Exclusive: Deloitte hires senior Magic Circle partner to lead its push into the UK legal market January 14, 2019 Big Four accountancy firm Deloitte has hired a senior partner from the Magic Circle to lead its expansion into the UK legal market after announcing plans to target the sector last year. The audit firm has appointed veteran Allen & Overy banking partner Michael Castle as managing partner for Deloitte Legal to lead its UK [...]
Galacticos! Inside the US law firm building the most expensive team in UK legal history January 13, 2019 In 2000 Real Madrid signed Portuguese football star Luis Figo from arch rivals Barcelona in a move that signalled the start of the galacticos era at the Spanish club which used its financial clout to bring other international stars such as Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Brazilian striker Ronaldo to the Bernabeu in the following [...]
Accenture chief executive Pierre Nanterme steps down for health reasons January 11, 2019 Accenture chairman and chief executive Pierre Nanterme has stepped down, citing health reasons. The company's chief financial officer David Rowland will become interim chief executive officer and independent director Marge Magner has been appointed as the company’s non-executive chair of the board. Finance operations leader KC McClure will take on the chief financial officer role. [...]
Silk: City lawyers among 108 new Queen’s Counsels appointed today January 10, 2019 The number of new Queen’s Counsel appointed has dipped to a three-year low with 108 lawyers appointed this year, down from 119 last year. Lawyers are required to go through a rigorous application process to become a QC, known as taking silk, with the successful candidates appointed by the Queen on the advice of Lord [...]
New visa for architects as trade body calls for ‘drastic reform’ of UK immigration system post-Brexit January 10, 2019 The Home Office launched a visa scheme for exceptional architects today as the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) argues UK immigration legislation needs a drastic overhaul post-Brexit to safeguard the £4.8bn industry. From today architects will be able to apply for Tier 1 (exceptional talent) visas – the first bespoke immigration category available for [...]
Merger growth drives Grant Thornton International to record £4.3bn revenues January 9, 2019 Grant Thornton International reported record revenues of $5.45bn (£4.28bn), lifted by income expansion from international mergers, and strong growth in its tax and advisory arms. The figure is up $450m on last year, representing an average growth of 9.4 per cent across the whole organisation – slightly behind the 10.7 per cent global growth at [...]
US legal business Elevate acquires UK new law company Halebury as it targets London float January 8, 2019 US legal business Elevate has today announced it has acquired UK new law business Halebury as it continues expansion ahead of a possible London float. Elevate, which has been backed by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, brands itself as a “law company” and provides services to in-house legal departments at companies such as Oracle and Facebook. [...]
First listed law firm Gateley delivers strong results as it looks for further acquisitions January 8, 2019 Listed law firm Gateley has boosted revenue 20 per cent and profit 18 per cent in the six months to 31 October. The Birmingham-headquartered firm, which became the first UK law firm to go public when it floated in 2015, delivered revenue of £46.4m and profit before tax of £5m for the period. Gateley's share price [...]
From Carillion to Connaught, here are four clues that a company is tipped for disaster January 8, 2019 It is said that we learn as much from failure as we do from success. This is just as true in investing as in life: we can learn from the struggles of companies that have gone bust, as well as those that have survived. While there are tell-tale signs that a company’s share price is [...]
SFO scales back probe into Rolls-Royce January 7, 2019 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped its investigation into a number of individuals associated with British engineering giant Rolls-Royce. Sky News originally reported that a number of people who were suspects in the SFO's investigation have been informed that they are no longer under investigation. Rolls-Royce entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the SFO [...]