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 [...]
Aberdeen University pulls plans for South Korea campus amid oil slump January 7, 2019 The University of Aberdeen has dropped plans to open a campus in South Korea as a downturn in the oil and gas market dented its business case for the venture. The campus, which was meant to offer offshore-related courses for students in the country, was first mooted in 2015 and was planned to open in September [...]
PG&E plummets amid reports of possible bankruptcy January 7, 2019 Shares in PG&E plummeted by over a fifth today as worries over its future gripped markets in the US. The company dropped 20.9 per cent to $19.36 in early trading in New York as reports surfaced that it could be on the brink of bankruptcy. The utility supplier is considering plans to file for bankruptcy [...]
Watchdog plans for audit sector shake-up set to draw backlash from businesses January 6, 2019 Finance bosses at some of Britain’s largest FTSE companies are set to hit out at new proposals put forward by the UK’s competition regulator, it emerged this evening. Plans by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to make publicly listed firms appoint two sets of auditors are expected to receive a harsh backlash from a [...]
Former Barclays bosses face trial over financial crisis-era deals with Qatar January 6, 2019 Four of Barclays' most senior bankers will appear in court tomorrow on charges relating to a rescue package the bank secured from Qatar at the height of the financial crisis. Former Barclays chief executive John Varley will stand trial alongside former senior executives Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath over funding from Qatari investors that allowed the [...]