Private equity-backed accountancy firm challenger expands with new investment October 12, 2016 A newly-formed private equity-backed accountancy group has announced a new investment. CogitalGroup, which was founded this summer by private equity firm HgCapital and former Deloitte UK chief executive John Connolly, this morning announced a deal with Baldwins. The accountancy firm has 27 offices across the UK, employing 650 people. Connolly will join the board of the company, [...]
PageGroup profits up but Brexit takes toll on UK market October 11, 2016 PageGroup revealed this morning that profits had grown in its third quarter, but the Brexit vote had taken its toll on its UK business. The figures Gross profits for the recruiter's third quarter were £158.6m, an increase of 14.1 per cent on a reported basis from the prior year's £139.1m. However, once foreign exchange movements were [...]
CMS merges with two rivals in deal to create sixth largest UK law firm October 10, 2016 Partners at three City law firms have voted in favour of combining their businesses in a deal that will create the sixth largest UK law firm and the sixth largest global law network. CMS UK, Nabarro and Olswang will merge in a deal that is anticipated to complete on 1 May 2017. Partners of Nabarro [...]
Article 50 challenge rumbles back into the court next week October 6, 2016 A legal challenge questioning what actions government needs to take before it triggers Article 50 is due to go to court next week. The claimants are arguing that government does not have the power to trigger Article 50, and begin the UK's process of leaving the EU, by prerogative and that it can only be [...]
BDO breaks through £400m revenue barrier and hikes partner pay October 6, 2016 Partners at accountancy firm BDO will be celebrating bumper pay packets today after it was announced that they'd be receiving a 29 per cent increase in average earnings. BDO revealed its full-year results for 2015/16 today and unveiled revenues that had smashed through the £400m mark – at £405m they were 3.9 per cent more than [...]
Creating new employment law for Deliveroo and Uber workers won’t be easy, but someone’s got to do it October 4, 2016 The Deliveroo and UberEats protesters, who were making a stand over their pay packets, must feel vindicated. Theresa May has now appointed Matthew Taylor, an ex-head of the Number 10 Policy Unit, to review legal rights for those people working in the gig economy. While all this sounds promising, it's going to be a titanic [...]
Small businesses to launch £1bn legal action against RBS in early 2017 October 3, 2016 Legal action on behalf of over 100 small businesses claiming RBS drove them into the ground for its own gain is set to launch early next year. RGL Management Limited was formed in March to coordinate action against the bank's now defunct turnaround division, Global Restructuring Group (GRG). It is now fully funded to issue a claim and has [...]
The man who will run accountants BDO for the next four years is revealed October 3, 2016 Paul Eagland was unveiled today as the new managing partner of accountants BDO and he promised to champion the cause of clients and support a new the generation of business advisers. In contrast with larger competitors, BDO has a client base that is skewed towards medium-sized enterprises and Eagland was keen to make sure that their voices were going to be heard by policymakers. Read [...]
Accountancy must adapt to survive in this brave new world October 3, 2016 Charles Darwin would have made a brilliant accountant. It’s not just his forensic brain or curious nature that would have made him successful, but his understanding that it’s not the strongest or most intelligent that survives, but the most adaptable. Look at the world and think back five years. Rapid developments in technology and regulation, the [...]
FCA charges former Blackrock portfolio manager with insider dealing September 29, 2016 A former investment portfolio manager has today been charged with insider dealing by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Mark Lyttleton, aged 45 who used to work for Blackrock Investment Management (UK), has been charged with three counts of insider dealing. The FCA claims the alleged activities took place between October and December 2011 and relate to trading in equities [...]