Clifford Chance report record revenue and profits in sixth consecutive year of growth July 20, 2021 Law firm Clifford Chance announces its sixth consecutive year of profit and revenue growth despite the pandemic. For the year ended 30 April Clifford Chance saw its revenue rise to £1.8bn, though by a marginal rate of one per cent compared to the previous financial year. Its profit per equity partner increased by nine per [...]
Zurich UK switches $1bn into new ESG benchmark to cut its carbon emissions July 20, 2021 Zurich UK has switched almost $1bn (£73m) of its investment portfolio into a new ESG benchmark in a bid to reduce its carbon emissions. The insurance giant said, in an announcement today, the new benchmark will deliver a 30 per cent reduction in emissions as well as “enhanced” ESG outcomes, compared to its parent index. [...]
SAP to invest €250m in the UK over the next five years July 19, 2021 SAP said it will invest a quarter of a billion euros in the UK through a UK-based cloud service and new offices, in an announcement today. The company will launch its UK Data Cloud service, establish new offices in London and Manchester and invest further in young talent through its internship programme. It’s new offices [...]
Deloitte partner lays down the law for junior staff in leaked email July 19, 2021 The UK lead of Monitor Deloitte told junior staff that they should become “millionaires, authors or bums” if they wanted to be picky with their projects, in a leaked internal email. Alexander Curry, a partner and UK Lead at Monitor Deloitte, said that junior staff do not own their own time, in an email sent in [...]
KPMG settles lawsuit with $84m payout after failing to spot fraud at Chinese group July 19, 2021 KPMG has agreed to pay around $84m to settle legal claims after failing to identify fraud at a Chinese timber company. China Forestry’s IPO led to backlash against poor listing standards in Hong Kong. Its liquidators claimed the accounting giant was negligent in failing to detect serious false accounting by some of the company’s top [...]
Diversity drive? EY offers senior female staff golf lessons in bid to catch up with peers July 19, 2021 Diversity in senior positions is a problem all City leaders face, but one firm has taken the term “diversity drive” to new lengths. Female consultants at a London division of EY have reportedly been offered golf lessons so they don’t miss out on networking around the tee. Staff at leading professional service firms have identified [...]
PwC to ramp up partner pay packages to record highs after Covid profit rush July 17, 2021 The UK’s largest accountancy firm has done so well out of the pandemic that average partner pay at the firm has surged to a record £868,000. Demand for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) consulting services has weathered Covid extremely well, and the firm is set to publish record-high revenues later in the year, according to reports in Sky [...]
UK Supreme Court reverses radical reinterpretation of contract law July 16, 2021 Termination of a contract does not exempt a contractor from liquidated damage payments, the UK Supreme Court ruled today. The verdict, which overturned what judges branded a ‘radical re-interpretation of case law’ by the Court of Appeal, concludes a long-running legal dispute between US-based contractor Triple Point Technology and PTT Public Company, over the former’s [...]
Upsurge in FCA voluntary resignations costs watchdog over £7m July 16, 2021 The cost of the Financial Conduct Authority’s “voluntary resignation programme” has surged to over £7m compared to just £200,000 last year. The watchdog’s figures, published in its annual report for the year to April, showed the jump, in the number of staff who took advantage of its “Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme” (MARS) in the year [...]
Burford Capital cashes in with £75m for role in high-profile Russian divorce battle July 16, 2021 Partners at Burford Capital, the City firm that backed the ex-wife of a Russian billionaire in her High Court divorce battle, have been paid £74.6m for their role in the high profile case. The financier, which funds claimants in legal disputes with the aim of taking a cut of any settlement, told the London Stock [...]