Lord Alan Sugar-backed recruiter enters the red Business A recruitment company founded by a finalist on The Apprentice and backed by Lord Alan Sugar fell into the red during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. Harper Fox Partners was set up by Scarlett Allen-Horton who was the runner up in series 15 of hit BBC One show The Apprentice. Despite being [...]
‘It probably could do my job’: New ChatGPT model catches up with junior bank analysts Tech OpenAI introduced a new ChatGPT model on Thursday, which they claim is the first to outperform human experts. The software, GPT-5.2, is specifically designed for professional use and was tested using tasks which would typically be assigned to a junior analyst at an investment bank. These included putting together a three-statement model for a Fortune [...]
Recruiters suffer from sharp slowdown in permanent hiring Economics Recruiters suffered a sharp slowdown in setting up permanent placements for job seekers in 2024, with an industry group suggesting the number of positions had fallen by more than a third compared to 2023. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said the UK economy’s lacklustre performance in recent years had hit businesses seen as essential [...]
PE-backed Grant Thornton defies market trends with recruitment drive November 18, 2025 Private equity-backed accountancy giant Grant Thornton is bucking the trend in the professional service market with its plans to recruit 160 new partners over the next two years. Back in December, the firm’s partners unanimously voted in favour of an investment from private equity firm Cinven in a deal expected to value the firm at up to [...]
ICO urges transparency as AI transforms UK recruitment November 12, 2025 AI is rapidly reshaping recruitment in the UK, yielding companies unprecedented efficiency gains; however, regulators are warning that these benefits must be balanced with fairness and transparency to maintain public trust. William Malcolm, executive director of regulatory risk and innovation at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), explained at Tuesday’s AI regulation summit: “We want organisations [...]
How to get hired by a bot November 6, 2025 AI has infiltrated every stage of the job hunt – but has it made recruitment better? Asks Eliza Filby The recruitment guru James Reed warned last week that “graduate jobs are no longer a given,” fuelling talk of a looming “jobpocalypse” and the decline of white-collar work. Reed has seen openings fall from 180,000 after [...]
Hays CEO: There’s no substitute to meeting people face to face October 23, 2025 Each week, we dig into the memory bank of the City's great and good. Today, it's Dirk Hahn, chief executive officer at recruitment firm Hays.
LinkedIn: UK businesses could get £532bn AI recruitment boost October 23, 2025 UK businesses could theoretically unlock £532bn in productivity through AI-assisted recruitment, according to new research from LinkedIn. The report suggests that AI tools, such as LinkedIn’s own ‘hiring assistant’ tool, can free recruiters from administrative tasks like screening CVs, writing job descriptions and scouting talent, allowing them to focus on strategic hiring decisions. Janine Chamberlin, [...]
Britain needs to ‘encourage enterprising entrepreneurs’ to kick-start economy October 22, 2025 Britain “needs to be a nation of shopkeepers once again” and “encourage enterprising entrepreneurs” to boost its economic prosperity, the chief executive of recruitment giant Reed has said. Speaking on an up-coming episode of City AM‘s Boardroom Uncovered podcast, James Reed said if he was Prime Minister for the day, he’d “make Britain a destination [...]
Why graduates face a brutal jobs market September 26, 2025 While students flung mortar boards in the air after receiving their degrees, not everyone had cause to celebrate. Graduation was supposed to be the golden ticket to a dream career: get a good degree at a good university, and jobs at professional service firms, banks and consultancies would be there for the taking. For many [...]