Struggling outsourcer Interserve approaching finalised rescue refinancing deal with lenders February 3, 2019 Chiefs at debt-stricken outsourcer Interserve are nearing a rescue refinancing deal with the firm’s lenders to keep its head above water. The public sector outsourcing giant, which has been struggling with more than £600m debt, is due to announce it has reached an agreement with its banks in the next week, according to reports. Read [...]
KPMG boss confident in Carillion audit despite partner suspension January 30, 2019 KPMG’s UK boss said the firm remains confident in the quality of its audit work for collapsed construction firm Carillion, despite suspending a partner over concerns related to falsified documents. Earlier this month, the Big Four audit confirmed it had suspended the top audit partner Carillion, Peter Menshan, along with three other non-partner members of [...]
Construction in crisis: Where did it all go wrong for Kier? January 29, 2019 Construction outsourcer Kier Group has had a tricky few months. First, it became the most shorted stock on the market, with hedge funds drawing direct comparison to failed competitor Carillion. Since then, it has bungled a rights issue, lost its chief executive and seen its share price plummet more than 39 per cent. City A.M. tracks [...]
What are the UK’s most shorted stocks? January 29, 2019 Hedge funds made millions from short-selling Carillion shares after the construction firm collapsed a year ago. That’s hardly a surprise, but what’s telling is that many short-sellers were predicting its failure even before the company issued its first profit warning back in July 2017. Short-sellers borrow shares from other investors, typically large institutions like pension [...]
Kier shares fall again as investors react to reports it will sell housing maintenance arm to cut debt January 28, 2019 Shares in troubled outsourcer Kier Group were down four per cent this morning on yesterday’s news it is to sell off its housing maintenance business in a bid to cut hundreds of millions of pounds worth of debt. The construction firm, whose chief executive left last week after sustained pressure from high-profile shareholder Neil Woodford, declined [...]
Kier Group negotiating sale of its housing maintenance business in a bid to reduce debt January 27, 2019 Kier Group, the troubled outsourcing company, is nearing an agreement to sell its housing maintenance division. The deal, if agreed, would be part of a previously announced plan to shore up the balance sheet of the construction and building services provider by selling non-core assets. Read more: Short sellers release pressure on construction outsourcing giant Kier [...]
Audit watchdog should be scrapped ‘as swiftly as possible’ says Legal & General chair January 23, 2019 The government should act “as swiftly as possible” to abolish and replace the UK’s audit watchdog, MPs were told today. Sir John Kingman, who chaired a review into the operation of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), said the regulator’s senior leadership should be overhauled in the meantime. “I would like to see the government get [...]
Watchdog investigation into KPMG’s Carillion audit at ‘critical stage’ January 22, 2019 The UK’s audit watchdog said its investigation into KPMG’s audit work for collapsed construction giant Carillion is at a “critical stage”. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) issued an update this morning on its probe into the Big Four firm following “significant public interest” in the case. Carillion’s collapse in January last year has become a [...]
Joint audit could inject some competition into the market January 22, 2019 Last week, the House of Commons’ Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee opened hearings on its influential inquiry into the future of audit. Top of its agenda will be the proposed remedies set out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in its recent review, which could bring wholesale change in the UK’s listed [...]
Number of firms paid late by Cabinet Office nearly triples since 2016 despite late payment crackdown January 15, 2019 The number of businesses receiving late payments from the Cabinet Office (CO) has nearly tripled in the last two years, despite the department imposing tough new rules on its own contractors who pay suppliers late. Minister of State for the CO David Lidington was today forced to reveal a 198.7 per cent increase in the number [...]