Financial and professional services are our entire nation’s Crown Jewels October 14, 2016 I have spent much of the past year speaking to employees, employers and entrepreneurs from across this great country. In December I went to Northern Ireland, in March to Scotland, in July to the North of England, and last week to Bristol and Cardiff – 12 UK cities in total. After each of these trips [...]
MPs criticise Article 50 case as a “diversionary tactic” after its first day in court October 13, 2016 Eurosceptic politicians have criticised a lawsuit arguing the legal process for leaving the EU for pulling away from the real issues of the debate just as the case kicked off in court. The case, which aims to determine whether an Act of Parliament needs to be put in place before government triggers Article 50 or whether government has the [...]
London Whale identification case heard in Supreme Court October 13, 2016 The City watchdog has faced off against a former JP Morgan executive in the UK's highest court today, looking to overturn a decision that it wrongly allowed him to be identified when reprimanding the bank over the London Whale scandal. Achilles Macris, who was responsible for a number of portfolios at the bank when its London [...]
The woman behind the Brexit row: Gina Miller tells City A.M. why she took the government to task over Article 50 October 13, 2016 Gina Miller's high-profile court case over the triggering of Article 50 – the process by which the UK would start to leave the EU – begins today (Thursday 13 October). Miller's action is one of many brought after the public voted in June for Britain to leave the European Union, but hers has become the bellwether case. Constitutional law, [...]
There’s no return from triggering Article 50, court hears October 13, 2016 There's "no going back" for the UK once it triggers Article 50, a court has been told today. At a case in the Royal Courts of Justice to debate the legal process of the UK's departure from the EU, Lord Pannick QC highlighted that the wording of Article 50 does not envision any provisional or [...]
Navigating uncertainty: The future of accountancy October 12, 2016 The discovery that a computer error may have caused the sterling “flash crash” last week probably raised wry smiles in board-rooms around the world. The flurry of panicked headlines caused by Theresa May implying that Britain was heading towards hard Brexit apparently tricked trading algorithms into rapid selling of the currency. A meltdown triggered by [...]
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 [...]