Insolvency firm FRP Advisory appoints broker for London float February 12, 2020 Insolvency firm FRP Advisory has appointed broker Cenkos Securities for an upcoming London listing. The insolvency practitioner, which also advises clients on corporate finance matters, is planning to raise £30m in a float that will value it at £200m. Recent mandates for FRP include acting as administrator for cake chain Patisserie Valerie. FRP took over [...]
Burford Capital faces setback in bitter battle over £350m mega-yacht February 11, 2020 Litigation funder Burford Capital has faced a setback in its battle to secure control of a £350m yacht in Dubai as part of a bitter divorce battle. Burford has funded Tatiana Akhmedova’s fight to secure the £453m divorce settlement granted against her ex-husband Farkhad Akhmedov by the English courts in 2016. Akhmedov refused to pay [...]
Outgoing Deloitte boss took home £3.3m last year February 9, 2020 The outgoing boss of Deloitte took home £3.3m last year, the audit giant’s accounts show. David Sproul stepped down as chief executive and senior partner of the firm’s north and south Europe partnership (which includes the UK) last year to take up the role of global deputy chief executive of the firm. His pay increased [...]
We must not let fear of terror attacks compromise our human rights February 7, 2020 The recent attacks in London Bridge and Streatham have highlighted clear flaws in the management of terror offenders. Both were perpetrated by convicts still under licence conditions, released automatically halfway through their sentences. The government is now urgently looking to address this — as it undoubtedly should. However, it should be wary of trampling civil [...]
Financial Reporting Council unveils plans to beef up enforcement in audit cases February 5, 2020 Audit watchdog the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today announced plans to create a “more forceful regulator”. The FRC has been heavily criticised for the slow pace of its investigations into matters such as the audit of Hbos shortly before its collapse. It has also been criticised for its perceived toothlessness and its cosy relationship with [...]
DEBATE: Should the government scrap plans to impose an extra 20-week delay on divorces? February 5, 2020 Should the government scrap plans to impose an extra 20-week delay on divorces? YES, says Emily Brand, a partner at Boodle Hatfield. The government’s reason for introducing the new 20-week delay appears to be to ensure that couples have a period to “reflect on the decision to divorce”, “change course”, or “agree arrangements for the [...]
EY hit with €95m claim over tax scandal advice February 4, 2020 Big Four accountancy firm EY has been targeted with a €95m (£80.5m) lawsuit for advice it gave to a collapsed bank that allegedly defrauded the German state. The administrator to Maple Bank filed the lawsuit against EY in Stuttgart. The claim relates to the so-called cum-ex scandal which led to the closure of Maple Bank [...]
Ex-Freshfields partner escaped strike-off after sexual incident because it was a ‘one-off’ February 4, 2020 A former high-flying Freshfields partner escaped being struck off after a sexual encounter with a junior lawyer because it was a “one-off incident” and “his judgement had been affected by the amount of alcohol he had consumed”, a tribunal ruling published today said. Restructuring lawyer Ryan Beckwith was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay costs [...]
Audit resignations jump as sector faces regulatory pressure February 3, 2020 The number of audit firms to resign from jobs jumped last year as the sector comes under increasing regulatory pressure. Resignations have risen 21 per cent to 229 in 2018/19, up from 190 the previous year, according to the latest research by Thomson Reuters. The spike in resignations comes as audit companies are increasingly in [...]
Airbus agrees to pay record €991m UK fine in €3.6bn global bribery settlement January 31, 2020 A London court today approved a record €991m (£833m) fine for Airbus in exchange for suspending the prosecution of alleged bribery. The deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) was part of a €3.6bn global deal agreed with prosecutors in the UK, US and France. Airbus has agreed to pay France €2.08bn and the US €525m to bring [...]