of London last year, according to figures from Knight Frank. Intense competition between law firms to [...]