Augmentum Fintech backs London will-writing startup Farewill in £7.5m round January 21, 2019 London-listed venture fund Augmentum Fintech has today announced a £4m injection into probate startup Farewill, leading the firm's £7.5m series A fundraise alongside the venture arms of the Daily Mail and M&C Saatchi. Other investors in the round included Transferwise chief executive Taavet Hinrikus, Innocent Smoothies parent firm Jamjar, Kindred Capital, Tiny VC and Venture Founders. Farewill claims [...]
Owner of celebrity-favoured Wentworth golf club sues former employee over 32,000 missing wine bottles January 20, 2019 The owner of celebrity-frequented Wentworth golf club is suing its former head of international operations over 32,000 missing bottles of wine worth £4.8m. Chinese company Reignwood has accused billionaire Ni Songhua of refusing "to provide an account of his stewardship of the wine", according to the Sunday Times. Ni told the newspaper the wine was used [...]
Consultants ‘braver’ about challenging clients who treat women inappropriately, says PwC January 17, 2019 Advisers are “getting braver about…calling out our clients” who act inappropriately towards female consultants, a partner at PwC told a tech industry event in east London today. The partnership at PwC gets “incensed” when client chief executives shout at female partners, said Mads Thomson, who leads the the professional services firm’s technology consulting business in [...]
Patisserie Valerie exodus continues as deputy chairman steps down January 17, 2019 Patisserie Valerie has been burned further this morning by the walkout of its deputy chairman. Lee Ginsberg – a non-executive director at the beleaguered cafe chain, which is caught in a devastating alleged fraud – would resign with immediate effect, the company said in an update. Ginsberg had been chair of the audit committee at [...]
City law firm Fieldfisher acquires Mayfair boutique in bet on London’s hedge fund sector January 17, 2019 City law firm Fieldfisher has acquired a specialist Mayfair boutique in a bet London’s hedge fund sector will thrive post-Brexit. The City firm has acquired West End boutique Cummings Law and hired two senior partners from rival firms to launch Cummings Fisher, which will specialise in funds, derivatives, financial services regulation and fund formation work. [...]
Sage shares climb as accounting software firm makes progress on journey into the clouds January 17, 2019 Sage's share price climbed this morning as it released fresh evidence that its transition to the cloud is well underway. The accounting software firm saw group organic revenue grow by 7.6 per cent to £465m for the three months to the end of December, sending shares up 7.4 per cent to 636.8p in early morning trading. [...]
Stopping the clock: Can we buy more time to figure out Brexit? January 17, 2019 The UK is running out of time before it leaves the EU. The Prime Minister’s deal now lies in tatters, but what happens next is anyone’s guess. A General Election will take at least a month, and any new government would clearly want to renegotiate the exit deal. Alternatively, a second referendum would take months [...]
Euribor traders gamed the financial system for personal gain, court told January 15, 2019 Three former Barclays employees who are on trial for allegedly rigging the Euribor interest rate were part of an “elite” group of traders who gamed the financial system for personal gain, a court has heard. James Waddington QC, representing the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), told Southwark Crown Court that Sisse Bohart, 41, Carlo Palombo, 40, [...]
Experts pour cold water on CMA’s proposals for joint audits in first Beis committee hearing January 15, 2019 Audit academics and investment managers have called for caution over recommendations by the competition regulator to shake-up the audit sector. During the first in a series of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee hearings, held today, witnesses warned that the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recommendation could risk unintended consequences for auditing. Led by [...]
Hays reports strong quarterly growth as Germany boost outweighs Brexit slowdown January 15, 2019 Recruitment firm Hays delivered strong growth in the second quarter as rising fees in Germany outweighed the impact of Brexit uncertainty. The company said like-for-like net fees rose nine per cent in the three months to the end of December, with equal growth across temporary and permanent roles. Read more: Smaller companies forced to compete for [...]